Gamba, Glasgow

We returned this month, almost exactly ten years after THAT UNFORTUNATE INCIDENT WITH THE CHEF. I'm not going to rehearse the events. It earned Mr Marshall a one star review on Tripadvisor, one which attracted twentyfold more views than anything I've ever posted before or since.

That had been an anniversary lunch with C & J; we had vowed never to return. Yet here we are. Why? Because that gentleman has gone away, and we had read that the new owners were continuing as a fish restaurant. Struggle up the hill to the top of West George Street, pop down a few steps to the basement at 225A and many pescetarian delights await.

Arriving early I was immediately struck by the change. Not physically. The décor wasn't that different, but the room was sparkling. And the welcome. Instead of cowed waiters who looked like they'd rather be anywhere else, I was greeted by smiling Raheela, as sparkling as the place itself.

Our lunch as usual was on a Saturday. Checking the website in advance I was a little concerned by the prices, given that the set menu is available, as I thought, from Wednesday to Friday. We'll come back to the financials.

As ever, C & J's research had been more thorough than mine. There is another set menu, available on Saturdays. It is in fact identical to the midweek one, but with a small glass of wine thrown in. Some of the dishes sounded familiar. Apparently Mr Marshall had worked with them for a while during a handover period. A sensible idea since, despite his other, ahem, issues, the man could cook.

The fish soup was definitely his recipe. A splendid thing with white crabmeat, ginger and coriander. Bon bons made of smoked haddock and gruyere sounded an inspired combination. Very tasty, but they had been kept (luke)warm rather than crisp and fresh out of the fryer. The accompanying sauce gribiche on the other hand was excellent. Thanks to Raheela who assisted me in identifying the component parts. (It's a cold egg sauce, the yolks and whites separated. There's emulsification of the yolks, then herbs and capers and things are added. This one included parsley oil). It can be a tricky thing to get right. Well done, chef. This was as good an example as I've had.

To mains. We amused ourselves wondering what form the fantoosh salad with the seabream might take. Specs on, boys and girls. Fattoush salad is a Lebanese affair with chopped pita bread and crisp salad-y things - lettuce, tomato, cucumber and the like. Add some mint and parsley and you have a lovely fresh concoction which goes well with anything pan fried. C and I had the lemon sole. Tempting providence, perchance, given that that had been the cause of the UNFORTUNATE INCIDENT? Not this time. Three small fillets simply cooked with a light lacing of soy at the end. Decent chips, too many for us to finish.

The star of the show, however, was a pasta dish, J's choice.  Prawn and Samphire Linguine with a confit garlic and white wine sauce. A little caviar was involved. She couldn't finish her plateful so I, ever the gentleman, mucked in. Absolutely stunning. Mind you, on the a la carte a near identical dish is £34.

Writing this, I find myself wrestling with my thoughts on pricing. Fish, especially shellfish, isn't cheap, and restaurant overheads continue to soar. But having said that, I obviously read a lot of menus, and my first impressions of the a la carte were that it is expensive. Let's do a compare the market. 6 oysters here - £25; Dulse, Edinburgh - £22. Half a lobster here - £40: Fishers in the City, Edinburgh - £33.

Desserts in Gamba all cost £10.50. We didn't sample any, but the list was unremarkable. Sticky toffee, crème caramel, that sort of thing. £10.50 for affogato,  ice cream with an espresso poured over it! And if you want a shot of booze that takes it up to £13.50. Decide for yourself. The food is very good, and the service is lovely. Raheela is sister of the owner, the equally charming Mohammed. The premises are immaculate.

Let's apply the would-I-return test. I think the answer is yes, not least for the linguine, but I think I'd make sure that a set menu was available.