Rocco G.

Pickled Ginger has got to be one of the coolest and best dining experiences I've had in Glasgow in the last year. Having now firmly established itself on the very edge of Finnieston, in a rather tricky area, I knew this place had to be good. But, why it took me soo long to visit is beyond me and I shall be kicking myself for not going sooner! Pickled Ginger is definitely not your bog standard Japanese joint. It has more of a cocktail bar look and feel than a restaurant. It has great (dare I say jumping) tunes, fun staff and a real laid back vibe. It's certainly very hip but not in an overbearing way. On my first visit with a group of mates, we wanted to try a bit of everything. So on order was a large sushi platter, delightfully served up on a slab of slate (what else naturally) and an order Chicken Yaki Udon. Now, when I say I liked the Chicken Yaki Udon, what I meant to say is I thought it was the BEST Japanese dish I've ever had. Perfectly seasoned and dressed, thick Udon noodles, with juicy moist chicken. The portion size was huge and the value simply outstanding! I came into Pickled Ginger fully expecting another sushi restaurant and while the sushi was delicious and fresh it was the main dishes that blew me away. My friends had a mixture of Bento Boxes and Bulgoki and everything tasted exceptional. I now just cannot wait to get through the entire menu. I'm happy to say that Pickled Ginger has now eared the titled of my favourite restaurant in Finnieston. It's a cracking bar and eatery that will have you thinking you've been whisked off to Tokyo, the easiest 5 stars ever for this place, love it!!! :)

Trudie M.

Love love love, this place!!! I have been wanting to try pickled Ginger for ages but something has always stopped me going! Maybe because I thought it was just sushi they served! I was so wrong! The contemporary decor makes you feel like you have been transported to a very modern bar in the middle of Tokyo! The red neon lights outside with the cool Japanese lanterns inside and a mixture of chilled out house to funky house music in the background make me want to go back time and time again. We arrived about 16:30 so it was still early and the place wasn't overly busy but by the time we left it was bustling! The staff were friendly and welcoming! We were brought paper menus kinda in the style of a place mat, it even had a little sushi etiquette on the side. Lots of food to choose from - I am the happiest person right now!! I was told that I couldn't order everything so I had to make a decision. We decided to share a couple of dishes including some Gyoza's. We actually ended up with 2 Korean dishes which were superb. Bulgoki and Jeyuk Bokkeum! Both served with rice and lettuce to wrap your meat in. We also ordered a dose of picked veg!! Tasty! I had two sparkling waters and Austen M had a beer and the bill only came to £34 approx. Very reasonable considering how full I was. How long do I need to wait until I can go back?

Fiona H.

I love sushi, I love it even more when it's blowing a gale outside and it gets delivered straight to your door thanks to Just Eat. A friend and I shared some tuna sashimi, which was so fresh, I would definitely recommend this. Some avocado maki, because who doesn't love avocado. Some salmon maki, some california rolls some Prawn Katsu rolls and some stir fried vegetables. The prawn katsu roll was my second favourite, to the tuna sashimi, which is controversial as the prawn is cooked. Is it, isn't it sushi?! Either way the whole thing was damn tasty. The delivery took about an hour, which given the weather and that it was 7pm on a Friday night seemed reasonable enough. Just Eat were giving 20% off for orders over 20 pounds or more, which essentially meant we didn't pay the 2 pound delivery fee. I will definitely be visiting here for one of the lunch time deals.

Austen M.

Two important things up first. 1. This isn't just a sushi place. I had got it into my head that it mainly was. Not sure if it was the marketing of it, but I had delayed going as it ain't something I had really got into. 2. They don't take card still, but they did tell us right at the start and there is a cash line a couple of doors along. I loved this place. It has a Totally cool vibe going on. It's almost like you are transported to a very modern Tokyo bar, well until you hear some of the locals accents. :) The chilled out house music (I think that's how you would describe it, perhaps also urban funk) playing constantly is pretty cool and the decor is very on trend and a bit futuristic. Safe to say I loved it from the moment I sat down. The menu seems to have options mainly from Japan, but also a couple from South Korea. For starters we had amazing crispy pot sticker gyosas with soy sauce. They were a mix of pork, herb and vegetable and were really good. For mains we both avoided Japanese altogether and went with a Korean feast feast of bulgoki and jeyuk bokkeum. These are perfect dishes to share. They both come with lettuce leaves, sauce and rice. The first comes as mini bits of beef steak and the second is more like a pork bolognese. (Korean food is very different from most other Asian cuisine) The idea is almost like fajitas with lettuce leaves instead of bread for the wraps. On the side we also had some super tasty pickled veg which was also bloody good. All in the food came to less than 19 quid each and that included 3 drinks. The atmosphere was great, the service was really friendly and the food tasted pretty authentic to me. In my opinion this is the best restaurant on the Finnieston Strip.

Esther F.

Really good restaurant for japanesse food! Great staff and also through 5pm app you can get 20% off (which is always good) We ordered tempura the vegetable one (7£) and it was a massive plate. Then we went for the chicken teriyake (12£) and it was delicious, super tasty! And also it was a really big dish. And for sure sushi! A platter for one with 5 nigiri 2 rolls and 6 maki all of them with fish! (11,95£) It was so good that they have also with the menu the do's and not to do when eating sushi! Definetely a discover gemme in Finnieston!!!

Kerry L.

My fellow sushi loving friend and I headed to Pickled Gin last week after a mammoth bike run - we deserved it! As a lover of sushi I have been very keen to try here for my somewhat lacking sushi options. We went early so initially were the only folks in the place, usually I hate this but Id had a couple of gins by this point and was starving!! First impressions, the place is small but perfectly formed. Clean and bright with some outdoor seating too, personally its not a road I would likely sit outside and eat but thats just me. The menus are large paper place settings and have a fun do's and dont's of sushi eating, kept us entertained! On offer are starters (or small dishes) inc miso, gyoza etc, mains such as katsu and ramen, bento boxes and a selection of sushi and sashimi. So the food......my friend and I decided to order a few selections and share. First we had the gyoza - amazing, 4 large lightly fried and delicious! Next up we had avocado maki, mackerel nigiri, prawn katsu roll and tuna sashimi. This was all brought out at the same time on very trendy slate boards. Accompanied by pickled ginger and round yellow 'things'..I say things cause we couldn't figure out where it was, pretty tasteless ether way. I enjoyed all of it, the prawn rolls I felt were slightly dry but otherwise it was great. The tuna sashimi was like butter in my mouth!! I have no criticism really over the food, great value and quality. I would have liked slightly more on offer in the sushi section but thats all....and some edamame please!!!! There was none on the menu We were served free minted water, and decided to try some cocktails. We were not disappointed! They seem to have managed to take great cocktails and add a Japanese twist. As a tequila lover my personal favourite was a Japanese style margarita (can't remember the name sorry). Again I can't remember what my friend had but it was delicious!! Lastly, staff were great and attentive. Its been advertised as Finnieston, I's say its more towards the city centre. I struggled to find it initially as I assumed it was up with the usual finnieston stops.

Eilidh G.

I was really excited to try here so when I was looking for somewhere quick to stop in and grab some lunch I thought I would pop in. My first visit I felt disappointed, not by the food, but by the staff. They were not very friendly or helpful. I popped in again today as I really fancied some of there chicken Katsu curry. To save waiting I phoned ahead to order it, when I made my order the girl said she'd need to work out the price for me when I got there, it took me a few minutes to realise I had not asked for the lunchbox special which is £4.95. The waitress said she'd get it changed. So I arrived to pick it up. The waitress (a different one from the last time I was in) like my first visit wasn't very friendly or helpful. My order was ready but it was not in the lunchbox box so she took it back and asked the chef to change it. I could see their conversation and the chef did not look happy and the waitress said "I know" as if I had just walked in and changed my mind. I then had to wait another 5 minutes to get the curry. I have never sat in and after the service from the waiting staff on the 2 occasions I've been, puts me off even trying. The curry was delicious and I really enjoyed it hence the 3 stars.. Although I was close to giving it 2..

Jorge D.

Nice takeaway very pricey thou, we had sushi for 2 delivered and it was 55£. The quality was good but wouldn't order again for that price.

Sarah A.

I've always been a skeptic when it came to Japanese food. I'm not particularly impressed by the (affordable) Japanese food scene here in Glasgow, but I'd give Pickled Ginger a thumbs up judging from my overall experience tonight. I liked it a lot! It took a while for me and Gian to pay a visit, but I'm so happy we decided to go for a midweek date night! The place is lovely and contemporary, staff are also a friendly bunch and I noticed that they make their sushi fresh, which is always great. Also, there's a Japanese sushi chef supervising in the kitchen so I expect nothing less than deliciousness on my plate haha The menu is small but that's good to me because you can make decisions quicker. This also means the chefs can focus on specific food and constantly deliver high quality dishes! We ordered a sushi platter for 2; £23 (with sushi according to the chefs choice) and 2 temaki; £3.50 each (hand rolls); one salmon and one tuna. Everything was fresh! The seaweed was crispy, the wasabi looked like it was hand made (wasn't toxic green in colour), the fish all fresh and buttery, I really REALLY enjoyed it. With a refreshing cocktail called Nanase; £7 (Gian chose it. Don't remember what's inside but it's very minty) I really did think my night was great! Good way to relax and enjoy after a day at work. I'd definitely recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for some good quality sushi. Will definitely return!

Briony C.

Time for an update and time for an upgrade - it's 5 stars from me. I popped in for a late lunch and definitely over-ordered - I did not need sashimi as well as chicken yaki udon. I blame Rocco G as I'd read his review and couldn't resist getting the yaki udon after he said it was the best Japanese dish he'd ever had. I was very impressed and yep, it's a massive portion so don't order anything else if you're having it! For me though, the highlight was the salmon sashimi. This was some of the best sashimi I can remember having - so soft and delicious, beautifully presented and generously cut slices. I will dream about this sashimi for days. Thankfully I'm going to Japan at the end of the month.

Kath R.

I feel like I've given out a lot of 5 stars lately, but I've racked my brains and I really don't have even the minutest bad thing to say about Pickled Ginger! Firstly, it's on the number 2 bus route (which I can get from near home) so big tick there! It's from said bus that it caught my eye so on a random night when our first choice of The Finnieston were fully booked, this became the obvious choice! First impressions were that it's bright, airy and inviting, and the smells wafting out the door were divine! Oh how I knew I was gonna enjoy this! The menu has plenty of choice and includes many non-sushi options if that's not your bag. A bit torn, we decided to share so ordered king prawn tempura (of which 6 massive bad boys arrived, result!) and the pot stick gyoza (or pork dumplings to you and I!) to start, both I would have again on another visit. For main, the chicken teriyaki bento box, again to share so they brought us two accompanying bowls of miso soup instead of one, so thoughtful! The steamed rice was the perfect amount of stickiness, else I'd have been asking for a fork! Oh yeah, it's chopsticks as standard here so get practising if you're a bit wobbly! And, cos we'd seen the pics on here (and I was a wee piggy in a previous life), we topped all that off with chocolate mochi for pudding. Quite an odd texture but chocolate is chocolate and I like it! Drinks wise, I had an Eastern Rickey cocktail which was soooo good (hey, it was Cocktail Week after all!). Couldn't fault service either; cheery, happy and attentive, and some funky trainers but I'll let you spot whose! They also do takeout and deliveries which seemed pretty constant (but didn't affect our meal) so clearly popular with locals too. Recommended it to a girl in my office who went the following week (with a cheeky wee 5pm deal) and she thoroughly enjoyed it too - as I said, just can't fault it!

Erika D.

Great great great food! I went there with friends yesterday night (booked through 5pm and got 20% off, what a deal!) and i loved it! I did read positive reviews but i was not expecting it to be that good. The place inside is really small and not that sophisticated, but the atmosphere is nice and cosy. The only complaint is it was too dark inside! We were about to ask to switch on all the lights but then we decided to be polite and not the usual Italian people who complains about everything haha! Food wise, as I said, good good good. We had a sushi platter for 4 to share among the 6 of us and then we had one main course each - we were quite filled at the end of the dinner, portions are quite big. Sushi was fab and for main course i had chicken katzu which was absolutely delicious!! Will definitely going to come back soon as there was few other dishes on the menu which i wanted to try

Rachel L.

I'm a big fan of sushi and decided to try this place out before a gig at the SSE Hydro as its about a ten minute walk away. There was a 5pm.com deal on for 20% off the a la carte menu which was even better! The restaurant itself was quite small and really busy. I noticed there were lots of takeaway orders going out the whole time we were there (Saturday night). The menu was great with a little bit explaining the proper etiquette of eating sushi, some of which was new to me! I went for the chicken bento box which came with miso soup and I ordered avocado maki. The bento box was amazing, the chicken was cooked perfectly, the rice was amazing, it also came with two salmon nigiri and a salad. The avocado maki was great too but there was a mix up in the ordering process and it came after our coffee. The waitress was really sorry and took it off our bill. Overall this was a great place with excellent food and friendly staff. I'd highly recommend it!