How many restaurants in dark, difficult basements does Glasgow have?
Bath Street, in particular, specialises in them. The odd one works – usually the semi-basement sort where you can get a glimpse of outdoors – but most don’t. Perhaps they trigger deep unconscious psychological fears about being dragged into the layer of some primordial creature and eaten. Or maybe it’s just that before we commit to a table, most of us like to be able to see in, or at least note the reassuring presence of other diners. Certainly, any restaurant that requires people to walk up or down a serious flight of stairs to a windowless dining room has to work much harder to pull in the punters. Recently in London, a couple booked under the name of Lupin – a reference to the fictional French gentleman thief, Arsene Lupin – clocked up a bill of £572 in the Michelin-starred L’Autre Pied, then did a runner. But it isn’t just crooks who like the security of knowing that they can make a swift exit. Most people like to know that the pavement is not far off. I have lost count of the rest
