TOOTS was testing my patience.

She had booked herself a place in a hot yoga class but it was me who was breaking a sweat as the minutes rolled by and threatened to put the brakes on our lunch date.

Gassing I guessed. No opportunity for small town gossip is lost on Blondie.

I wondered if her wallet would ever stretch as much as her muscles, as I pushed the stick shift into reverse and parked the Buick on Argyle Street.

I'd promised her some fancy scran in Alchemilla, the newest kid on the block in the oh so trendy Finnieston strip.

It's only just opened its doors but is already making waves in the city's restaurant scene with a listing in the Sunday Times' top 100 restaurants and a "stupendous" rating by a high falutin restaurant critic. But would it hold up to the Moll's beady eyed scrutiny?

Casing the joint, it's got a Scandinavian vibe, all wooden benches and soft lighting and primary colours with an open-plan kitchen.

The chef, Rosie Healey, was trained by London-based Israeli-born chef and restaurateur Yotam Ottolenghi so I'm expecting a culinary explosion of flavours.

I take a pew (it's a little bit of a squeeze to manoeuvre into the window seat) and peruse the menu, praying Blondie shows her face before I age another year.

The waitress explained the menu will be changed ever couple of weeks.

Suddenly Toots burst through the door, her face as red as a cherry Coke. Turns out she got stuck in downward dog and they had to call in the fire brigade.

"I'll not be back," she sniffed, squashing her not inconsiderable curves into a window seat.

The waitress was over in seconds with a warm welcome that left us to look over the goods.

The menu is based on small plates, she explained, with some larger offerings for the ravenous and prices ranging from £6 to £10.95.

We ordered up some tasty almonds as we chew over the choices.

I ordered up the aubergine, almonds and chilli dish which looks inviting but fails to set my taste buds alight. I'm not a huge fan of honey and I'd rather it was a little spicier. I'm not really getting many of the other flavours coming through.

Blondie has plumped for the beetroot and feta dip with toasted bread, which is a tastier affair, and she adored the nutty olive oil that accompanies it.

The dishes come as they are cooked and Toots was soon tucking into the squid, chickpea and lemon stew. She says it was the first time she's enjoyed the dish that is usually served as calamari and can often be uncomfortably chewy.

It's melt in the mouth, not overwhelmed by flavour and complemented by the chickpea stew.

I've ordered up the pappardelle with walnut sauce and parmesan. At first glance it doesn't look that appetising on the plate and I was expecting grated cheese but it appears to be lemon. It's a little too zesty for my personal taste but does help offset the richness of the walnut sauce.

We've left enough room to share the chocolate torte with salted caramel sauce which looks the part. The sauce is delicious but sadly the pastry has been overcooked, it's ever so slightly burnt and it ruins the entire experience.

I wash away the taste with an Old Fashioned while the Moll powders her nose and we hot foot it back to Tec Towers, a little underwhelmed by the experience.

Alchemilla, 1126 Argyle Street , 1126 Argyle St, Glasgow G3 8TD

Phone: 0141 337 6060

Small plates

Bread - £2.50

Almonds - £3.50

Aubergine £6.50

Beetroot dip £6.50

Walnut Pappardelle £10.95

Squid £9.95

Dessert

Chocolate Torte - £7.00

Drinks

1 glass Chardonnay - £3.20

1 espresso - £1.80

Total - £51.90

Food ***

Service ***

Atmosphere ***