Bar Brel Glasgow

If you're out in Glasgow's West End, you will end up in the little cobbled back street that is Ashton Lane. A wee haven for bars, restaurants, clubs and a cinema all crammed tightly together in a hub of food, drinks and music. Right in the middle of Ashton Lane lies Bar Brel, a little enclave of Belgium named after the eponymous 1960s chanteur Jacques Brel.

The bar/restaurant/music venue is a very attractive looking establishment with its stone floors, big open front and superb back terrace and extended beer garden,(including the big round wooden Solarium up the top!). Here is where most people like to hang out all throughout the year at the semi-covered and heated seated area, beer garden benches and on the steep little hill, perfect for a moonlit alfresco Weekend winter feed. The back conservatory also serves as a venue with live jazz, folk music and DJs playing mid week and most weekends.

The food is very much Belgium-oriented with delicious moules frites, steaks, seafood, mouth-watering burgers, big sharing platters and bubbling cauldrons of fondue. The menu is  extensive and should suit all tastes.

My favourite aspect is the fantastic selection of Belgium beers, on tap and bottled. Each time I go there I feel transported back to hazy weekends in Brussels or Bruges. There are many other  European beers to try as well as great wines and cocktails to order. New addition to the beer garden is a tiered seating area on the grassy hill.