Restaurants

Image by julia forrest

With the smell of sweet somethings in the air and a look at the daily specials, as soon as you enter Heart Buchanan you know right away that this place could be the death of you. Everything looks so inviting.

The relaxed atmosphere at Heart Buchanan, is immediately welcoming. The menu, which offers seasonal and local produce with some nice gourmet ingredients, is equally inviting. The restaurant is well conceived, with great care taken to prepare a limited menu of the best offerings, updating ingredients every month, and supplemented with a tasting menu, and cookery classes.

Some items, such as pea pistachio pilaf with pomegranate and rose petals, are clearly the inspiration of a talented chef. Others are takes on classics, such as chicken and tarragon pie. It may be tough to score a table in this joint, but head next door to the deli where there are more tables on the mezzanine, and you can look down and admire all the beautiful cakes before treating yourself to one!

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Heart Buchanan | Restaurants (Scottish) | Main meal £ 13
380 Byres Rd | West End | +441413347626
Mon – Fri 08:30 – 21:30, Sat 09:00 – 21:30, Sun 12:00 – 19:00

Image by Julia Forrest

Bar 10 has been around for more than twenty years and is one of a number of bars in the area to carve out a niche in the post-work dinner and drink fare.

Serving up Mediterranean food at a reasonable price, Bar 10 offers a laid back spot for eating and drinking, and friendly service. Among various types of draft and bottled beer, Bar 10 offers a great mid week deal of £8.50 for a bottle of wine.

The crowd includes a mix of patrons that vary in age and intention, but students and young locals are the norm. For drinking, Bar 10 functions as a jump-off point, a barhop stop or just a place to wind down. There’s something different on each night, from poker to acoustic night, and the weekends you’ll usually find DJ’s play a mix of funk and soul.

The bar’s retro and cool sort of atmosphere is great, but the location is the main winner for me without a doubt. It’s inexplicably secluded despite being right in the middle of Glasgow, and perfect during the day for a book and a bowl of soup as it is for drinks with friends in the evening.

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Bar 10 | Bars, Restaurants (Mediterranean) | Main meal £ 12
10 Mitchell Lane | City Centre
Mon – Sat 10:00 – 00:00, Sun 12:00 – 00:00

Image by Julia Forrest

If you are craving great, fresh seafood with excellent service, Crabshakk is the place! It’s a really down to earth restaurant, with very limited seating, and all the staff are really friendly. The best thing about this restaurant is the freshness of the food.

A pot of black shelled mussels is large enough to share for a starter, and the creamy white broth is perfect for dipping your bread in. The mains range from inexpensive Fish Club Sandwich to a blow-out £60 Fruits de Mer platter to share. You can’t go to the Crabshakk without trying the crab -try the crab claws or the simple but delicious crab-cakes.

As this establishment is small it gets busy quickly, I would advise dining early. I love having early dinners here around 17:00 – 18:00 during the weekdays. Also, make sure to check out the daily specials. They’re always a treat, and almost never repeated twice.

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Crabshakk | Restaurants (Seafood) | Dinner £ 18
1114 Argyle St | West End | +441413346127
Mon – Sat 09:00 – 12:00

Image by Julia Forrest

This once vegetarian cafe has been a long established part of the West End (since 1960), but I only recently discovered how great it is! With a large dining space in which wide windows overlook the Great Western Road, the Bay Tree is a airy cafe by day and a romantic spot at night.

The food is excellent, Mediterranean-inspired fare, with quality, locally sourced ingredients and simple recipes the order of the day. There’s a wide range including some excellent mezze plates which are perfect for sharing. You can generally count on being served up some of tasty hummus out there, as well as stuffed vine leaves, couscous and kebabs.

The coffee is good too, and there is free WIFI so it’s a perfect place to sit and relax. At night, the resturant is softly lit and the Bay Tree is also BYOB with no corkage charge so it’s a great place to come for a date or a catch up with friends. There are often lunchtime specials, with starters and main courses from just £7.95.

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The Bay Tree | Coffee & tea, Restaurants (Middle Eastern ) | Main Meal £ 12
403 Great Western Road | West End | +441413345898
Mon – Sat 09:00 – 22:00, Sun 09:00 – 21:00

Image by Julia Forrest

Hidden in the hustle and bustle of Byres Road, you could not be blamed for walking past La Vallee Blance’s doors without ever suspecting that a little treasure laid upstairs.

French by name and nature, these guys have definitely got the joi de vivre going on. As soon as you walk in, you are transported to the French Alps. The waiters are prompt and knowledgeable, and it’s the small thoughtful gestures that they do for you throughout your meal that make all the difference.

For lunch and dinner, La Vallee Blanche offer a prix fixe and a la carte menu – two courses for £13.95, three courses for £16.95. You can also opt in for the cheaper weekend brunch menu, but if your time and budget extends to it, I would recommend treating yourself to a two/three course meal.

The menu provides a mouth watering selection of starters, mains and desserts. The dishes are not huge servings, which happily leaves you with room for dessert. The food is classically French, with a good proportion of lighter elements more suited to the Scottish palette.

With the inclusion of wine, you are looking on the pricer side for a meal here. However, if you are wanting to dine at an intimate restaurant where the food and wine is excellent, and the staff genuinely do their best to make you feel special, then I think La Vallee Blanche is worth getting excited about.

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La Vallee Blanche | Restaurants (French/Scottish) | Dinner £ 25.00
360 Byres Road | West End | +441413343333
Mon – Sat 12:00 – 23:00