The Moll hates Mondays. Her usually sparkling demeanour always droops when the day rolls around.

I came home after a long day working a particularly tricky case and the sight that met my eyes was one I couldn’t believe.

Toots, who would usually be flouncing around in some sort of glamorous gown, doing her makeup or trying on one of her many of her fur coats, was lying on the settee in pyjamas.

“Darling?” I said, tentatively. No response. I tried again.

“Hey Toots, are you hungry?”

She shot up immediately, the smile back on her face. Her blonde hair, slightly frizzy, fell across her shoulders and her big blue eyes looked straight at me.

“How did you know, Tec? I’ve not eaten all day. This miserable Monday, I’ve had no energy to lift a finger round the house, let along contemplate food.”

I thought the promise of grub would shift her mood, and I knew just the place to go. The Mallard on Great Western Road was one of the hottest new joints in the West End and I had been dying to try out the scran for weeks.

We jumped in the Buick and headed for the restaurant close to St George’s Cross.

As soon as we walked in two friendly gals greeted us with open arms. The soft lighting and small wooden tables created an intimate feel.

We were led to a small table past the bar, and swiftly served our drinks - two glasses of red wine. Toots, of course, went for the priciest one while I stuck with the house offering - a lovely Tempranillo.

We scanned the menu and I immediately spied the crab cannelloni starter. For my main I couldn’t decide between the beer braised short rib or the pigs cheeks with mushrooms. Eventually I settled on the latter, while doll face chose a chicken salad starter and a main dish of duck.

The first courses arrived swiftly, and as soon as the plates were put down in front of us we dived in.

Both looked fantastic, well presented and packed full of flavour. My crab was wrapped in aubergine, with a sweetcorn purée. It was perfectly seasoned and the flavours worked well together.

No sooner had I started on mine the Moll had demolished the majority of her delicate salad. The chicken was tossed with leaves and a few edible flowers scattered the plate.

The rich, meaty aroma from my main course plate hit my nose and instantly reminded me of a stew used to eat as a child. The dish came with mushrooms, peas and chopped bacon as well as soft potatoes.

Toots had a mountain of duck on her plate, with roasted carrots, baby turnips and pumpkin. It looked delicious and, judging by the smile in her face, it tasted pretty good too.

Despite being stuffed, the pair of us plumped for dessert. I went for plum and ginger crumble with cinnamon custard, while the Moll went for a special Ferrero Rocher type pud. The giant mound of choux pastry was filled with Ferrero Rocher ice cream, topped with melted chocolate and nuts. As expected, she could only get through half before it became all too much.

My pudding was exceptionally sweet, and the cinnamon custard had split, which put a slight dampener on an overall top quality meal. That aside, the Moll’s Monday was greatly improved and I went to bed with a full stomach.

The Mallard,

333 Great Western Road,

Glasgow,

G4 9HS

0141 339 4111

Food- 4

Atmosphere - 4

Service - 4

Drinks:

Medium Glass of house red wine - £4.50

Medium Glass of The Opportunist - £6.50

Starters:

Crab cannelloni - £7.00

Smoked chicken salad - £6.00

Main course:

Duck - £14.95

Pigs cheeks with mushroom - £13.00

Dessert

Pear and ginger crumble - £5

Ferrero rocher special - £5

Total - £61.95