Restaurants, Bar & pub food, Pre-theatre menu

Patrons here live it up while the bar’s inspiration Charles Bukowski looks disdainfully down from a portrait on the wall. Mind you, even the hedonistic Buk would have struggled to work his way through the extensive range of quality rums and bourbons.

A competition saw this bar named after the decadent 17th-century poet, the 2nd Earl of Rochester, but here’s nothing debauched about this Libertine, which neatly balances daytime bistro and night-time bar. Tall windows line both aspects, allowing diners…

Housed in the CCA, this spacious café-bar attracts a predictably bohemian clientele in evenings, with workers and young families hanging out during the day, especially on Saturdays. Despite the cavernous space and clean, modern lines, there’s a sense of…

Until recently called the Ivy, Distill's new name hasn't changed it from being a haunt for the hip, with a young cool crowd attracted to a fashionable part of the city. The range of rums is the widest in Scotland and the house rum is the excellent…

Floor-shaking stamping, plaintive strains of Spanish guitar and passionate cries of ‘ole!’ might well accompany your meal at La Sal, thanks to regular performances from Alba Flamenca, the dance school next door to the restaurant. Formerly known as El…

It’s the touches of vintage chic that add to this venue’s sophistication: the tin lampshades, cool, clip-board menus, sharp staff in smart shirts and continual tinkle of rat-pack piano jazz in the background, create a distinctly urbane, New York bistro…

The stylish City Centre branch of Bar Soba attracts a cosmopolitan mix of shoppers sipping wine, pre-clubbers enjoying unusual cocktails and diners looking for contemporary Asian food. All rub shoulders with ease as the bar area, with subdued lighting…

Despite being festooned with an abundance of fairy lights and flickering candles and boasting a burnished golden ceiling, the dining room of this converted church has an intimate, relaxed feel. Chef Jonathon Macfarlane (formerly Ubiquitous Chip) is a…

For a Ship that's firmly anchored to the Shore, albeit just a clam shell's lob from the Water of Leith, this is a properly nautical experience. Admiralty charts serve as wallpaper, oars hang from the ceiling and blackboards at every turn list the…

Though a little removed from the main Shawlands dining strip the value of the food along with the decidedly relaxed and jovial atmosphere at this unassuming corner pub and bistro make it worth the venture. New owner Graham Sutherland, who also has the…

Named after the famous ‘Glasgow Glutton’, Robert Hall, who made a living from eating contests, this restaurant and bar (with four hotel rooms) is tucked down one of the Merchant City’s quieter streets. You enter through the cosy bar with a glowing open…

City Centre alleyways are generally best avoided but Renfield Lane makes a rare exception with its pair of laid-back hipster hangouts – the Old Hairdressers for small artsy events and big sister Stereo in the Mackintosh building across the road for…

New breweries are springing-up across Scotland amid the craft beer revolution, but the country’s only German-style microbrewery sits apart from that trend, by drawing its inspiration from centuries-old Bavarian traditions. WEST can be found in most good…

The Black Sparrow attracts sophisticated patrons to its ornate and über cool abode. It has an old-fashioned bourbon bar look, with smoochy jazz/ambient beats mellowing the airwaves. It’s actually quite romantic. Dark burgundy leather studded booths…

Housed in the former Sheriff Court there are few building fronts as impressive anywhere in the city. Gone are any remnants of law court life. Split between a ground floor with a massive glitzy cocktail bar, and an upstairs restaurant that has a more…

Candles, soft lighting and a piano player give this neighbourhood brasserie something of a posh hotel lobby atmosphere. The service is warm and informal though, and a mainly local and family clientele mean the place is actually quite relaxed. The menu…

There’s always a lively buzz around this ground-level section of the popular restaurant where staff move with a studied air of relaxed professionalism amid babbling West Enders. Although it’s lighter in spirit and intentionally less formal than the room…

In Glasgow’s trendy Merchant City the competition among restaurants to attract discerning diners is high. Artà stands out architecturally. Once the location of a medieval cheese market this listed building was developed Baroque style in 2000 into a…

It’s possible to see both sides of The Fountain in one visit. Mobbed to the rafters ahead of a rugby match, the punters quickly siphon off as kick-off approaches, giving you the chance to take in your quirky surroundings. The fascination with clog-like…

The downstairs bar at Metropolitan has been on the city’s 'places to be seen' list since it opened in 2002 and still caters to a highly coiffed, middle-aged Glasgow crowd. The upstairs restaurant is a suitably swish, glam and surprisingly huge. The…