BAR SPECIAL
Take for example. a dish such as Italian sausage and sweet potato mash that's on the menu at Big Slope. The tomato and red onion sauce that accompanies the main ingredients offers a smoky. dense essence that the tatties tnop tip. It‘s straightl'orward. httt delicious. 01' another one: the Tuscan hean salad. Red yeined salad leayes glisten in a honey— l'layoured dressing. with at least three different al dente legumes on a plate with decoratiye halsatnic swirling.
Another adyantage ol eating in a har/histro is the hu// they often haye and the typically inl‘ormal atmosphere. Tasty. freshly prepared food hut without the pretence ol‘ the restaurant decorum: could that not he the hest ol‘ hoth worlds‘.’
‘l‘rom day one. we wanted to he a really good har that seryed high quality. restaurant-standard l'ood il~ you like. httt with a har's
casual atmosphere.‘ says l)a\'id 'I'racey. owner of Strata. Recently named Scottish cocktail har ol the year hy the Licensed Trade News. Strata has heen doing exactly this for just oyer seyen years now with apparent ease.
94 THE LIST -' N' i. '~2 in»:
But it’s not always easy and Tracey says that getting the halance right is the challenge. Little things that they've done to make a difference include having a maitre d‘ stationed near the limit door to guide customers and
also using tahle seryice rather than making diners order their
food at the har.
Still. he acknowledges that 'it can get lottd on a Friday and Saturday night and trying to control that environment can he
WE HAVE PEOPLE WHO COME IN INTENDING TO HAVE A DRINK, LOOK AT THE MENU AND END UP ORDERING FOOD. IT'S A PROPER A LA CARTE DISH AND THEY ENJOY IT
Where the food is as good as the booze (clockwise from top): Bar Gandolfi; Stravaigin; Big Slope; The West Brewing Company
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difficult. But we haye people who come in intending to have a drink. look at the menu and end tip ordering food. It‘s a proper a la carte dish and they enjoy it.’ With the smoking han now firmly estahlished (and seemingly certain to continue). hars are increasingly recognising that selling l'ood is where the margins are likely to he more promising. l)a\'id 'l'racey says that his overall trade has been unall‘ected hut his l'ood sales are
neyertheless tip.
The smoking han doesn‘t. of course. guarantee that the meals will he outstanding eyeryw here or every time you Visit one ol (ilasgow‘s gastt‘o-hat‘s. But it does provide a great additional incentiye for the hest operators to stay l’rosty and alert. hopel'ully raising the har atid seeing the rewards.
For address details see listings, starting on page 97.