I’M not saying the Moll is swayed by celebrity tastes but she had her faux fur and high heels on before I’d finished telling her that the owner of the restaurant I’m taking her to used to be the personal chef of Canadian rocker Bryan Adams.

Red Onion, John Quigley’s city centre restaurant, has been a popular fixture on Glasgow’s dining out scene for more than 10 years and has stood its ground, while other eateries by well known chefs have hit the wall.

They are clearly doing something right and I’d heard from my sources that it’s not just down to the qualify of the cuisine on the tables.

Red Onion has no less that 13 different menus, including dairy free and gluten-free as well as a plethora of different cuisines and the Moll is keen to try the vegan offering. A new tasting menu has recently been added to the mix.

If it’s good enough for the chisel-jawed Run to You star, as well as Tina Turner and Guns n Roses, it’s good enough for us.

The tables were filled when we arrived (booking is essential) and we were quickly shown to a booth, upstairs on the mezzanine level.

It’s a nice ambience, busy but relaxed and great to see the chef himself greet customers later on in the evening.

With the Summer of 69 ringing in her ears, Moll plumps for the vegan set menu, which comes in at £16.95.

She’s bowled over by the haggis bon bons which are served with confit beetroot and plum tomato chutney.

Her zeal for a meat-free meal has me tempted by the vegetable tempura, which was mouth-wateringly good, the batter so light it hardly feels deep-friend and I was spoiled for choice with a sweet chilli and soy dipping sauce.

For mains, Toots opts for the Risotto verde with garden peas, spring onions and crispy kale and polishes off every morsel.

The trouble with vegan food in some joints is that it can feel like you are missing out or it’s sugar laden and doesn’t actually feel very healthy but not here. This food feels like a treat. Why would you go for a meal and expect anything less?

I took a gamble on the smoked haddock fishcake which comes with mixed leaves, peas and parsley veloute. It was generously proportioned, a bit like Toots, and the sauce was sent from heaven.

We had just enough room left to try a couple of desserts and with all those vegetables, Blondie deserved a bit of the sweet stuff. She chose the vegan brownie, which tasted just as good as the regular variety and then pinched most of my banoffee cheesecake, which is served with a more-ish caramelised banana.

My sources were right, Red Onion rates.

Food - ****

Service - ****

Ambience - ****

Food

Vegetable tempura

Haddock fish cake

(Pre-theatre, £22.42 for two courses)

Haggis bon bons

Risotto verde

(Vegan, £16.95 for two courses)

Banoffi cheescake £7

Vegan brownie £3

Drinks

1 glass of white Rioja £6.95

1 glass Chardonnay £6.30

Total £62.62