BARS & PUBS
In association with
GLASGOW
BARS & PUBS After serving the city through its most significant (and busiest) year in 2014, the bars and pubs of Glasgow have not grown complacent. Instead, exciting new openings have married food and drink from foreign shores with homegrown produce, and in turn, established venues have upped their game by creating innovative dishes in hip environs. These days, edible output from some of Glasgow’s drinking holes is as revered as what’s on offer from the city’s best-known restaurants. Arrive for a craft beer, expertly blended cocktail or speciality coffee, and leave with a satiated appetite, happy in the knowledge that good food and good drink don’t have to be mutually exclusive. Reviewers: Gabriella Bennett, Beth Darbyshire, Tiff Griffi n, Ruth Marsh, David McPhee, Laura Muetzelfeldt
Ad Lib 111 Hope Street, City Centre See North American
The Admiral 72a Waterloo Street, City Centre (Map 6: C4, 81) 0141 221 7705, theadmiralbar. com | Closed Sun (unless event on) | £8 (lunch) / £8 (dinner)
Slap-bang in the business district and boasting one of the city’s best small club spaces in its basement, The Admiral successfully juggles catering to its mixed clientele of post-office Friday night drinkers and arty young things waiting for Mr Scruff to kick off. The relaxed bar is stylish in a warm, low-key way and just the right side of dim. Its drinks list is strong on continental lagers of the Moretti and Sagres kind, while a bottle of very decent house wine will impressively give you change from a
tenner. The separate, brighter dining area is lined with simple bare wood tables and offers a similarly no-frills menu. The ubiquitous burgers and pulled meats on brioche are done well and served in hefty portions, but the pizzas here are the real deal – hand-rolled, blistering crisply and imaginatively topped with the likes of goat’s cheese and rocket pesto. + Fantastic homemade pizza always on 2-for-1 - Beer selection a bit uninspired
The Arches Café Bar & Restaurant 253 Argyle Street, City Centre See Arts Venues
Baby Grand 3–7 Elmbank Gardens, City Centre See Bistros & Brasseries
Bar Gandolfi 64 Albion Street, Merchant City (Map 7: C2, 14) 0141 552 6813, cafegandolfi.com | No Kids | £17 (lunch) / £17 (dinner)
Two flights of stairs open into a surprisingly large and airy attic space with skylights maximising natural light. Rippled natural wood contrasts with modern lighting suspended on high-tension wires and everywhere there is the kind of attention to detail you’d expect from an offshoot of one of the Merchant City’s most respected establishments. With the standard Café Gandolfi menu available, plus a pizza menu that’s exclusive to the bar, there’s plenty of choice. The Cullen skink is thick and creamy, and the smoked haddie is perfectly cooked with haddock that almost tastes of the sea. Everything is perfectly executed but some plates, like the smoked haddie and the haggis, neeps and tatties might be improved with a splash of sauce. The créme brûlèe is one of the best in Glasgow and there’s an impressive wine list or selection of whiskies if you’re lucky enough to be able to linger. + A beautiful space offering up the best quality, local ingredients - Composition of dishes doesn’t always match the faultless execution
Bar Gumbo 71–77 Byres Road, West End See North American
4 HITLIST
Bar 91 91 Candleriggs, Merchant City (Map 7: C2, 19) 0141 552 5211, bar91.co.uk | £12.50 (lunch) / £12.50 (dinner)
Upon entering Bar 91 you will quickly appreciate the openness of the place, not just structurally but figuratively. What they strive for is a refuge from the hustle and bustle of the city and a place to find soul food and your soul amid the daily grind. It is a bar to be relied upon not least for its good food, pleasant staff, and quality beer but for enduring as an independent establishment within the maelstrom of chain pubs and style bars. This philosophy is conveyed through their menu which, though it certainly boasts a set section, is much more geared towards its specials with a ‘come in and see’ attitude. A wonderful setting for outdoor summer drinks or – more likely – a refreshing pint of Innes & Gunn and their famous roast beef sandwich on Glasgow’s more frequent cooler evenings. + Can always be relied upon for quality - Wouldn’t suffer from a little refurbishment
Bar Soba • 116–122 Byres Road, West End • 11 Mitchell Lane, City Centre See Far East
Bar Varia Snow Factor, Xscape, Kings Inch Road, Southside See Arts Venues
The Bath Street Palomino 207 Bath Street, City Centre (Map 6: C2, 18) 0141 221 9444, bathstreetpalomino. co.uk | £9 (set lunch) / £17 (dinner)
Elegance and simplicity can be, on occasion, considered underrated features. Yet there is a deft skill in applying both and it can often be the difference between an excellent or uninteresting establishment. With its sultry lighting and elegant décor Bath Street Palomino reassures and induces you to enter. Having lured you in they then ply you with their fine selection of meats, wines and cocktails. Prepare for an inspiring start with salty and smoked beef brisket and Swiss cheese croquettes (with optional maple mustard dipping sauce) then feast upon superb smoke-cooked meats. The flat-beaten rump steak and smoked butter is quite simply the real deal, and if the fat pig burger doesn’t ensure a swift return then cocktails tailored to the customers whim certainly will. + Wonderfully tailored cocktails - Ribs lacking seasoning
BARS & PUBS 4 Chinaski’s A secretive bourbon bar at Charing Cross, brimming with effortlessly cool ambience and a food menu that is full of imagination. 4 The Grumpy Goat A familyrun bar-bistro at Yorkhill offering a cosy but refined atmosphere and lovingly prepared food. 4 Meat Bar This popular city centre subterranean smokehouse is a meat-loving cocktail-drinker’s paradise. 4 The Pacific Lavish, potently prepared fresh-fruit cocktails and ingenious soul food await you in this celebration of Pacific island culture. 4 Redmond’s of Dennistoun This marvellous Duke Street bar has come out roaring with an uncontrollable passion for outstanding food and well-chosen beer.
4 The Salisbury A Southside newcomer that is now focused on delivering excellent food with great drinks to match. 4 The Vintage at Drygate Dainty, dramatic dishes pack a flavour punch alongside global and local beers at this enticing newcomer based in an East End craft brewery. 4 WEST Brewery German expertise and local history find their perfect match at this Bavarian brewery and restaurant set in a striking building on Glasgow Green. + Prosecco by the glass is an unexpected surprise - The tiny toilets require some amount of flexibility
The Belle 617 Great Western Road, West End (Map 9A: E1, 63) 0141 339 2299 | No Kids
Lebowskis (page 123): White Russians and dude food in Finnieston
Glasgow’s dog-watching mecca, the Belle is a venue guaranteed to play host to a furry friend or two at any given time of day. The appeal for humans and canines alike is simple: a log fire kept burning long into spring plus a convivial atmosphere makes for a cosy traditional pub that would be more at home in a rural town than Great Western Road. The countryside’s loss is Glasgow’s gain though, as there’s plenty to lure urbanites inside and keep them there. Prosecco by the glass? Check. Good guest ales and Anchor Steam plus Brooklyn Lager on tap? Check. Procuring a seat is the most difficult part of the Belle experience, especially for larger parties. But for lone rangers or those who don’t mind waiting patiently this is a venue that will reward in rich dividends.
The Ben Nevis 1147 Argyle Street, West End (Map 9B: D2, 25) 0141 576 5204, thebennevis. co.uk | No Kids
In almost wilful defiance of the current gastro regeneration of ‘the strip’, this long-standing Finnieston temple to whisky boasts arguably the shortest food menu in the city (pie and beans or bridie and beans). But it’s the single malt that draws the throngs of knowledgeable tourists, locals and students who keep it constantly standing-room-only in this small, street-corner bar. Staff are eager to recommend a dram from the vast selection, arranged library bookstyle on the precariously high shelves. You can drop big money on some of the rarer nips here; the well-chosen malt of the month (if you’re in luck, it might be the Laphroaig Select) is often the best introduction and is always a bargain at The List Eating & Drinking Guide 117