Not every week of eating out can be spectacular. I know that… but I guess I have been pretty lucky over the past couple of months and have somehow managed to mostly have good food. Last week, however, had some real ups and downs. With two notable exclusions it has been mostly unimpressive food.
Tuesday – Bar bites @ Strip Joint (Finnieston)
Can’t believe I’m writing this, but my friend published a book last week! And of course, there was celebrations to be had. A good number of people headed over to Strip Joint in Finnieston for some drinks mostly, but some of us were hungry so we had to get food too. The bar itself isn’t very notable, it’s pretty standard as far as pubs go and it pales in comparison with what Finnieston has to offer. The food was even less notable. I ordered the chicken wings to share with my partner. Others had pizza or nachos. Our chicken wings were so dry and tasteless, and I think some of the worst I’ve had in Glasgow. Really no excuse as chicken wings is one of the simplest things one can cook! We asked for some hot sauce, and for the first time ever, I was charged for a bit of sriracha on the side… As for the pizza – no one was particularly impressed by it and it looked like it was one of the frozen ready made ones. Those who ordered the nachos looked happier and indeed they had some very big lumps of nachos to eat through which were tastier than our chicken wings. I won’t be rushing back.
- ££: ~£20 for chicken wings, sweet potato fries and a couple of drinks. Ok for price but the food wasn’t worth it.
- Good for: I guess that depends on your taste, but the only thing I enjoyed there was my standard rum & coke. The staff are pretty nice too.
Wednesday – Sushi Burritos @ Temaki (City Centre)
You might remember that Temaki featured in my “Best of Lunch Joints in Glasgow” post and there is a good reason for this. It’s simple – their sushi burritos are pretty good and they also offer other Japanese style food at reasonable price in their Lunch Menu too. I had the Salmon & Avocado sushi burrito and it was good. It packs a good amount of fish against some fresh salad and in this case Avocado. There are plenty to choose from and the only one I didn’t like so far is their Volcano one (melted cheese and raw fish? No, thank you!). I have to confess that though I’ve been to Temaki a number of times I’ve not tried their Ramen, Katsu or other dishes… But, on the plus side – their sushi is pretty good which is why I haven’t ventured outside of their sushi offering!
- ££ – £9 sushi burritos, £6.50 for other dishes on their lunch menu;
- Good for: Sushi burritos and sushi! Also good for a reasonably priced and quick lunch.
Wednesday – Dinner @ ASK Italian (City Centre)
So far we have had the bad, the good and now for the mediocre. ASK Italian is a chain restaurant offering Italian food. I’m not a particular fan of it, as you know Glasgow has some fantastic Italian restaurants I prefer to go to, but it’s okay for what it offers and it’s reasonably priced. I headed there with my family as we needed something close to the bus station and being a Cineworld Unlimited card holder, I get a good discount on pizza and pasta. I like some of the touches in the restaurant in terms of its décor, like the cooking utensils all around. As far as the food goes – it’s quickly served and tasty enough. We had two calzone filled with pepperoni, ragu, tomato & mozzarella while my mother had the Tuscan bread salad. I’m not a massive chain restaurant go-er, but as far as they come, ASK Italian is okay.
- ££: Our bill was under £30 due to my discount, but most pizza and pasta dishes are around £10+.
- Good for: a quick meal when you are after some Italian food.
Friday – Lunch @ Ramen Dayo (City Centre)
I’ve written about Ramen Dayo before so I’m not going to say much more than what I’ve already said. Best ramen in Glasgow, in my humble opinion! This time though I wasn’t feeling like eating ramen so I ordered the Karachi chicken and some gyoza. Their gyoza’s are outstanding. I’ve tried pork, chicken, veg and bulgogi beef and they are ALL good. The Karachi chicken was also really tasty and very crispy so would happily have again. The only thing I wish for is that Ramen Dayo expend their menu ever so slightly to include some more side or small dish options. However, if it’s ramen you are after – get it there.
- ££: Most ramen dishes are under £10. The side dishes are around £5.
- Good for: when you need to satisfy your ramen craving.
Sunday – Dinner @ Crossing the Rubicon (West End)
I posted about Crossing the Rubicon very recently and I admitted that I wasn’t fan of it when it first came about but I had noted that they had improved their menu though still very mediocre Indian style food. This time around I ordered The Rubicon Frankie (think an Indian style burrito), masala chips – soggy and tasteless at the same time… – and poppodoms and onions. Nothing was outstanding, but The Rubcion Frankie is probably my favourite. What was quite disappointing actually was that the restaurant charged us a double portion of poppodoms because we had 2 poppodoms (for two people) – when on the menu it says “poppodomS with chutney”- implying that a portion includes multiple poppodoms. Hardly bothered over the extra £1.50 but it’s a matter of principle. My friend ordered the vegetable curry which literally had one piece of carrot in it and the rest was sauce and rice. He ended up not eating the majority of it as it was so disappointing. They really need to up their flavour game to make their fusion food work.
- ££: Good priced dishes from around £4-£8;
- Good for: events – live music, open mic, and a really good quiz night on a Sunday!
That’s it for this week, folks! Here is hoping for some better food next week…
~Em
Food Notes 