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Taste Buchanan is such an awesome concept. Street style food is a win win situation and with the promise of rotating cuisines I was very excited to try it out. I feel there has to be several trips made to Taste Buchanan to really come away with a well rounded review but I couldn't resist having a wee pit stop there today just to try out the waffles. I spent 3 years in France learning the language and gaining many many pounds by eating freshly made waffles and have been on the hunt for a substitute to these ever since. Union Waffles is the company currently at Taste Buchanan. They have a simple, sleek menu of savoury and sweet waffles. I opted for vanilla and banana as a topping. While I waited I had a wee peek in their kitchen and clocked a waffle press and my heart soared with joy knowing they were freshly made. I was not disappointed with the taste either, the waffle was soft and warm and the banana slightly caramelised. It was a joy to eat. I'd have had two if I wasn't going for dinner later on. Taste Buchanan has all the right elements to be visited on multiple occasions and this is what I fully intend to do..watch this space!
I love Taste Buchanan - what a great idea to make the traditionally boring shopping centre food court somewhere you'd actually want to eat! So if you don't know the deal with Taste Buchanan, it's essentially local street food traders selling their (delicious) food in the food court space of Buchanan Galleries (top floor). It reminds me a bit of Manchester's Arndale market, but on a smaller scale. There's about 6 food businesses as well as ice cream, a bar and a cake place. There's tonnes of seating and the decor is pretty cool with faux grass and picnic tables. Now of course, it's new and it's not perfect. There's the white elephant in the space, and that's the Burger King which is right next door and stands out like a sore thumb. It would be a million times better if BK wasn't there but I guess needs must. The space can also get really warm on a hot day - that doesn't happen too often in Glasgow though! The idea is that the businesses will change from time to time, so if you go with the expectation of getting a bit of a lucky dip selection, then you'll love it. At the moment, there's Chompsky doing bao (steamed buns), Nomad doing pizza, Union Waffles doing waffles (sweet and savoury), Surf Dogs doing hot dogs as well as Equi's Ice Cream and Designer Cakes by Paige doing cupcakes. I've tried the food from Nomad, Chompsky and Equi's so far and it's all a really high standard, interesting options and delicious. I'm really excited to see something interesting like this in the city centre - it's a great way of showing off the indie local traders we have, and a nice break from the chains. I can't wait to go back for another lunch time feast.
Beyond ecstatic to see something like this in the Buchanan Galleries. It's brilliant to see local and Scottish small business set up and thrive amongst the giants on offer in the city centre. The set up is pretty good, with each business having their own space to prepare and serve food. The choice is pretty great and does have something for everyone. Unfortunately, I was a little disappointed that the bar area had not been set up for opening as I really wanted to have some alcohol with my dinner and try out the make your own G&T. After, what seemed like, making a pretty difficult decision, I opted for a Buffalo Farm burger - unfortunately, again, I wanted haggis but they had ether run out of didn't have any. However, the lady who was serving was happy to offer some pulled pork and I was happy with this as it was really juicy, tender and had a great taste. In the end, it made he burger. Down side to Buffalo Farm - cash only. My other half went for Nomad. The pizza he chose was their 'special' which had bacon on it and it was tasty! I managed to steal a few slices (for reviewing purposes) and was impressed. The wood fired pizza bases are to die for and the topping is tasty. We also had the polenta fries. These are starchy corn type chips and the addition of the topping was appreciated as they may have been quite dry without. Also, try the sanpelligrino pomegranate and orange juice. It's amazing. Could have been colder though. Maybe they need to turn on their fridge! Cards accepted at Nomad = great! Equis ice cream is always a firm favourite for me - I've grown up with the stuff. But was very happy to try new flavours such as the sea salt caramel. I was told the salt is air dried from the sea and it does taste amazing. The pistachio is also awesome - one that's always sold out in their stores so was very happy to have some and it didn't disappoint.
I knew I had to come and have a look at the new and improved Buchanan Galleries foodcourt. To say improved wouldn't be hard as it was just Super Generic Food Court before hand. The Burger King is still in place, however, so if you feel the need for a whopper, you can still get that. The star are the independent retailers though. I'm led to believe they rotate and change with a few regulars staying, so I'm obviously just reviewing what I had from Surf Dog. There were many options from lots of different cuisines, but as soon as I saw a chilli dog, my mind was made up. With the dog for £6, a side for £3 - I had onion rings, rather than the sweet potato fries - and a can of soft drink for £1, my meal came to a reasonable tenner. The Taste Buchanan set up is pretty unusual in that it's made out to be an outdoor garden, only indoors and on the top floor of a shopping centre. Garden benches and school style chairs are the order of the day, and it's a nice touch not to be presented again with generic seating from Bland Furniture R Us or wherever food courts usually go. After a short wait for my food to be prepared from scratch, it arrived. The chill dog was gorgeous, presented with just the right mix of chilli, sour cream and grilled jalapenos to be a total and utter mess to eat... that's the sign of a good chilli dog, folks. The chilli itself was warm and wholesome, not too spicy so the heat didn't overwhelm the taste of the dog, but the addition of the grilled jalapenos meant you could add extra heat if you wanted. Of course I did, because that's how I roll. The onion rings were light, crispy and just ideal for dipping in leftover chilli and sour cream. I would definitely get a side order of those again! To sum up, I love the idea of various retailers in one place and changing from time to time, if they're all of this quality and value for money, then it's definitely going to be a hit. I should remember though, that there is no graceful way to eat a chilli dog in public, although at least this time, I managed to avoid spilling it down my shirt, which is a bonus and unusual. read more
What a great concept, and so far the offerings have been top notch. The idea is simple enough - rotate 'street food' vendors in a permanent space - giving smaller vendors an opportunity in a prime location, and giving us punters the chance to sample the wares of some places we might not have tried otherwise. I was lucky enough to be there on opening night and have been back twice since and I've not been disappointed with the food on offer yet. On the first night I tried a few of the offerings including bao from Chompsky - I tried two, the garlic mushroom, and the pulled pork, both delicious - and a sneaky slice of pizza from Nomad (part of the Firebird team I think). Ohhh and of course I started with ice cream from Equis (hey, it's the first stall you see....). I didn't get over to Union Waffles (look right as you come up the escalator as it's set back away from the other vendors, nor could I fit in any cupcakes by Paige, but there is always next time! I managed to chat to the guy who runs it (and the others) and the premise is that they will rotate every now and then, possibly more often at peak times, but the goal is to bring local vendors, offering quality food, to the masses. I was back last week to try Surf Dog which was also pretty good, a good quality hot dog with crushed nachos and a nice salsa. Downsides would be the layout, which on a busy Friday lunchtime ends up with a long queue of people in one place not realising that you can queue for each vendor independently, and the major downside was the time it took to get our food. Hopefully just teething issues, it'll be a different setup for most of the vendors I'd imagine, switching from a van/truck at a site, to peak lunchtime in the city centre! Price wise it runs about average for a lunch, £5 seems the average for most dishes which, given it's fresh food (unlike the processed guff next door at Burger King) seems reasonable. Anyway I don't mind paying a little extra to get these kind of options in the city centre. I really hope it takes off and is successful, I know I'll be back again! Top tip: get the app (there are signs all over the seating area) to keep up to date with new additions and rotations! read more
Taste Buchanan, I'm intae you. When I heard that Buchanan Galleries were revamping their rather bland food court to champion street food vendors I was all kinds of interested. When they started announcing vendors that interest turned into attention. Union Waffles, Nomad Pizza, Surf Dog, Chompsky... now that is a food court worth bragging about. Hubby had a rare Saturday morning off this week so we took a trip into town with the idea of stopping off for lunch at Taste Buchanan on the way home. We arrived around 12 o'clock, which must have been slightly early for the lunch time rush as only a few tables were taken. I love this new look food court - white picnic benches and tables sit atop faux grass with white picket fences seperating sections. It's adorable, it's bright and it definitely adds to that indoor-street-food feel. The choice of vendor is great, with something for everyone. When we visited, Julie's Malaysian Street Kitchen were there for a weekend pop-up - and as I understand - there'll be rotating weekend pop-ups on a regular basis so keep yourself in the know and follow Taste Buchanan on social media. If I could've, I'd have tried something from every stall. The polenta fries from Nomad sound incredible, as do the chicken and waffles with hot sauce from Union Waffles. There are dessert options in the form of Designer Cakes by Paige and everyone's favourite ice cream parlour - Equis so come with an appetite when you visit! There's a bar to the side too called Slainte Mhaith (great name!) - which has a little DJ station. It was closed when we arrived, but I'd love to visit when this is in full swing to see how it affects the atmosphere. As it stands I've tried Chompsky for lunch and I've had a bit of a Smores waffle from Union Waffles (game changer!) I'm really impressed with what they're doing. The idea is that they'lll rotate vendors every so often instead of offering permanent residence to anywhere so don't hesitate if there's somewhere you want to try. Get yourself down and start enjoying some really tasty street food - I can only hope that this is something more large shopping complexes embrace in the future. read more
Taste Buchanan is such an awesome concept. Street style food is a win win situation and with the promise of rotating cuisines I was very excited to try it out. I feel there has to be several trips made to Taste Buchanan to really come away with a well rounded review but I couldn't resist having a wee pit stop there today just to try out the waffles. I spent 3 years in France learning the language and gaining many many pounds by eating freshly made waffles and have been on the hunt for a substitute to these ever since. Union Waffles is the company currently at Taste Buchanan. They have a simple, sleek menu of savoury and sweet waffles. I opted for vanilla and banana as a topping. While I waited I had a wee peek in their kitchen and clocked a waffle press and my heart soared with joy knowing they were freshly made. I was not disappointed with the taste either, the waffle was soft and warm and the banana slightly caramelised. It was a joy to eat. I'd have had two if I wasn't going for dinner later on. Taste Buchanan has all the right elements to be visited on multiple occasions and this is what I fully intend to do..watch this space! read more
I love Taste Buchanan - what a great idea to make the traditionally boring shopping centre food court somewhere you'd actually want to eat! So if you don't know the deal with Taste Buchanan, it's essentially local street food traders selling their (delicious) food in the food court space of Buchanan Galleries (top floor). It reminds me a bit of Manchester's Arndale market, but on a smaller scale. There's about 6 food businesses as well as ice cream, a bar and a cake place. There's tonnes of seating and the decor is pretty cool with faux grass and picnic tables. Now of course, it's new and it's not perfect. There's the white elephant in the space, and that's the Burger King which is right next door and stands out like a sore thumb. It would be a million times better if BK wasn't there but I guess needs must. The space can also get really warm on a hot day - that doesn't happen too often in Glasgow though! The idea is that the businesses will change from time to time, so if you go with the expectation of getting a bit of a lucky dip selection, then you'll love it. At the moment, there's Chompsky doing bao (steamed buns), Nomad doing pizza, Union Waffles doing waffles (sweet and savoury), Surf Dogs doing hot dogs as well as Equi's Ice Cream and Designer Cakes by Paige doing cupcakes. I've tried the food from Nomad, Chompsky and Equi's so far and it's all a really high standard, interesting options and delicious. I'm really excited to see something interesting like this in the city centre - it's a great way of showing off the indie local traders we have, and a nice break from the chains. I can't wait to go back for another lunch time feast. read more
10 years ago
Beyond ecstatic to see something like this in the Buchanan Galleries. It's brilliant to see local and Scottish small business set up and thrive amongst the giants on offer in the city centre. The set up is pretty good, with each business having their own space to prepare and serve food. The choice is pretty great and does have something for everyone. Unfortunately, I was a little disappointed that the bar area had not been set up for opening as I really wanted to have some alcohol with my dinner and try out the make your own G&T. After, what seemed like, making a pretty difficult decision, I opted for a Buffalo Farm burger - unfortunately, again, I wanted haggis but they had ether run out of didn't have any. However, the lady who was serving was happy to offer some pulled pork and I was happy with this as it was really juicy, tender and had a great taste. In the end, it made he burger. Down side to Buffalo Farm - cash only. My other half went for Nomad. The pizza he chose was their 'special' which had bacon on it and it was tasty! I managed to steal a few slices (for reviewing purposes) and was impressed. The wood fired pizza bases are to die for and the topping is tasty. We also had the polenta fries. These are starchy corn type chips and the addition of the topping was appreciated as they may have been quite dry without. Also, try the sanpelligrino pomegranate and orange juice. It's amazing. Could have been colder though. Maybe they need to turn on their fridge! Cards accepted at Nomad = great! Equis ice cream is always a firm favourite for me - I've grown up with the stuff. But was very happy to try new flavours such as the sea salt caramel. I was told the salt is air dried from the sea and it does taste amazing. The pistachio is also awesome - one that's always sold out in their stores so was very happy to have some and it didn't disappoint. read more
10 years ago
This is a great idea and a nice change from the usual shopping centre food courts. If you tried The Good Food Glasgow street festival then you will probably like this as I noticed some of the same vendors. Chompsky Bao Buns are worth a try as well as their sweet potato fries. BRGR is also open as a pop up at the moment; I'd recommend the Breaded Piece. However it wasn't as great as the burger I've had at their actual restaurant. There is a bar opened called Slàinte Mhath and I believe they have live music some afternoons. I also noticed the menu at Union Waffles looked great, I will have to return to try something from there! read more
More info about Taste Buchanan
Buchanan Galleries
220 Buchanan Street
Glasgow G1 2FF
United Kingdom
City Centre
Directions
Visit Website
https://buchanangalleries.co.uk/food-and-drink/taste-buchanan
Hours
Food & Alcohol
Indoor Amenities
Outdoor Amenities
Other Amenities
