BS: Wining & dining in Glasgow

Subject: BS: Wining & dining in Glasgow
From: Will Fly
Date: 02 Oct 18 - 03:32 AM

We're travelling back from Glasgow to Sussex today, with an overnight stop near Lancaster to see my sister. Had a great time and reminded myself of all the places I knew as a kid in the late '40s/early '50s. And pigged out!

La Lanterna, near the Kelvin Bridge, was a great experience with plenty of delicious food and a friendly atmosphere. We ate there many years ago when it was La Parmigiana- it was good then and even better now. My linguine pescatora was stuffed full of monkfish, prawns, mussels and scallops, and Madame's crab ravioli was enormous.

We went up to Luss on the banks of Loch Lomond on Friday, and enjoyed sunshine before enjoying a lobster salad in the Luss Seaford Bar! Lovely food and friendly service.

Saturday saw us at the Ubiquitous Chip in Ashton Lane, where we ate last in 2001. We had good memories of it but, alas, they'd crammed in more tables, it was incredibly noisy and the food, though good, was overpriced. Scallops followed by venison. The staff were very efficient and gave excellent service, so - a mixed experience.

Sunday we ate in the hotel - One Devonshire Gardens - seafood again, and pricey, as you might expect from a West End hotel. The hotel has a huge selection of malts, and a 12-year old Jura (double) helped it all along.

Last night we ate at a tiny place - Number 16, in Byres Road. Gorgeous food - scallops followed by halibut. Superb flavours and lovely staff. Number 16 was the high spot, followed by La Lanterna. Not to mention the Willow Tea Rooms.

Just hope the car's suspension will take our weight...

Anyway, apart from eating, we enjoyed the Kibble Palace (beautifully restored), the Hunterian, and the Kelvingrove Art Gallery. Sauchiehall Street was in a mess, just like 2001, and we mused on the immense pile of scaffolding that is the School of Art.

Subject: RE: BS: Wining & dining in Glasgow
From: JHW
Date: 02 Oct 18 - 04:09 AM

I saw Charles Rennie Mackintosh's designed Hill House near Glasgow last year. Found out why he was called Rennie - used to eat out in Helensburgh.

Subject: RE: BS: Wining & dining in Glasgow
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 02 Oct 18 - 05:13 AM

Cut to the chase, Will. Where can I find the best deep-fried Mars Bars?

Subject: RE: BS: Wining & dining in Glasgow
From: Will Fly
Date: 02 Oct 18 - 08:35 AM

I've always wondered whether that was true, an urban myth, or some rarity in between.

No doubt someone here will enlighten us!

Subject: RE: BS: Wining & dining in Glasgow
From: Jack Campin
Date: 02 Oct 18 - 09:43 AM

Your Glasgow is a rather small place, isn't it?

My favourite place to eat in Byres Road is the University Café - run by the Verrechias for 100 years and with the interior largely unchanged.

Deep fried Mars bars were actually invented in Stonehaven (about 20 years ago). There are places in Glasgow that do them - I think the chippie at the Tron beside the Fish Plaice does.

For a really Glaswegian food experience - meat from one of the Henry Healy's shops (solid cholesterol and screaming pink with nitrites) and a takeaway from a Blue Lagoon (I think they are trying to save energy by cooking everything in lukewarm grease which never gets changed).

Subject: RE: BS: Wining & dining in Glasgow
From: Will Fly
Date: 02 Oct 18 - 11:25 AM

Ah well, Jack, all my childhood memories of the city are of the West End (Kelvindale, Anniesland, Hyndland,Maryhill), so that's where we spent much of the time, revisiting old haunts.

Subject: RE: BS: Wining & dining in Glasgow
From: peteglasgow
Date: 03 Oct 18 - 08:30 AM

there is a wee curry house on ashton lane just opposite the ubiquitous chip. i like it - unpretentious and reasonably priced. pub grub and beer at tennents bar on byres road is good - better than at oran mor (though that is a beautiful bar) opposite the botanics. once you've sat around the kibble palace and watched the very varied and happily relaxed people on the grass you can wander along to see the mighty partick thistle at firhill. you can get a horrible but free pie at milne's before the game and a pint of jaggy thistle lager pre-match at the ground. well, you could do these things but then you would be adopting a few of my OCD habits- i wouldn't recommend that to anyone

Subject: RE: BS: Wining & dining in Glasgow
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 03 Oct 18 - 09:29 AM

Billy Connolly spent his whole boyhood thinking that the team's name was "Partick Nil."

Subject: RE: BS: Wining & dining in Glasgow
From: Jack Campin
Date: 03 Oct 18 - 09:53 AM

There is a call-and-response party game about that..

Windows 7 - Partick Thistle nil.
Ocean's Eleven - Partick Thistle nil.
Fahrenheit 451 - Partick Thistle nil.
Heathrow Terminal 4 - Partick Thistle nil.

...and so on...

Subject: RE: BS: Wining & dining in Glasgow
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 03 Oct 18 - 06:36 PM

Deep-fried Mars Bars: The Carron Fish Bar, in Stonehaven - as Jack said - claim to have invented them, and very nice they are too, though half of one is enough for me!

Subject: RE: BS: Wining & dining in Glasgow
From: Donuel
Date: 03 Oct 18 - 06:51 PM

The best food has the advantage of great low calorie memories.

btw There are no Mars bars here anymore.

Subject: RE: BS: Wining & dining in Glasgow
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 04 Oct 18 - 10:36 AM

We bought a 4 pack of mars bars for the grandsons the other day - They were tiny! The mars bars that is, not the grandsons...