Sleazy rock? Check! Dirty blues? Check! I think I'm going to like it…read more Now this was a joint I'd never heard of and only came into contact through a friends wee birthday night out. Now we're not talking heavy full pedal to metal kinda night as the participants and birthday man himself had been doing a 24 hour DJ charity gig around Glasgow the day before. So this was a Sunday night just chillin' and grabbing a few beers kinda night listening to all them dirty dirty blues. Da da da da dum! Oh and talking a whole lotta random nonsence. Da da da da dum! At the entrance it spilt into two, venue to left and the bar to the right, here I am stuck in middle..... er em. Sorry! Anyhoo we had a booth which looked like it could be closed to make a private party area. Steady! It was an all round really good night, the decor was non too shabby for a rock stylee venue with fancy wall paper and chandeliers, one girl actually blended into the wall with the top she was wearing. Nice! Drinks what you'd kinda expect to pay in the city centre but overall a fab night out and wouldn't mind swinging by again for some more of them dirty blues. Da da da da dum! Did I mention I saw The Beatles playing in the venue when we left? Very surreal!

With an hour to kill before dinner, I needed a cocktail. Or two. And some chips. Thankfully Slouch…read morehas all these things on the menu PLUS seating so that meant it was the perfect stop for Saturday afternoon drinks. My first cocktail was the Personality Crisis £5.95. Made from "Smirnoff Green Apple Vodka & Xante Pear Cognac, shaken with lemons and apple juice. Finished with a splash of lemonade and a drizzle of grenadine, served in a chilled wine glass." There's no denying this cocktail had an apple zing to it - quite sweet but not too over the top and pretty easy drinking. I'd ordered the twice cooked fries (£2.95) and they arrived pretty quickly and were piping hot. They weren't amazing fries, a little greasy but overall they were pretty decent and we demolished them without any trouble. I then opted to get into a second cocktail - it was a Saturday afternoon, after all. The Black Magic Woman (£6.50) is an espresso martini with "Illy Espresso, Smirnoff Red, Patron XO & brown sugar shaken over ice, strained into a martini glass and dusted with chocolate." Woah. This was GOOD. I mean, really good. A bit addictive, even. Thankfully I wouldn't be able to tolerate two espresso martinis so that wasn't really an option. I loved the chocolate dusting and it was one of the best espresso martinis I've ever had. I'd even go so far as to say I would go back to Slouch just for this cocktail, it was that good.

Best breakfast in Scotland!! The bacon eggs benedict are delicious! Handmade hollandais sauce over…read moreperfectly poached eggs with the most brilliant orange yolks and bacon that was meaty and delicious. Put that all on a piece of crispy sourdough and you have heaven on a plate!! There are large front windows that allow sunlight to steam in quite gloriously and the staff were attentive and super friendly!! Meeting the owner, Barry, was a real treat. He came to our table to say hello, realized we were American and proceeded to provide three lists of places to go on the west side, City center and the east side!! His recommendations were great!! We were able to see so many places and we got a real taste of Glasgow. We loved it!!

The Kelvingrove Cafe is a friendly, welcoming spot in laid-back Kelvingrove, and a fine place to…read morestop for lunch on a Sunday afternoon. A popular brunch spot, the café draws a crowd; we got seated and got our orders in quick: a veggie Scottish breakfast for my wife and Eggs Royale for me. That Scottish breakfast of egg + toast + beans + halloumi + veggie haggis + tattie scone was hearty but overcooked, while the Eggs Royale (toast topped with smoked Salmon + poached eggs + hollandaise) was prepped well

Great experience all around. I met a friend there for the Tuesday night steak versus burger deal…read more Butchershop is a beautiful restaurant inside, with a fantastic atmosphere in trendy Finnieston. I was seated promptly and the servers were very nice. They were helpful without hovering. We each got the steak and fries, and added on a side salad and one of the fancy toppers (blue cheese). My friend also had the peppercorn sauce. My friend had a delicious mocktail as well - there were a bunch of nonalcoholic drinks that looked good. Our steaks were fabulous! And the salad was delicious and the fries were yummy and you get my drift - everything was awesome. And such a great deal on Tuesday night. We didn't end up ordering the wine, but the people around us seemed really happy with their meals and drinks as well. Definitely a good choice on my informal tour of food in Glasgow!

So delicious. I got the filet with mash and the peppercorn sauce- STILL thinking about it!…read more Also Max was an incredible waiter.. prompt and gave great recommendations Excited to check out his band - The Zebecks!

I decided to go for a walk through Kelvingrove Park and then explore dining options on Gibson…read moreStreet in Glasgow on Wednesday 17 July 2019. After looking at a couple of posted menus I decided to go with The Left Bank. I liked the name, it reminded me of the bank of a river and fluvial deposits that given enough time can form sandstones with beautiful internal layering. Upon arrival, a few minutes before 5 p.m., there were a few people in the restaurant area and the waiter kept busy with the glasses at the bar. I sat towards the back of the restaurant, kind of a tucked-in place, and looked over the menu. I went with the 8 ounce sirloin steak with pepper sauce, which came with Rosemary chips (fries), grilled tomatoes and mushrooms. The wait after placing the order was about 15 minutes. Everything was well cooked and seasoned and the waiter friendly in his interactions. I found the meal to be very tasty and filling. The decor was rustic and ambiance cool and laid back.

Charming little restaurant with fabulous service and delicious food- I always try the soup and they…read moremake wonderful soups(vegan using coconut milk I'm assuming) and the bread is to die for. Came in after walking the neighborhood and tried their elderflower cucumber spritz and was refreshed. Just loved this place.

Dukes is a fab chilled out neighbourhood bar - compact and cosy, with a great range of spirits…read more(including my favourite tequila liqueur Cazcabel honey, mmm so good) and beers (my choices - Joker IPA on tap and bottled Punk IPA), and a warm welcome and friendly chat from bar staff. It's tucked behind the main drag of Dumbarton Road so tends to be a tad less busy than other bars in the area which means you can usually quite easily grab a table here. There are board games if you fancy settling in for a bit (though Monopoly would be a brave choice unless you plan to be here for hours and endure arguments with your drinking pals...). Punk legends The Clash once played an impromptu gig here, and you'll see their picture and a plaque marking the occasion proudly displayed on the wall. For music/entertainment check out open mic night on Wednesdays and live jazz music on Thursday evenings.

Ahh, Dukes. Everyone I spoke to about this area of town said "You gotta try Dukes!" and I was all…read morelike "I'm old, I used to go to Dukes before it changed and then changed back" and they were all "Only saying, dude" and I was all "I know!" And then my head hurt so I stopped listening to the voices in my head for a while. In any case, Dukes is good. They have a wide range of lager and beery goodness on tap, the decor is light and bright, and they even have a retro arcade machine that would eat up any spare change I had. I was informed that the food is awesome, should you so desire to partake of it, and I should have tried a pie. Them pesky voices in my head again... It's one of those hip wee places that sits a street or so off the beaten track. If Brewdog is full of hipsters in beards and lensless glasses, with their skinny jeans and cardigans, then head up here. They have their own brand of hipsters, but most importantly, they have a wee bit of soul and some great staff to pass the time with. I do miss the old pinboard and cork walls, if I'm being honest, but then again, I'm old and everything was better years ago, it's a stone cold fact.

Great place. Friendly staff and top Notch equipment. Large…read morespacious rooms with well lit and an fairly nice acoustics with some really great mixing desks with a powerful EQing function.

I've started frequenting this rehearsal space for 3 hours every Tuesday night, and I do really like…read moreit! I might as well get my only complaint out of the way - the loos are a bit gross, although I did find one the other week a bit further into the studio which was a bit nicer. But considering the amount of people using the place on a daily basis, it definitely could be worse. The rooms have a good set-up, with everything you could possibly need to practice, even if you're a 7-piece like my band which includes keyboard, accordion and saxophone! The staff running the place are fab and always make sure you've got everything you need and if the temperature, etc. in the room is ok. As well as making sure everyone gets in and out of the rooms at the right time. Besides that, they just let you get on with it which is ideal. There are vending machines with your usual snacky foods and drinks (very helpful when you're rehearsing from 9pm-midnight and chocolate/some form of energy is needed) as well as a hot drink machine which I've yet to use, but given its popularity with the rest of my bandmates I'm gonna guess that it's at least decent! (Maybe you'll get an update when I finally try the coffee/hot chocolate!) I do believe it's about £30 for 3 hours which, for the quality of the premises and everything, seems really decent! (I don't know the exact figure, we pay £4 each a week and as mentioned, there are 7 of us so I'm guessing it's about that.) I hear from more experienced band-type musicians that it is the rehearsal space of choice (I used to play in a concert band and we got to rehearse in a school for free, so I don't really have any previously knowledge in this area) so yep, highly recommend it!!

Vodka Wodka is, sad to say, one of the less interesting bars on Ashton Lane. Obviously, from the…read morename, it's all about the cocktails. To be fair, it does do these fairly well, although they mostly offer the super-sugary kind. If you like mojitos then you should definitely come in to try those. They also offer cheap lunch deals, things like a beer and a burger. However, a lot of places offer cheap lunch deals near the university and this one doesn't stand out particularly. It's fine but it's nothing special. The major advantage Vodka Wodka has is the beer garden. Sure, you can probably only use it about five days a year in Glasgow, but on those five days all of Glasgow's beer gardens will fill up very quickly. This one seems to be slightly less well known and has lots of seating, as well as heating lamps for when it gets a bit chillier. So, it's not the best bar in the West End but it's not the worst either, and who doesn't find mojitos in a beer garden appealing now and then?

After working for a small ice cream parlour for several weeks, my colleagues and I decided to…read moreeventually "break me in" properly with a good ol' fashioned night of alcoholic beverages. As VW is situated on Ashton lane, squeezed between Brel and Jinty's, we felt it was close enough to hit straight after work. 12 of us piled into the small bar shortly after 7pm, hiding ourselves in the furthest away corner from the bar as to not disturb too many people (to say my colleagues can be quite loud is a partial understatement). We grabbed the cocktail menu and began searching on our drinks of choice, before eventually deciding on two pitchers of "Emily Emily Emily" - an amazing pink drink, with plenty of alcohol. At the bar, we were offered witty banter, and a mini show by the resident bar flaring supervisor. Well, the girls were sold...! As a group, we decided that pitchers were the way forward, so we ordered at least one of each of the different pitchers. An extremely smart move. Now, before I go on, I must state here, that as an avid cocktail fan, Vodka Wodka make the most FANTASTIC Kamikazee pitchers. Seriously. I am yet to find a better Kamikazee in Glasgow. Fact. Or a Jolly Rancher (yes, it really does taste like Jolly Ranchers) In fact, no where else in Glasgow offer's such a cocktail. Anyway, to return to the VW experience. After 10pm, Ashton lane is always relatively busy, however, this was a Sunday night (very daring!) and I was not expecting a raucous evening - how wrong I could have been! Vodka Wodka was packed, but it never took more than 5 minutes to get served at the bar - amazing! The bar staff were cool and collected - to say the least, they know their stuff! PR staff for other venues were few and far between (no awful venues scrounging for the dregs of society here, thank you!). At 11pm the girls and I decided it was time to move upwards and onwards - town. We had one more shot at the bar, whilst being entertained by the bar staff, once again, (he earned himself a mighty tip!). I was almost sad to leave the bar - with lovely people, great music, and amazing drinks, it seemed a waste to leave before closing time. The chat in the taxis was mostly about the bar staff however, it soon turned to our favourite drinks of the evening, and when we were next going back (waaaay!). In summary: Vodka Wodka does well to shake off the competition from the surrounding G1 bars - a lovely, small, student-friendly bar, with great people, music and staff, oh, and not to mention, drinks selection (!). A definite must if you're in the West End. Well done Vodka Wodka, we'll be back!

How come I hadn't been before? I had noticed many times when driving by but I think my mind had put…read moreit into the 'old man's pub' category. This place was suggested by a friend but had a good tip to go to the back bar instead. I got there about 5pm on a Friday but unfortunately the upstairs back bar wasn't opened yet. So instead I hung out with the old guys until my friend turned up. Oh the banter!!! My old man bar instinct was partly right and the front bar was mostly filled with them older men folk generation. After a while the back bar opened and we were the first in. I also ordered food, as I was pure starving. It wasn't a big selection as they don't have a kitchen. I noticed a microwave so presumed it was cooked in there. I didn't care and the mac and cheese I had tasted delicious. The back bar unfortunately doesn't have a great range of drinks, it reminds me a bit of a bowling club. Still plenty but I blame me getting used to all these fancy town/West End drinks. There's also a juke box so I certainly got some banging tunes on. The place soon filed up with lots of younger folk. I remember one guy coming and realising this is where all the young kids hang out left pretty quickly. Oh man there was this one guy who really looked as if he should have been downstairs. He had a short sleeve smart shirt on tucked into his beige chinos. We felt a wee bit uncomfortable as he sat at the bar himself but he probably was just people watching and I think especially us lassies. Eep! Och he was harmless, just a tad weird. I would certainly go back and after trying some alternative drinks I think I'll stick with a Baileys at £1.95. Nice!

Urgh! I love the Doublet! I don't know why I've not reviewed it before…read more Well, actually, I have my suspicions. I've only ever been here three times during subcrawls. And seeing as this is one of the final stops, my memory can be a little hazy. So here's a short list of why the Doublet is brilliant: - It's an old man kind of pub with a tinge of hipster - The staff are really friendly - There's loads of seats - You can sit outside - It's charming and cosy - It's now run by the same folk who do Saramago at the CCA which is another fav of mine and I'm glad they've not turned it into a burger bar So yeh, the Doublet is great and I'm determined to get along for a proper visit on a non-subcrawl occasion!

This is a great club,Billy Woods is the disco dj of the city centre,it's a club like you never seen…read morebefore,ticket 7 early burds,drinks cheep and popple are fantastic 11pm to 4 am sheer disco woop

The concept is that of a speakeasy, and in traditional prohibition style, entry is via a pawnbroker…read moreshop frontage, with no indication of the drinking den that lies within (well other than the smokers loitering outside). I visited on a Thursday night and it seemed pretty damn cool. There's a bar with booths upstairs and a club lounge that is decked out like a dance hall downstairs. The night we were there the vibe was dance tunes upstairs and reggae night downstairs. There is something different every night, suspect nothing too mainstream. A good mix of people were in attendance. Students through to oldies. Loved the decor - unique in Glasgow. Especially loved the antique sweeping marble staircase leading to the dancehall. Not sure what this was before the club but it's a stunning building that the owners have shown off to its full potential.

Shocking service from two female bar staff at this bar. They are rude, unfriendly and think it is…read moreok to shout and swear at customers when they point out they have got an order wrong. I will never be back and I would not recommend this bar to anyone. Their are plenty of nicer bars which are cheaper and friendlier in the area. Avoid at all cost.

They've undoubtedly one of the city's best selections of whisky, with innumerable bottles towering…read moreover the bar like its mountain namesake in the Highlands. If whisky isn't your thing, they've few decent beers on draught and wines/spirits galore. It made for an interesting place to go for a drink towards the end of an evening, with the bar made with what looked like reclaimed materials and exposed stone everywhere. The most bizarre element was finding a taxidermied bird encased in the toilet door - whether this was supposed to help signify ladies or gents I don't know; either way I apparently went in the wrong loo...twice. Oops. What really made the evening though was the motley crew of musicians sat round one of the tables, who burst into a folksy ditty and you immediately felt the traditional Scottish factor massively increase - whether this is a regular thing or a one off I'm not sure, but it was a charming spectacle.