For vegan grub and local music, 13th Note is certainly held as a fine establishment in Glasgow. Despite this, I'd only recently paid a visit for the first time.
My band and I had food here recently before a gig in the basement. Unfortunately, only the lunch menu was available as they'd had a particularly busy day. We weren't too fussed as the options available sounded great and we were all quick to spot something we liked the sound of. I went for the grilled halloumi (my favourite cheese of all the cheese!) with brinjal pickle and spinach salad on wholemeal toasted bread. We also ordered both rosemary and spicy chips to share. We especially wanted to try the chips as the menu stated that they were award-winning!
Sadly, we were all a little underwhelmed by the food. - The sandwiches weren't toasted, my halloumi and pickle combination just wasn't a strong pairing, and the halloumi filling was also a tad on the sparse side. We all agreed that the chips were disappointing too; the hot ones lacking real spice, and they weren't exactly the handcut style which the menu had promised. We just weren't as blown away as 'award-winning' would suggest. Service was friendly and fast but we did wish we'd perhaps gone elsewhere. The meal was no more than a convenience as we had the gig downstairs later that evening.
As a band, we do struggle to find gigs and venues to suit our style. 13th Note seems like a great place for musicians and music lovers alike as there seems to be genuine variety in the live music on offer. As part of a recent mini-festival during the Merchant City Festival, we featured on the final Americana-filled day. We were just a little bit worried when, descending down the stairs and into the basement, we were met with the kind of enthusiastic blaring rock that's ear-numbingly loud. Rock is ALWAYS awesome, of course, but we were anxious that the sound would be as crazy-loud for us and, worried by the sudden jarring of genres, we were apprehensive to follow such an act. Not to worry, it seemed that a band had pulled out and there was a space to be filled at the last moment, hence the brief alteration of sound. The sound man was totally on point and the volume returned to a comfortable level for us and our own sound. He mixed us real good. - Good sound man = happy band! We were happy and relieved and really enjoyed the acts that followed. Also, it's worth mentioning that James - the face of music at 13th Note - is just the most warm and welcoming character who is simply bonkers with overwhelming passion for the role. For us, it was only the music side of things that could, ultimately, redeem the 13th Note this time round.
You shouldn't pass up on 13th Note, not just yet. read more