Whistler's Mother

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• What are these?

• Average price 2 courses:
   £7 (lunch)
   £11 (evening meal)
• House wine: £9.50 per bottle

• High point: Improved menu
• Low point: Unimaginative wine list
• Food served: Sun-Thu 10am-9pm; Fri/Sat 10am-10pm
• Bar open: Sun-Thu noon-11pm; Fri/Sat noon-midnight
• Open since: 1990
• Also offers: Vegetarian options (at least 25% of main courses)

The List's Eating & Drinking Guide 2008 is now in the shops.

This review is taken from the 2007 edition.

Café by day, bistro by night - the dining space at Whistler's Mother offers a comfortable spot adjacent to the more student-oriented bar. It is more than a stop-off for peckish drinkers from next door: the stylish décor and a move away from the common deep-fried 'pubby' menu confirms this. Framed prints, including work by James McNeill Whistler, hang on the walls, one of which is vibrant red. The ceiling, a collage of Dutch advertisements from 80s, often grabs the attention of first-time visitors. There is a leap from the lunch/snack menu - made up almost exclusively of fairly standard sandwiches and wraps (also served in the adjoining bar until 8pm) - to the more complex flavours of the evening selection. Among the starters, thick slices of sweet potato in a light batter are served with Indian-style spiced onions and cooling tzatziki. Chunks of bacon are replaced by slices of Loch Fyne smoked salmon in the Mother's successful take on a carbonara sauce. This bar's prime West End location, mid-way down Byres Road, would make it easy to cash in on the passing traffic while offering little in return. Thankfully, this does not appear to be the case.