The flair of the Dog (Matt Smith)

Situated in the swish environs of the second floor of Princes Square in Glasgow, Salty Dog is the result of one man’s observation that the city’s bar and restaurant scene was lacking something.

Glasgow entrepreneur Colin Barr was holidaying in the Mediterranean when it struck him how simple fish and seafood dishes were readily available and not pricy at all. That was when it dawned on him that there was a severe lack of seafood restaurants in the dear green place that were relatively affordable.

Although there is Rogano and the like, Barr believes that there are ‘special occasion’ restaurants and not the sort of place you can just pop into for a seafood bite and a drink any day of the week. Salty Dog was born.

Barr has been in the trade for 25 years but he isn’t one to rest on his laurels.

He owns the Republic Bier Halle in Gordon Street, the Bier Stube in Kilmarnock Road – which reopens next week after a refurb – and has acquired the site where Ocho once stood off Sauchiehall Street to expand the Republic brand with his latest project, the Uber Lounge. Add to this his involvement in converting Yang on Queen Street and you get the idea of how busy he is. However, for all his experience, Salty Dog is Barr’s first venture into the restaurant trace proper – and it seems he is on to a winner. Barr has also invested a lot of time and effort into perfecting the cocktail menu here (Salty Dog is the name of a famous 1920s drink), as he feels that the time is right for Glasgow to embrace the cocktail culture – something else he believed Glasgow was missing.

After I failed to get a table on Saturday night due to my inability to make a reservation, I returned on Sunday to a somewhat quieter Princes Square determined to sample what SD had to offer. I perused the cocktail list as I waited for my dining partner, taking in the décor of the open-plan bar area. Cut-glass partitions separate the leather dining booths from the stylish stone bar and funky silver lights set just the right atmosphere for a laid-back evening.

Extensive is not the word for the cocktail list – I believe you could come here every night for months and never sample the same drink twice. After much deliberation, our mixologist Graeme quickly rustled up an Amaretto Cooler (Disaronno mixed with ruby red and oranges, £5.50) for my partner, but I decided to wait until after I was fed before I explored the many choices on offer. Some may find the cocktails a bit pricy (£5 to £8), but when the standard of product is this good, it is worth paying that bit more.

Although you can dine on the terrace, the lack of bodies and some miserable weather outside made it a tad chilly and we opted to eat in.

The all-day menu, as you may have gathered, is mainly aquatic. Small dishes such as the seafood salad and the deep-fried chilli squid come in at around £4 and can also double as starters before the main event. I went for the smoked trout pate with melba toast (£3.95) from this section while my partner chose the freshwater crayfish cocktail (£4.95) from the starter menu. Both dishes proved Barr’s belief that seafood does not need to be fancy to be impressive (‘Source great food and cook simply,’ he says). The creamy pate went down a treat and the succulent crayfish disappeared rapidly (‘a nice touch to a classic starter’ was the verdict).

If we thought that was good, the main course blew it out of the water. I opted for the char-grilled chicken with garlic, lemon thyme and harissa (a North African chilli pepper paste, £9.95), which again showed originality and proved it isn’t just fish that they do well here.

The whole baked sea bass with garlic, rosemary and olive oil (£13.95) was recommended – and rightly so. It was perfectly cooked with all the flavours coming through to complement the meat, which came off the bone with minimum effort, and although it looked like a whopper of a fish, it was devoured with ease – a side order of onion mash helping it on its way.

Now we were struggling to find a space for dessert, but, as you can see, SD is the sort of place that does things a little differently. The perfect solution: Dessert-flavoured shooters. A Jam Doughnut and Apple Pie later, courtesy of Graeme (a very reasonable £2 each), and we were two very satisfied customers.

Including wine, beer and a couple more shooters, the bill came to around £70 – not bad, considering our stuffed bellies and light heads.

SD also has other Barr-inspired quirks, such as loyalty cards and ‘Fabulous Shaker Boys’ drinks tasting evenings every Thursday.

Barr certainly won’t be walking the plank.