Glasgow is becoming a great foodie city - especially for those who like big slabs of beef and trencherman portions of freshly caught seafood. Some of the newer restaurants in the Finnieston area are known for their hefty steaks and gargantuan Scottish lobsters .
But sooner or later everyone hankers for something lighter, more informal and a bit cheaper. These four eating establishments - a coffee shop, a tea room, a Vietnamese streetfood "canteen" and a small, modern restaurant - all fit the bill. And, more importantly, all of them are popular with the Glasgow locals.
None of them is likely to start collecting Michelin stars and AA rosettes any time soon, but all serve up freshly made food from good local ingredients at a fair price and in convenient locations. I've tried them all. Now see what you think.
From the moment you enter this tiny. storefront bistro on 16 Byres Road in Glasgow's hip West End, there's a casual, friendly vibe. Salvaged wooden tables, whitewashed brick walls and exposed beamed ceilings above an upstairs mezzanine make up the decor. Fairy lights twisted around bare branches fill the shopwindow, shielding the diners from the street view.
The menu combines tried and true Scottish ingredients - beef, lamb, fish - with the kind of herbs and vegetables that may be run of the mill in London and New York but seem to be considered daring and experimental in Glasgow - fennel and figs with pomegranate, smoked celeriac puree, roast breast of duck in an elderflower and soy dressing. There's also at least one starter and one main suitable for vegetarians.
Everything we ate had a bright, fresh taste though the presentation seemed a little bit haphazard (like the crab salad pictured here) and the menu slightly unbalanced. My dinner companion struggled manfully (womanfully?) through her heavy arancini starter (deep fried, truffle scented rice balls with a cheesy center), while my crab salad was barely dressed and a bit like confetti on a plate. My main of pan fried halibut with asparagus, kale and samphire featured a beautifully cooked piece of fish.
Prices are moderate and the dishes we tried were not brilliant but were satisfying and nice. Sometimes, nice is really just what you want.
Everybody seems to love the Hanoi Bike Shop, Glasgow's first Vietnamese restaurant, tucked away in a kind of ramshackle mews house on Ruthven Lane off Byres Road. I'll be honest - I probably ordered the wrong dishes from the enormous menu of street food specialities because I was less than impressed.
My memories of Vietnamese food date from when the first refugees began arriving in Boston in the 1970s and opened restaurants serving their unique cuisine - a kind of fusion of Chinese and French food with Thai heat. The dishes were not just hot, they were rich with the meaty flavours of shitake mushrooms, fragrant with garlic and onions. And, oh yes, hot.
The philosophy behind the seasonings at the Hanoi Bike Shop are meant to reflect the different tastes of North and South Vietnam. Diners are presented with an array of condiments (all of them variations on chili oil and hot sauce) and invited to season their dishes to suit their own taste.
My rice paper rolls arrived under a forest of coriander and mint. I am resigned to picking coriander out of my food everywhere. It is my cross to bear. But without the addition of the hot sauces, my rolls were just damp, flabby cylinders of cold, bland noodles. My main, a bowl of Pho Nan - oyster, shitake and wood ear mushrooms in a vegetable broth -Â was similarly bland.
And the rather unpleasant smell of tofu making (they make their own) permeated everything.
So why, I hear you ask, have I included this place in my list of recommendations? Well, the prices are modest and everything is undoubtedly fresh and crunchy. And, as I said to begin with, everyone in Glasgow - punters and critics alike - seems to love it. Certainly the diners at all the lively tables around me were tucking in with gusto. If you are a fan of very hot sauces and buckets full of fresh coriander, you will probably love it too.
I'm going to be straight with you. The Willow Tearooms is something of a tourist attraction. In fact, on their website they even boast of being one of the biggest tourist attractions in Glasgow. Go there anyway.
Judging from the shopping bags and and the overheard conversations around me, plenty of locals go there too. And so should you - especially if you are interested in the work of architect and designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh.
In 1901, Mackintosh, who was already well established as an Art Nouveau designer (and who is to Glasgow what Gaudi is to Barcelona) was given full control of the redesign of 217 Sauchiehall Street. The owner, Kate Cranston commissioned him to redesign the building inside and out - exteriors, furnishings and fittings - down to the cutlery and teacups.
Working for Miss Cranston, Mackintosh experimented with and developed much of what is now known as the Glasgow Style.
You can see more examples of his work at the Kelvingrove Museum but, until his masterpiece, the Glasgow School of Art reopens in 2017 (it was badly damaged by fire in 2014), this is the closest you can get to being inside a Charles Rennie Mackintosh work of art.
The menu is extensive - with more choice than you might expect in a tea room. There are sandwiches and salads, filled jacket potatoes (baked potatoes), a few Scottish specialities - smoked salmon, rarebit, haggis with neeps and tatties, Arbroath Smokies with cloutie dumplings - and a few surprises such as toasted brie and grape sandwich.
Food is reasonably priced and served in generous portions. I just stopped in for a late afternoon snack of tea (from a selection of 29 black, green, red, white, herbal and fruit teas) and pie. My toffee apple tart was a juicy apple crumble topped with a centimeter thick layer of soft toffee fudge and it was truly amazing. The huge, sweet slab, together with a pot of Lapsang Souchong tea came to the princely sum of £6.50. Click here to see for yourself.
This is a newcomer to Glasgow's growing independent coffee shop scene. When I visited in May 2015 it had only been open a few months but was already getting positive word of mouth from students at the Glasgow School of Art (a three minute walk and a chance to learn more about Charles Rennie Mackintosh and see some of his work). It's also only about three minutes away from The Tenement House, a museum of early 20th century Glasgow life managed by the National Trust for Scotland.
So, after you've filled up on Glasgow history and culture, you can fill up at Gesso on very good coffee and a big variety of cakes, rather original sandwiches (peri peri chicken in tomato foccaccia) and other savory dishes. They serve the currently trendy Dear Green coffee, roasted and blended in Glasgow and named, I was surprised to discover, after Glasgow: the meaning of Glasgow in Scots Gaelic is the dear green place.
Seating is in the front of the cafe and along a narrower space beside the counter. In the back, the place opens out into a "pop-up" space that's used for a variety of events and activities. When I visited, a photographic exhibition of work by the art school students was on. There were book shelves with volumes of art books and children's books to browse over coffee.
All in all, quite a relaxed space with reasonably priced snacks. My cafe latte and lemon drizzle cake set me back £5.80. Food ordered at the counter is brought to your table. If I had any complaint it was the nonchalance of the counter staff. Two were working when I visited and the place was quiet but no one seemed in much of a hurry to take my order. New place, growing pains, training issues - take the trouble to visit anyway if the need for "coffee and..." overtakes you when you're in this part of town.
But sooner or later everyone hankers for something lighter, more informal and a bit cheaper. These four eating establishments - a coffee shop, a tea room, a Vietnamese streetfood "canteen" and a small, modern restaurant - all fit the bill. And, more importantly, all of them are popular with the Glasgow locals.
None of them is likely to start collecting Michelin stars and AA rosettes any time soon, but all serve up freshly made food from good local ingredients at a fair price and in convenient locations. I've tried them all. Now see what you think.
1. Number 16 - Friendly, Modern Scottish
From the moment you enter this tiny. storefront bistro on 16 Byres Road in Glasgow's hip West End, there's a casual, friendly vibe. Salvaged wooden tables, whitewashed brick walls and exposed beamed ceilings above an upstairs mezzanine make up the decor. Fairy lights twisted around bare branches fill the shopwindow, shielding the diners from the street view.
The menu combines tried and true Scottish ingredients - beef, lamb, fish - with the kind of herbs and vegetables that may be run of the mill in London and New York but seem to be considered daring and experimental in Glasgow - fennel and figs with pomegranate, smoked celeriac puree, roast breast of duck in an elderflower and soy dressing. There's also at least one starter and one main suitable for vegetarians.
Everything we ate had a bright, fresh taste though the presentation seemed a little bit haphazard (like the crab salad pictured here) and the menu slightly unbalanced. My dinner companion struggled manfully (womanfully?) through her heavy arancini starter (deep fried, truffle scented rice balls with a cheesy center), while my crab salad was barely dressed and a bit like confetti on a plate. My main of pan fried halibut with asparagus, kale and samphire featured a beautifully cooked piece of fish.
Prices are moderate and the dishes we tried were not brilliant but were satisfying and nice. Sometimes, nice is really just what you want.
Number 16 Essentials
- Where: 16 Byres Road, Glasgow G11 5JY
- Hours:Lunch Mon-Sat noon to 2:30pm, Sun 1 to 2:30pm; Dinner Mon-Sat 5:30-9pm. Sun 5:30 to 8:30pm
- Booking: This is a very small restaurant so booking for both lunch and dinner is probably essential. Book through their website or telephone +44 (0)141 339 2544
2. Hanoi Bike Shop - Vietnamese Street Food Canteen
Everybody seems to love the Hanoi Bike Shop, Glasgow's first Vietnamese restaurant, tucked away in a kind of ramshackle mews house on Ruthven Lane off Byres Road. I'll be honest - I probably ordered the wrong dishes from the enormous menu of street food specialities because I was less than impressed.
My memories of Vietnamese food date from when the first refugees began arriving in Boston in the 1970s and opened restaurants serving their unique cuisine - a kind of fusion of Chinese and French food with Thai heat. The dishes were not just hot, they were rich with the meaty flavours of shitake mushrooms, fragrant with garlic and onions. And, oh yes, hot.
The philosophy behind the seasonings at the Hanoi Bike Shop are meant to reflect the different tastes of North and South Vietnam. Diners are presented with an array of condiments (all of them variations on chili oil and hot sauce) and invited to season their dishes to suit their own taste.
My rice paper rolls arrived under a forest of coriander and mint. I am resigned to picking coriander out of my food everywhere. It is my cross to bear. But without the addition of the hot sauces, my rolls were just damp, flabby cylinders of cold, bland noodles. My main, a bowl of Pho Nan - oyster, shitake and wood ear mushrooms in a vegetable broth -Â was similarly bland.
And the rather unpleasant smell of tofu making (they make their own) permeated everything.
So why, I hear you ask, have I included this place in my list of recommendations? Well, the prices are modest and everything is undoubtedly fresh and crunchy. And, as I said to begin with, everyone in Glasgow - punters and critics alike - seems to love it. Certainly the diners at all the lively tables around me were tucking in with gusto. If you are a fan of very hot sauces and buckets full of fresh coriander, you will probably love it too.
Hanoi Bike Shop Essentials:
- Where: 8 Ruthven Lane, Glasgow G12 9BG (Opposite Hillhead Subway)
- Hours: Mon - Wed noon to 11pm, Thurs - Fri noon to 12:30am, Sat 11am to 12:30am, Sun 11am to 11pm
- Booking: Another smallish restaurant so booking is probably a good idea. Telephone +44 (0)141 334 7165
3. The Willow Tea Rooms - A Step Back in Time
I'm going to be straight with you. The Willow Tearooms is something of a tourist attraction. In fact, on their website they even boast of being one of the biggest tourist attractions in Glasgow. Go there anyway.
Judging from the shopping bags and and the overheard conversations around me, plenty of locals go there too. And so should you - especially if you are interested in the work of architect and designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh.
In 1901, Mackintosh, who was already well established as an Art Nouveau designer (and who is to Glasgow what Gaudi is to Barcelona) was given full control of the redesign of 217 Sauchiehall Street. The owner, Kate Cranston commissioned him to redesign the building inside and out - exteriors, furnishings and fittings - down to the cutlery and teacups.
Working for Miss Cranston, Mackintosh experimented with and developed much of what is now known as the Glasgow Style.
You can see more examples of his work at the Kelvingrove Museum but, until his masterpiece, the Glasgow School of Art reopens in 2017 (it was badly damaged by fire in 2014), this is the closest you can get to being inside a Charles Rennie Mackintosh work of art.
Insider Tip - The skylit and bright mezzanine at Sauchiehall Street, is a restoration of Mackintosh's original design. If you can, get a table in the Room Deluxe on the next floor up. This was the original Ladies Tea Room, decorated in lavender and silver. In its day, women would pay an extra penny to dine here. It is, today, almost entirely original. Go up another floor to what was the Billiards Room. There's a small museum and a pair of Mackintosh's original leaded stained glass Art Nouveau doors.
And Don't Forget the Food
The menu is extensive - with more choice than you might expect in a tea room. There are sandwiches and salads, filled jacket potatoes (baked potatoes), a few Scottish specialities - smoked salmon, rarebit, haggis with neeps and tatties, Arbroath Smokies with cloutie dumplings - and a few surprises such as toasted brie and grape sandwich.
Food is reasonably priced and served in generous portions. I just stopped in for a late afternoon snack of tea (from a selection of 29 black, green, red, white, herbal and fruit teas) and pie. My toffee apple tart was a juicy apple crumble topped with a centimeter thick layer of soft toffee fudge and it was truly amazing. The huge, sweet slab, together with a pot of Lapsang Souchong tea came to the princely sum of £6.50. Click here to see for yourself.
The Willow Tea Rooms Essentials
- Where: 217 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow G2 3EX. There are also branches at 97 Buchanan Street and in Balloch at Loch Lomond Shores.
- Hours: Mon - Sat 9am to 5pm, Sun and Bank Holidays 11am to 5pm.
- Booking: Booking is available online or telephone +44 (0)141 332 0521
4. Gesso Tea and Coffee Lounge - Independent Coffee Shop and Gallery
This is a newcomer to Glasgow's growing independent coffee shop scene. When I visited in May 2015 it had only been open a few months but was already getting positive word of mouth from students at the Glasgow School of Art (a three minute walk and a chance to learn more about Charles Rennie Mackintosh and see some of his work). It's also only about three minutes away from The Tenement House, a museum of early 20th century Glasgow life managed by the National Trust for Scotland.
So, after you've filled up on Glasgow history and culture, you can fill up at Gesso on very good coffee and a big variety of cakes, rather original sandwiches (peri peri chicken in tomato foccaccia) and other savory dishes. They serve the currently trendy Dear Green coffee, roasted and blended in Glasgow and named, I was surprised to discover, after Glasgow: the meaning of Glasgow in Scots Gaelic is the dear green place.
Seating is in the front of the cafe and along a narrower space beside the counter. In the back, the place opens out into a "pop-up" space that's used for a variety of events and activities. When I visited, a photographic exhibition of work by the art school students was on. There were book shelves with volumes of art books and children's books to browse over coffee.
All in all, quite a relaxed space with reasonably priced snacks. My cafe latte and lemon drizzle cake set me back £5.80. Food ordered at the counter is brought to your table. If I had any complaint it was the nonchalance of the counter staff. Two were working when I visited and the place was quiet but no one seemed in much of a hurry to take my order. New place, growing pains, training issues - take the trouble to visit anyway if the need for "coffee and..." overtakes you when you're in this part of town.
Gesso Tea and Coffee Lounge Essentials
- Where: 20-22 Georges Road, Glasgow G3 6UJ. This is a sort of borderlands district on the edge of the City Center but not quite Finnieston or the West End. Some people also call it Charing Cross or Woodlands - a sign that this is still a developing part of town.
- Hours: Mon - Fri 7:30am to 8pm, Sat 8:30 to 10pm, Sun 9am to 8pm.
- Booking: Telephone booking is available but, unless you are with a very large party, it doesn't really seem necessary +44 (0)141 258 3540