The Scotsman
In The Scotsman, Rosalind Erskine visited Sylvan in Glasgow, a two-year-old vegetarian/vegan small plates venture “that’s been quietly gaining popularity since it opened”.
“Sylvan offers a decent, delicious alternative to eating meat that’s filling and surprising. Plus the restaurant is one you’d want to linger in, no matter what the weather, making it easy to see why it’s become such a well-loved eatery.” (16/20)
Rosalind Erskine - 2023-07-24The Observer
Mina Holland was impressed by a five-year-old restaurant in Glasgow’s West End which serves “well-priced vegetarian food à la carte alongside natural wine” without making too much of the absence of meat or fish.
Chef Jake Martell’s kitchen produces some “deft and original cooking”, including “a fat cushion of golden, debauched-looking halloumi nestled into a curried green purée; I fall in love”. This was followed by polenta with mushrooms that “explodes joyfully with undisclosed tarragon” and – “surely the acid test for any self-respecting vegetarian joint” – some piquant and zippy chickpeas with tomato sauce and pickled feta.
“Sylvan could be a blueprint for the kind of vegetarian restaurant we need more of, at once comforting and elevated,” Mina reckoned. And it was rammed with a cross section of Glaswegians she was quite sure were not all vegetarians.
Mina Holland - 2026-05-10
