BEST FOR LESS
you’re spending between £14 and £20 on a main course. It would have compromised all the principles on which this business was founded. I think he now agrees. Prices are often based on food on the plate, but people are interested in the entire experience, as well. Was there a risk of changing the character? Totally. Price will dictate people’s behaviour. The more they’re paying, the higher their expectations, the greater their demands of the environment, the more snotty they can become. If they’re paying less, then they are much more relaxed. They whole thing goes back down to a more enjoyable environment. Most people are not gourmands, after all. They want to leave feelingi they’ve had a good time, which has more to do with staff, character,
the buzz of the place.That’s 100% correct. That was
CHEAP
Top tips for eating out well on a budget
Take advantage of set-price lunch menus Many toi) restaurants [see listing] offer value for money offerings in the afternoon. The selection is less expansive but the prices may be 50% below the norm.
BEST ON A BUDGET
(average two course evening meals for £15 or less)
GLASGOW
Ad Lib
North American
1 1 1 Hope Street. City Centre
0141 248 6645.
WWW.babygrandgroup.com
The original Ad Lib is a bar and
restaurant rolled into one compact
space. The menu highlights a small but
diverse range of burgers with a
selection of fillings and relish.
Balbir’s
Indian
7 Church Street. West End
0141 339 7711 A- v'- ‘- Locakxlon
Church Street in
a cavernous
premise that
somehow
manages to
maintain a sense
of intimacy.
Balbir's opened in 9005. offering innovation, home style and contemporary Indian cuisine. using fresh ingredients and substituting ghee With low-cholesterol rapeseed eil. FITSI‘ time diners might try the banquet for two. which comprises three starters and three main courses.
20 THE LIST 18 .Jaiirl leb12002
what The Outsider and, particularly, The Apartment, were all about. There was a great atmosphere and a different environment. The food looked like nothing they had ever had, but the taste was less important. The wine came to the table already uncorked. It was a brand new way of going out. That’s what we need to get it back to, to some extent, because that’s what people enjoy: the experience.
Bar Gandolfi
Bar 8. Pub Food
64 Albion Street. Merchant City
0141 55? 4462. www.cafegandolfi.com A ' Above the landmark street- level brasserie. Bar Gandolfi is becoming a Merchant City heavyweight in its own right with its Scottish continental cuisine: savoury smoked salmon pate served with oatcakes or the Stornoway white pudding with apple and crispy onions.
Battlefield Rest
Italian
{)5 Batt!efield Road. Southside
0141 636 69553. wwwbattlefieldrest.co.uk
Those not in the mood for excellent meat and fish dishes can choose instead from a good selection of pizza and p2 sta dishes -« or share a bit of both with a dining companion.
Café Hula
Cafrés
3’21 Hope Street. City Centre
0141 353 1660. www.cafehula.com Across from the Theatre Royal. Cafe Hula has established a reputation for the sort of warm. posevfree eating that's increasingly too rare in the city centre.
The evening fare is the son of satisfying stuff best mopped up with a wedge of iiist~baked bread.
Grassroots Café
Vegetarian
93—9? St Georges; Road. West End 0141 333 0534. www.grassroots.co.uk A welcoming atmosi’)here combined With an imaginative meat-free menu attract a mix of customers. Dishes offer tastes from around the globe. whether Moroccan. Italian or Thai. Plus there are classics such as veggie bangers ‘n‘ mash or the Grassroots burger. Kokuryo
Far East Fusion
1 138 Argyle Street. West End
0141 334 5:366
Kokuryo is Scotland's first (and only. as far as we knowi restaurant devoted entirely to Korean cuisine. Many ingredients and techniques may resemble those in Chinese and Japanese recipes. but Kerean food packs a unique punch due largely to kimchi. the signature pickled cabbage. Gentler dishes include comforting potato pancakes. steamed fish and barbecued beef wrapped in cooling lettuce leaves.
Miso
Japanese
57 West Regent Street. City Centre 0141 (3313 013:3. wwwbarmisocom More of a bar that-semes-food than a fully-fledged restaurant. Miso's menu is more ambitious than all but the most ‘gastro' of gastropubs. There's a sushi. noodles and the bento box — a kind of Happy Meal for adults - which offers a selection of fish or meat. With salad. rice. vegetables and tempura. Stravaigin 2
Bistros 8. Brasseries
8 Huthven lane. West I-nd
0141 334 7161'). WWW.stravaigincom We cOiild Just as easily tip the cafe bar on Gibson Street. but this outlet in the Stravaigin family is one of the West End's best loved fixtures. It is Justifiably known for awesome burgers (featuring Scotch beef as well as ostrich or Thai CthkCll) that would satisfy Morgan 'Supersize Me' Spurlock.
The Wee Curry Shop
Indian
7 Buccleuch Street. City Centre 01413£>30H7
The clutter of tables and chairs gives a feeling of true informality. There is a bit more room at the other outlet in Ashton 1 ane. but not much. The menus are equally compact. but every dish shines With some quality that sets it apart from the rest. Curries are made to order.