New in Food: Gnom, Platform & more

Gnom

The new bricks-and-mortar home for the lovely folk behind the Chompsky street food van, the Pollokshaws spot will feature a truly eccentric menu. Outlandish-sounding French toast ice cream sandwiches rub shoulders with dishes inspired by European and Asian cuisines; probably safest to have one of everything to make sure you don’t end up with diner’s remorse. Also, bonus points for the extended two-venue pun that comes from naming your spots Gnom and Chompsky. That’s dedication. 758 Pollokshaws Rd, Glasgow, facebook.com/gnomfood/

Platform

We all remain sad about the unfair and unfortunate demise of The Arches, but there does appear to be a silver lining to that particularly grey cloud in the shape of Platform. Another indoor base of operations for street food vendors in Glasgow, the initial roster has featured the likes of Food & Drink Survey-winning creme brulee purveyors The Crema Caravan, the always-excellent Shrimpwreck and Babu Bombay Street Kitchen, local craft soda lads Rapscallion (the folk with the travelling bar shaped like a giant orange), and Arches-based coffee roasters Thomsons. Fri-Sun, 253 Argyle St, Glasgow, facebook.com/PLATFORMgla

Bibimbap

A new addition to Glasgow’s Korean food options, Bibimbap look to do nice work in two very particular areas. The first is the bibimbap of the title – big bowls of rice, veg and meat that are filled to bursting with delicious things to pick at. The second is tasty-looking cocktails framed by neon signs that should make for ideal Instagram fodder to cause extreme jealousy among your pals. 3 West Nile St, Glasgow, facebook.com/bibimbapglasgow

Chop House Bruntsfield

The latest member of the Chop House stable looks to have many of the same traits that have made the Leith and Waverley Arches venues so successful. Well-stocked bars, brilliant aged steaks and excellent sides, lovely decor that’s all exposed brickwork and enormous, incredibly bright leather sofas. Also, this Chop House has lovely views across Bruntsfield Links, so if you can fight off the ravenous upper-middle-classes it will make for an ideal brunch or dinner spot. 88 Bruntsfield Pl, Edinburgh, chophousesteak.co.uk

Seeds for the Soul

Just down the road but at the opposite end of the spectrum, Seeds for the Soul is an all-vegan restaurant that offers up meatless takes on all the classics you’d expect in a neighbourhood local. So we’re talking vegan cakes, meat-free breakfasts, tasty salads, and an emphasis on high-quality local ingredients. 167 Bruntsfield Pl, Edinburgh, seedsforthesoul.co.uk

Brewdog Lothian Rd

In an ironic turn of events, Brewdog’s latest Edinburgh bar pitches up directly opposite the incredibly controversial Wetherspoons in the former site of the Picture House gig venue on Lothian Road. To be fair to Ellon’s favourite craft beer troublemakers, they have taken over an unloved, empty former bank branch to create their latest hoppy palace, loaded with dozens of beers from across their range and a host of guest breweries. Not sure about the shipping container outside the front door, but we’ll give them the benefit of the doubt; we still think that ‘Pink IPA’ chat was phenomenally stupid, though. 50 Lothian Rd, Edinburgh, brewdog.com

Finn and Bear

New from the team behind The Pantry, this is a place to go when you’re having one of those weekends where you wake up in good time and want to make the most of it. The breakfast selection is truly impressive – porridges, home-made waffles, avocado and crab (!) on toast – and the brunch and lunch options are pretty wild too. Drag your friends kicking and screaming from their beds; their hungover selves will thank you in the end. Plus there’s outside seating for those glorious days when it – oh sorry it’s started snowing again. 58 The Shore, Edinburgh, finnandbear.co.uk

Ransacked Black Oven

Bow your heads and pour out a glass of deep-fried olives for the fallen; Wildmanwood is no more. But, in the place of the Italian restaurant and bar oft frequented by yours truly sits a new, Persian-inspired contender. Ransacked Black Oven started life as a mobile van, and its menu is centred around sourdough flatbreads in various configurations (sweet wraps, savoury wraps, chipped, you name it) as well as kebabs, salads, and an impressive array of things into which to dip those aforementioned flatbreads. 27-29 Marshall St, Edinburgh, ransackedblackoven.co.uk/

Six by Nico

Having proven a hit over in Glasgow, Nico Simone’s concept restaurant (six courses, based on a concept that changes every six weeks) makes its debut in Edinburgh with the chip shop-inspired theme that kicked things off at the other end of the M8. An experimental tasting menu that features scampi and a take on the deep-fried Mars bar; that seems like it’ll get people’s attention. 30 Mar-13 May, 97 Hanover St, Edinburgh, sixbynico.co.uk/edinburgh/