UPTOWN MAGAZINE feature Acanthus

ISSUE 13 Oct/Nov

DURING the run-up to the festive season, groups of friends, businesses and families will begin to look for something a little different for their special night or day out.

Located in a Victorian Townhouse in the West End of Glasgow, Acanthus, a private conference facility and fine dining suite, offers just that.

Complementing the elegant surroundings, each person's requirements will be catered for using choice Scottish, seasonal produce combined with Continental ingredients.

With a Christmas menu that includes grilled west coast langoustines to start, followed by rack of organic Dumfriesshire lamb and dark chocolate souffle for dessert, and a further two courses of Scottish artisan cheese and biscuits and coffee, complemented by a fine selection of champange and wines, guests will be spoiled for choice.

Acanthus can be booked for a variety of events from a private family gathering to board meetings and training seminars.

BestofScotland

Where business is a pleasure

As published in Issue 21 - SCOTLAND Magazine

Acanthus is a private conference and dining facility in Glasgow's fashionable West End. Dominic Roskrow Visited it.

These days it's becoming increasingly common to mix business with pleasure, and if you're coming to Scotland it may well be you'll want to take the opportunity to catch up with some business associates while there.

And if the thought of trying to impress some potential client while seated in the sterile foyer of your hotel fills you with horror, then Acanthus may well be for you.

Situated in the Georgian splendour of Devonshire Terrace, just a few doors down from world-renowned hotel One Devonshire Gardens in Glasgow, it is a private conference facility and fine dining suite which exudes class and sophistication.

Acanthus offers you the opportunity to entertain your guests in a stylish period home decorated in the most luxurious manner and with outstanding service.

You can do anything here, and a series of rooms offer you the flexibility to shape an event exactly as you please. From casual meetings to formal dinners, business presentations to family gatherings, owner and manager Robert Corrigan is willing to discuss all options.

"We're attempting to provide something different and unforgettable," he says. "We offer privacy, comfort and outstanding service and combined this adds up to an unforgettable experience and one that will certainly help guarantee that your meeting is a successful one."

Acanthus is appealing because it feels like a private members' club but comes with none of the baggage associated with one. You don't have to be a member to go there, you're unlikely to be sharing the facility with many other people as you might in a club, and you can decide the ground rules for yourself rather than have them imposed on you by a formal organisation.

And like all good clubs it has chameleon characteristics, changing its personality depending on the time of the day. It would make an ideal venue for conducting informal interviews, for instance, both in a business sense and a media one. You can imagine international bands staying at One Devonshire Gardens doing press briefings here. By the evening it feels like the perfect dinner venue, too, and it offers total flexibility when it comes to catering.

Lavish as it is, however, it's not at all costly. The drawing room, for instance, which can accommodate up to 25 people, can be booked from £100 ($175). You can book a suite of three rooms catering for 70 people from under £300 ($525).

Food, too, presents excellent value for money. Acanthus sources the best Scottish ingredients where possible but will also provide international cuisine as and when it's wanted. The venue also offers alcoholic drinks at the price it pays for them from local suppliers rather than at hotel prices, making even the most prestigious dinner affordable. "We offer everything from morning coffee or afternoon tea through to a full dinner service," says Robert. "Our aim is to make everyone who comes here want to come back, and to give them a memorable and personal experience even when they have arrived in the city as total strangers."

Without doubt Acanthus is unique. And it is yet another example of how Glasgow is changing its traditional image on its head.

Contact

Acanthus, 6 Devonshire Terrace
Glasgow G12 0XF
Telephone +44(0)141 339 5007
Email: corriganacanthus@btconnect.com

Acanthus Set To Open For Business

Chef Robert Corrigan has opened his luxurious home in Devonshire Terrace to companies who are looking for tailor-made catering. With 25 years' experience in the catering industry, both at home and abroad, Corrigan is harnessing his expertise in this new project, called Acanthus, which, he believes, is the first of its kind in Scotland.

"I have wanted to do this for about 10 years, but I had to put the idea on the back burner until about two years ago, and it has taken me since then to put it all together" said Corrigan. "I will play 'mine host', in my own home, to companies large or small, who want a private space to entertain clients, hold interviews, have brainstorming sessions, presentations or simply an individual who wants to host a formal dinner.

I can seat 24 at one large dining table, or between 50 and 60 for less formal gatherings. Catering can be as lavish as they wish, or simply coffee and home baking, or wine and canapes," he explained.

Apart from the hire of the rooms - a negotiable fee - a seven course dinner including scallops and fillet steak on the menu, will cost under £50. Clients must provide their own wine. Said Corrigan, "I will do most of the cooking, but for a dinner party I will have someone in the kitchen while I am out front. I will use only the best of Scottish produce and will borrow from international cuisine, as required by clients."

Already two functions have been held at Acanthus. "I think of them as trial runs," said Corrigan. "But now I am ready for bookings."

Entrée Scotland magazine, Issue 4, October 2004