The Loft Bar & Restaurant

This review appears in the The List's Eating & Drinking Guide 2008 – in the shops now or buy online.

Set above the Grosvenor Cinema, The Loft is one of the largest establishments on Ashton Lane and as such is packed at the weekend with students and young professionals from across Glasgow. Midweek sees more locals venturing into this vast, airy space. The contemporary pale oak floors and dark leather seating of the bar sit below a restored ornate ceiling which is best appreciated from the mezzanine restaurant. Here, the menu offers a range of burgers, pastas and pizzas along with a selection of Italian-influenced 'primi' and 'secondi' dishes. The bruschetta relies on fresh basil to pep up some pale tomatoes, while the minestrone is disappointingly bland and bulked out with potatoes. The meat and fish mains include a tomato-based monkfish and king prawn casserole and two sizeable fillets of well-baked sea bass, which are rather marred by a bitter leek and celeriac rosti. Puddings fare much better, be it a tiramisu with moist layers of coffee-soaked sponge and mascarpone, or the lavish servings of creamy cheesecake, which are big enough to share.

• High point: Lively Ashton Lane location
• Low point: Food not as impressive as the décor

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