The Glasgow dining and drinking scene is ever growing, as proven by the simple number of noteworthy new restaurants, bars and cafes to have come on the scene just since the launch of Time Out Glasgow last autumn. Here’s a round-up of some of the best new openings of the last few months.
The Hug and Pint
Situated in the old premises of the Roxy 171/Liquid Ship, and still only soft-launched at time of writing (official opening will be later in June), The Hug and Pint (pictured above) is in many ways what the West End and arguably Glasgow at large has been crying out for for some years, ever since the nearby and very similarly-proportioned/spirited Captains Rest (RIP) shut down in 2012. That is, a shoebox-sized independent music venue and attendant hangout bar. Titled after an Arab Strap album, and founded by a reliable local team in Synergy Concerts’ Bryan Reynolds and Joe Rattray and Colin Campbell of The Squid and Whale, it can’t fail to be a winner. Gigs will take place in the roughly 100-capacity newly-refitted basement venue. Upstairs it’s a cooly and colorfully attired bar serving quality beers, and eventually a basic food menu (the kitchen isn’t fitted out yet, but expect pop-up offerings in the interim).
Pickled Ginger
Does the newest addition to the Finnieston food scene – opened in May – signal the start of the next fad in Glasgow dining? If cities like London and Berlin are any example, hipster-y Japanese (in particular ramen) diners are sure to be the next tide of cuisine to land here once the burger wave breaks. But Pickled Ginger is far more than just a ramen joint – they run the gamut of Japanese and east Asian food from sushi (prepared fresh in the kitchen) to dumplings, bento boxes, broths and various types of noodle and rice dishes. Drinks include Asian-inspired floral cocktails and Japanese whiskies and craft beers. It’s tiny – just a handful of very tight tables – and way out on the fringes of Finnieston (technically more like Anderston), but well worth a visit.
WEST on the Corner
Bavarian-style East End brewery and beer hall WEST comes, um, west with its stylish new corner bar-restaurant on Woodlands Road, taking up the old premises of salty boozer The Halt. For a few months hitherto used as a pop-up pub by WEST until they decided to make their residency there permanent, WEST on the Corner pretty much repeats the formula of their east end HQ – quality local-brewed beers and matching authentic German-inspired menu – but with a slightly more urban, cosmopolitan vibe (stripped brick walls and open kitchen ahoy). They’re open from breakfast (say "ja" to a Nürnberger sausage roll) through lunch and dinner until late, and the focus is overall a little more food-y, less beer-y than out east. Though don’t ever let that stop you dropping in just for a pint of signature beers St. Mungo, Hefeweizen or Munich Red.
Has Finnieston reached peak “small plates” and “mixed drinks”? Far from it if Porter & Rye is any measure, the latest addition to the Lebowski’s family (Kained Holdings’ by their formal name), which also includes nearby favourites Lebowskis (duh) and The Finnieston. A self-styled “game merchant”, it's safe to say you won’t find militant vegan Morrissey hogging one of this compact retro chic establishment’s few tables. Beef is dry-aged in a meat locker before diners very eyes, before becoming mouth-wateringly delicious steaks at point of adequate dehydration. Steaks which you may supplement, if you so desire, with small plates from pan-roasted Perthshire wood pigeon to free range Kilduncan Farm crispy duck egg, then wash-down with sophisticated Sazeracs and Manhattans.
Swedish Affär
Sverige has arrived in Glasgow, and no we don’t mean the big IKEA out at Braehead. Husband and wife run Princes Square café Swedish Affär does strong coffee, authentic open sandwiches (hello meatballs), cakes (hello prinsesstårta), bakes (hello kanelbullar) and other sweet and savoury treats from the land of blondeness and flat pack furniture. They also sell a selection of imported deli goods (hard bread, potato chips, cookies etc) to satisfy Swedophile locals and homesick ex-pats alike. Kind of like IKEA, actually.
The Honours
Glasgow’s pride still stings for its lack of a Michelin Star restaurant since Gordon Ramsay shut Amaryllis in 2003, but that might be about the change with the arrival of The Honours – the latest venture of multi Michelin-starred chef Martin Wishart. The sister restaurant of Wishart’s Edinburgh establishment of the same name is located in the vaulted-ceilinged basement of the Malmaison hotel (formerly St Jude’s Episcopal church, built in 1838). It’s flawlessly smart fine dining, with standouts from the menu including the 500g (as in half-a-kilo) Chateaubriand steak for two, prepared on one of Glasgow’s few Josper high-temperature charcoal grills. As you’d expect for a place with Michelin aspirations, it’s not cheap, but then neither is it prohibitively expensive – their prix fixe and “le weekend” menus offer great deals.
A steak and seafood house set in a historic setting (the 19th century former Hutcheson Hospital in the heart of the Merchant City), this place looks like one of those fancy European brasseries of yesteryear, and has been making a great name for itself since opening last autumn. Café bar The 158 can be found at street level, doing all from posh breakfasts to specialty cocktails. The main event is the appropriately-named Grand Brasserie upstairs. Immaculate attention to detail in the room’s restoration (you’ve never seen ornate cornicing quite like it) is matched by a menu ranging from 35 day dry-aged Scottish steaks to crustacean and seafood classics.
The Scullery
Finnieston, again, and more stripped brick walls and small plates (large plates available too). But The Scullery – opened last year by former Ubiquitous Chip manager Kathleen Sheridan – is no mere Johnny-come-lately, and brings its own stamp of quality to the neighbourhood from its choice corner spot just off the main Argyle Street drag on Claremont Street. Bright and inviting behind big floor-to-ceiling windows, it’s all about casual and comforting dining here. Look out for their honey and thyme baked camembert, steak and moules frîtes and burgers made from beef, pork or falafel as you’d like (also available with gluten-free buns, which is a nice touch).