William W.

Americans visiting Glasgow, pay attention to this review!!! Yup, this is the real deal! Take it from an American family from the Southeastern U.S., a region renowned for its cuisine. We have very high standards and Bloc is the first American restaurant in the UK to meet them! We had just arrived in Glasgow and were starving! By this point, 3 weeks into our UK tour, we had unfortunately become accustomed to restaurants purporting to serve American food, only to be sadly disappointed. But with these high Yelp ratings, the many blocks we walked to Bloc would hopefully pay off. And they did! Thank heavens for Yelp!!! Imagine my surprise when the menu contained an entire poutine section, my second favorite Canadian dish! The shocker was that the poutine was actually better than what I've had in Montreal! I went with the Vladimir Poutine (brilliant pun), a superb side dish of french fries with Scottish aged cheddar and a stupendous peppercorn sauce! Amazing!!! I custom designed a burger with tender bacon, a spectacular quality blue cheese, and caramelized onions on something similar to a brioche bun. Fantastic! The rest of my family was polishing off chicken fingers. Yes, American approved chicken fingers! If you're in the mood for chicken and you can hit up Bloc on a Thursday, that's what they call Kentucky Day. Every day of the week has a special theme, and Thursday has chicken fingers!!! Why Kentucky Day? Tennessee and Texas are better known states for fried chicken than Kentucky. But of course Kentucky Fried Chicken probably serves as the inspiration, since that's what Europeans know about our fried chicken. That and those disgusting fake Chicken McNuggets at McDonald's. As Americans, we know that KFC and McDonald's are actually our worst chicken, and that independent locally-owned chicken joints are the bomb. But who cares what they name it. The bottom line is that Bloc's chicken is legit! It's tender inside and crispy outside, just like it's supposed to be. The batter could use a little more flavor (paprika, cayenne, mustard powder) to be 100% American, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with Bloc's take on chicken! Americans, you'll be impressed!!!

Elizabeth F.

Someone mentioned burgers and I was like. Aye! Rob K. kindly organised a wee cheeky UYE at Bloc+ for burgers, by the way I have no idea what the '+' stands for. I checked that menu oot and decided to go durty. Oh yeah! I ordered the Durty Burger and asked for it to be extra durty. Just because I can not because it actually adds anything else to it. While we waited we enjoyed the atmosphere and banter within the venue. I have been to Bloc+ many times and also for gigs. I swear it's unbelievable that they can fit a band in there and fans too. I've witnessed, I've heard and I've been in that mosh pit and danced my kitten heels off. Definitely a good night out and there's some pretty awesome local bands out there in oor fine city. Back to that durty durty burger. Well, I chomped my chops round that bad boy and it was absolutely delicious. Unfortunately I was defeated, I couldn't finish it, there was so much beef, so much garnish, Result = it was too durty for me. Mind you I wouldn't say no to more beef on another occasion. Maybe try one of their other creations from the menu. Overall it was a fab wee night out and thanks to Rob K for pulling this together, even though he was poorly. You did us proud!

Pim R.

I first heard about their £5 steak Wednesday last week so I absolutely had to go at my next available Wednesday evening. I called to try reserve a table only to find they didn't take bookings. That's fair enough. Luckily tables were available when I arrived at 8pm. A lovely guy comes up and says I can sit at whichever table I like. I chose to sit up on the platform bit on the left. I order a pint of Staropramen and wait for my partner to arrive. He arrives shortly after and his drinks order is taken and our food. We both order steak, obviously. I couldn't help myself and got poutine fries (extra £2) and caramelised onions (extra £1). We were told they had run out of tomato and mushroom, luckily for us we're not the biggest of fans (but I'll eat them anyway). The food arrived fairly quickly which was good for me because I was starving! My plate is just full of food I didn't know where to begin. For £5 the steak was awesome. I think the cooks are incredibly skilled at cooking thin steaks just right. The fries were crispy and tasty. Onions great. Poutine was interesting. I wasn't actually the biggest fan of the blocks of what I think was cheddar cheese. They didn't melt and it was kinda weird. Next time I will opt for my steak without the poutine as it actually was a bit too much for me taste-wise. I still enjoy poutine and will have it separately. As we were finishing up the band that were playing had started their sound check so it suddenly got very loud. Good timing for us as we were heading out anyway. From what I've heard, the other food specials at bloc are really really good. I'm so keen for their pasta Monday and burger Tuesdays. I will be back to try them! For anyone looking for a decent steak on a budget, bloc on a Wednesday is the place to go!

Excellent burger. I got the Durty Burger. The brown sauce on it was exceptional. Great ambience also. Fun place, great service, even better food. Highly recommend. I'm from Idaho, I like burgers!

Graeme H.

Back again for the £3 burger deal on a Tuesday, and it proves that Bloc is still amazing. For £3 you get an amazingly good burger and a decent amount of chips. You have to make sure that you ask for the steak burger, as all of the other burgers on the menu are full price. It says a lot that the cheapest thing on the menu tasted as good, if not better than the competition. I think this might be my favorite burger place in Glasgow, and one of the few that I would be genuinely excited about going to.

Lynne M.

We decided to pop in to Bloc+ for a quick drink but then after seeing some of the food passing our table we couldn't resist staying for lunch. I decided to go for the Vladimir Poutine which consists of fries, cheese and peppercorn sauce. Don't knock it until you try it, it looks messy but tastes amazing. My partner opted for the rib special, a rack of ribs, fries and slaw. The coating on the ribs was delicious and overall it was really good value for money. I was really impressed by the menu choice especially the vegetarian and vegan options as they were much more interesting than the usual selection. We will definitely be back as the staff were super friendly, the food was tasty and they sell Brewdog beer on tap.

Martin R.

Bloc is a fantastic wee music basement bar tucked away on the corner of Bath and Wellington streets. This bar is awesome for a multitude of reasons; first of all the amazing food, particularly the burgers, devised and created by The Mad Chef - read about the Durty Burger in other folks reviews, it's epic! Keeping to the food theme, after the main kitchen service ends, pizza is available all night, yay pizza! So what else is cool about Bloc? Free gigs most nights from 9am that's what. And DJs at the weekends. Beer-wise, Anchor Steam, Samual Adams and Brewdog Punk IPA are on tap, so if you love hoppy IPA craft beer you're in luck. With a great laid back atmosphere, principled and passionate ownership, and super LGBT friendly, this city centre bar is a spot on.

Gordon M.

3rd time a charm? If I was to write this review after my first visit to Bloc+ I would be pondering a 4 or 5 star writeup. After my most recent second visit I'm wary... So let's start with the good stuff, the burgers. Ohhh my word they are good, my first experience was with the Durty Burger which I made even durtier by adding caramelised onions (side note, no point as they were lost in amongst the slaw and general messiness of the burger). It was delicious, the patty a juicy tasty thick slab, and everything else worked really well to make this a mouthwatering, delicious mess. Slight complaint about the bun not quite lasting up to the task but it held together very well in the onslaught of burger juice and sauces! The accompanying fries are fine, but I'd actually prefer to have the choice to order them, they don't add much other than bulk. So, first visit a good one and thankfully the second visit started in a similar vein. I like the vibe of the place, the staff are friendly and efficient, helpful when asked, and it's a nice relaxed, low-key kinda place. But. I like hot and spicy food a lot, so for my second visit I tried the Jerk Brisket, with a side of Irn-Bru Pulled Pork to sample. I was glad of that side dish (which was weirdly wonderfully tasty) as the Jerk sauce and spices were overwhelming the taste of the brisket so much, and were so sharp that I couldn't finish the dish. I managed about a third of the brisket and gave up. I like spicy food but I still need to be able to taste the food, this seemed to be all about the heat of the dish. Still, I was trying it to see what it was like so next time I go I won't have it. Simple. Right? Well that was until our server asked how our meal was and I told her that, in all honesty, the Jerk Brisket was a bit of a disappointment in that it was just way way to spicy hot to be enjoyable. I didn't ask for it to be taken off the bill, I'd eaten a third of it and was happy to pay. She did offer to see if she could get it taken off, which was nice of her. The sore note hit when she returned saying that the 'manager said that it's a matter of personal taste' so she couldn't comp it. Which sounds a bit like, if you don't like it, tough. Yup, the customer is always wrong!! Meh. I don't like griping but that tiny interaction at the end of the meal soured things for me. I will be back but I'll be sticking to the simple end of the menu where, it seems, I'm allowed to be. God forbid I not agree with the manager!!

Jeevan M.

Let me just start by saying that there are few bars that would receive 5* for their food. Usually the food's good, but rarely inspired enough or made with such high standards, to make you want to walk into the kitchen & high five the chef. As a Vegetarian, I think it's easy to feel like you're missing out on all the fun when it comes to the numerous burger/steak places that have popped up across the city. I decided to try Bloc for a late lunch after reading the plethora of reviews raving about the brilliance of Bloc's Durty Burger. I sat down & ordered the Not Dog after skimming over the description. When it was set down in front of me I was honestly quite shocked. Sat in front of me was a Veggie hot dog covered in Cheese sauce & topped with Mint & Walnuts! The hot dog wasn't some faux-meat store bought thing, it was a handmade Veggie dog made with nuts, sweet potato etc.. Frankly not only did the Not Dog look well presented, it tasted really, really good, ( is mint & cheese the new flavour combo?!) The accompanying fries were well seasoned & crispy, but fluffy on the inside (unfortunately they were completely overshadowed by the awesome Not Dog). I really hope Bloc keep the chef & menu as it's one of the most unique menus that I've ever seen in Glasgow's bar scene. I'm sure there are lots of great bars with great burgers, but I doubt any one will be as original as Bloc.

Jade W.

Dining at Bloc has been a longggg time coming. Everytime I have tried to eat here it's been booked up. But after an afternoon of shopping we decided to try again. I had studied the menu at home many a time before, so knew exactly what I was going to have. I went for the 'Durty Burger' which is a 6oz beef burger, pork scratching crisps, relish, 'trailer trash' cheese and gravy. I paired this with a side of the 'Vladimir' poutine - a twist on the classic - drowning in peppercorn sauce with a sprinkling of rich Scottish cheddar cheese. There is a reason their menu is called Classy Street Trash... it is pure filth! It was delicious and yet hideously messy all at the same time. Tip: don't come here on a first date! But seriously, the burger was heavenly. A thick almost jelly like gravy, a tasty beef patty, a great crunch from the scratchings. Yummy! The poutine was insane. It was supper creamy and to die for. Although you had to get in there fast as the more it cooled the stodgier and harder to eat it got. In the end it was a thick wall of gooey cheese and sauce haha. Still scrummy though. My other half had 'Doppleganger' - a bratwurst wrapped in smokey bacon, topped with chilli beef and irn bru pulled pork - finished off with a dowsing of cheese sauce and lashings of mustard and ketchup. DAMN. It was fricking awesome! This all paired with a pint. Not to be sniffed at! The place has a pretty cool vibe, dress code very casual though. Don't feel the need to dress up. The food here is saweeeet. Definitely worth a visit if you're near bath street.

Amber K.

I've visited Bloc a few times, great sturdy choice for a quick tea and a couple of drinks in city centre. That attitude of the venue it's self and the wonderful Classy Street food, by their Mad Chef are a winner! The specials and street boxes always look really good, I love how adventurous the chef is, not your normal pub food. Being a veggie, the menu is a bit of a meat feast but their veggie options are little gems. The Rubinstein has possibly the nicest mushrooms I've ever had and their barbecue sauce is great. It's hard not to order it every time I go, but next I must try a not dog. Special offers like £3 burgers means you can get a bargain meal on a skint day.

Joe P.

So I submitted the first ever yelp review for Bloc (on Qype- remember that?!) and I feel it definitely needs an upgrade both in terms of review and score. I came in on a Thursday because I knew of their special daily deals and fancied some fried chicken. For only £4 I got three strips of freshly dipped and cooked fried chicken breast served with a decent amount of fries - along with a load of yummy hot sauce! The beer selection is decent but on the pricey side, which I don't mind when getting such cheap food but it's not somewhere I would stay all evening. I'll try and get back for their burger night as my pals (especially David and Martin) are always raving about both the quality and the price. I'll be back sooner than 6 years next time!