This is an ok spot. We stopped in for a burger, onion rings and some drinks. Drinks seemed to be…read moreexcessively weak. We struggled to figure out if my double had any whiskey at all. The beer was cold. Food was just ok and definitely not a destination. If you need a place to eat and everywhere else is busy this isn't bad. We got the blue burger and onion rings.

Fries with bbq sauce and pulled pork. Yes! And the salad is…read morehuge. Sharing is recommended. Also, the burgers are EXCELLENT!!

Wonderfully quaint and unpretentious old haunt dating back to the 18th century. Friendly to locals…read moreand tourists alike, it's small but comfortable. Not too many erudite beers on tap, but you can get your hands on a couple of rotational cask ales that are nice. Prices are good, and you may be lulled to stay awhile. There's a small but charming performance space in the back where they have spoken word, music, etc.

Hahahahaha. I'm really not sure how to review this pub but I will give it a shot. We visited here…read moreon a Friday afternoon while in Stirling as my Aussie friend requested an "old man pub with a fire". Stirling's resident Yelp expert, Nicola C recommended here with the disclaimer of "I don't know what it's like during the day though." So, my friend and I pitched up to be greeted by two regulars at the door who told us the pub was closed. "Awwww, really?" I said. "Naw hen!" followed by much guffawing on their behalf. In we stumbled, both having a laugh at the two oldies. The bar was empty apart from one other old gent which seems reasonable for 4.30pm on a Friday. We got a couple of drinks (Thistly Cross bottles for £3.50 each which is what I pay for them in the supermarket!) and sat by the fire (which thankfully someone came and stoked the hell out of so it was absolutely roaring, and scorching hot). The bar had a nice relaxed vibe. By the time we were leaving one of the regulars was well steaming and came over to talk to the Australian lassies and generally give us a bit of a ribbing. He got us to sign the visitors book and was generally pretty funny - I even got a kiss as I was leaving. Lucky me. So, would I recommend going here? Yes, I definitely would, even just for the laughs you'll have. The fire was warm, the seats were comfy and they had a nice selection of crisps/chips for snacking on. Thanks for the recommendation Nicola!

Amazing experience. We were a group of 9 people, and…read moreeverywhere we went they told us they were fully booked. We were already a bit discouraged, but on our way back to the hotel we found this place right on the corner and it turned out to be a great decision. From the moment we arrived, the young ladies who welcomed us at the entrance and our server throughout the night were truly professional attentive, well-organized, and genuinely warm. We ordered several main courses, all of them beautifully prepared. The beef tartare, served with bread, was outstanding and can be perfectly paired with the truffled cream for an excellent combination(took the truffled from the Milanese . The sirloin steak was cooked to perfection, and the Truffled Chicken Milanese stood out as a remarkable dish, offering a delicious and well-balanced flavor profile.

Beautiful restaurant and warm services by the staff. Honestly I want to give 5-star for the…read moreexperience however, the sea bass was really a disappointment. It wasn't bad, just that i expected higher standard from the IVY. Generous portion for the sea bass (which i love), however, the skin was not quite as crispy as I would prefer (it looked like the chef tried but the sauce made it soggy). The mushroom sauce with spinach's and beans(?) was not a balanced match for the dish somehow. Our party ordered 3 sea-bass and the consensus was similar. The dish wasn't executed as good as the description. The fish and chip was tasty with the pea mash. The burger from the Kids' menu was bigger than McDonald's Big Mac and delicious. Came with tasty fries. Mom ordered fresh mint tea which turned out to be made with a dried mint tea bag. Nice cocktail menu tho. & service was great.

food: we think it's the best scottish can get. authentic flavors but definitely elevated past the…read morenormal. my favorite parts were the haggis and the sticky toffee pudding service: nice staff ambiance: cozy, seems to be more of a local spot, didn't see many other tourists

We had a really nice evening at Scran & Scallie. We…read morethoroughly enjoyed the scallops and trout pate to start and mains of fish pie and steak pie. Service was friendly and efficient, the cocktails tasty and the atmosphere comfy. Recommended !

Friendly service, delicious food, relaxing atmosphere. The burger was great and the appetizers were…read moretasty. It was one o the few places open when we needed food on a holiday so we were super thankful. Would love to come back the next time we are in the area and sample other drinks. Price was also reasonable and loved how chill the place was.

Best place to find some good dark beer. Wide variety of meat/veg/vegan options available. Staff is…read morealways kind and the vibe is always fun!

OK, we're all geeks here, right? Right. We've all seen Guardians of the Galaxy?…read more The scene in the prison where all hell breaks loose, and Rocket and Groot are fighting bad guys, and the bad guys are all like "PEW! PEW! PEW!" and Rocket doesn't have a gun, and then Drax arrives and is like "BAM! BAM! BAM!" and kicks people and throws Rocket a gun, and Rocket says "Oh.... yeah!" in an almost religious way? That "Oh... yeah!" was how I felt when I took my first bite out of a Jack's burrito for the first time in a long time this evening. I donated to the Jackstarter to help Illegal Jack's return from the dead, so I popped in today for the first time since the reopening to see how things had gone (and pick up my swag bag, priorities, people!) and I didn't plan to stay and eat due to lack of time... Then I saw a couple of burritos being built in front of me. And I smelled the pulled pork... and I caved, people. I folded quicker than a paper tent in a hurricane. I watched the staff look after the woman ordering two burritos to takeaway, wrapping the first one and leaving it where steam and heat would stop it going cold while the second was assembled. I love attention to detail like that. Also, using the lid of whatever filling you choose to catch any spillage so the fillings aren't cross contaminated. Little things make a difference, people. It came to be my turn. I opted for carnitas (that's what the pulled pork smell wafted out of) with a mild salsa, sour cream, pinto beans, seasoned rice and cheese. I watched in awe as the burrito was rolled. I really need to learn how to do this myself some day, I took my cup, filled it up with Coke and sat down. One bite later, I was back in Tex-Mex heaven. I'd missed Jack's, I really had. Other places may have more branches, but quantity isn't quality. Jack's is quality. The new premises are still a work in progress as Mr. Jack (nice bloke!) explained to me, but are still clean, bright, comfortable and welcoming, and even the music being played ticked all the boxes for me. Black Crowes, Lynyrd Skynyrd? Perfect Tex-Mex music. Honestly, I can't fault it. I will be back, I will eat too much every time I go, and I wil swear that I'll never do it again. But it's a lie. It's all a pretty little lie... Oh, and if you're in over the next week or so? Ask about the cranberry salsa - it's astonishing! Welcome back, Jack. You were missed..

BURRITOS! WHO DOESN'T LOVE EM??…read more Last night after a long and rainy day at work I coerced two coworkers of mine to join me for a bite out. My bus routes being what they are, I'd not only seen the remnants of the old Illegal Jack's on Lothian Road (though never got to try it), but now had spotted the new location along St. Patrick's Square nestled in the corner. Because we were looking for a budget meal that we could still sit down to, we decided to give Illegal Jack's a go. The first thing that became apparent to us is that Illegal Jack's has actually employed friendly staff. Wha... what? Where even am I? Walking in the door to being greeted with smiles and genuine friendliness is such a novelty when so many places give you the ambivalent "I'm being nice because I have to" luke-warm treatment at best, or downright snubbing at worst. And yet when we walked into Illegal Jack's the two gals at the counter of wonder were chatty and all smiles, and we had a short conversation about how good the music they were playing was. (Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack anyone?) Next comes prices. I got a small veggie haggis burrito (score!) that was somewhere around 6 pounds. Normally I'd be greedy and add chips or sides, but even this burrito being small, it's actually massive (I was impressed the gal at the till managed to perfectly roll it, and even smush it all around so the proportions were evenly mixed--MY HERO). So I topped it off with a nice wheat ale from Stewart's and left with my bill around 11 pounds. Not bad at all for a solid beer and a solid burrito. Next came seating. Illegal Jack's isn't quite up to restaurant standards of atmosphere for obvious reasons, but the seats feel a lot cozier and less standardized than your typical Pinto's or burger chain. We sat down next to a gentleman mysterious staff member who was doing some laptop work--he very nicely jumped to shift some of his things to the side for us so we could sit. Again, as I was remarking loudly that the music was lovely he thanked me for noticing as he must've been the man in charge of the playlist (come on, Grateful Dead was playing, my hippie heart rejoiced!). But enough about my music tastes. How was the burrito, you may ask? Delicious, of course! That was a really damn solid burrito. My coworker even did a happy dance (twice) whilst she ate it, which I think is a good sign for any burrito. Even more than that, when the gentleman staff sitting next to us noticed my bottle of Louisiana hot sauce on the table he disappeared into the back and plopped down a bottle of Scotch Bonnet + Mango hot sauce from his personal supply in the back for us to try. Damned if it wasn't delicious, but whoo it had some great heat! Overall I left this place feeling 1) chuffed as all get out 2) with super duper happy tummies 3) pleased at how NICE everyone was and 4) STOKED that I have found an amazing burrito place that I can easily get to (lamenting the fact that Los Cardos is all the way on the other end of town in Leith!). So if you're fancyin' a fairly-priced burrito in a joint that feels just a little bit closer to home, give Illegal Jack's a scope. I know for certain I'll be back!

By far my favorite spot in stirling/bridge of allen. I wish I could bring this place back with me…read moreto the states. We honestly became addicted to coming here. The service almost always was super attentive and always made sure we were taken care of. 10/10 recommend the millionaire bars they were almost always delicious and moist I also think it might depend on the baker whose baking too which batch and cutting the bars and desserts because somedays the pieces are different or taste just a little bit better but regardless always tasty! However the only one we did not like surprisingly was the carrot cake. It was just weirdly dense not cakie and like juicy its a bit weird to explain but just wasnt our favorite. Everything else though awesome and the food is just superb! I think my favorite was the vegan fry or haggis toastie if you like a bit of sweet and salty combo! If you go on the weekends however I do recommend having a booking or you most likely wont get in till later in the day. I'll miss you hideaway the best food!

DISCLAIMER: I worked briefly at the Hideaway but wrote both this update and the original review…read morebefore taking on employment there. Hideaway, we meet again. Having had brunch here previously, heading here for lunch was something I was excited about. It was very busy this time round so service was understandably a little slower. We did have a short wait for a table but it really wasn't long till we were seated considering it was peak lunching hour. Oh my word. Sandwich heaven. I had the bacon and mozzarella baguette with hot salsa and guacamole and it was absolutely delicious. Lots of cheese, lots of bacon, lots of yum. The Hideaway is just the perfect spot for tea and cake, I definitely want to sample their baked goods soon. Very, very soon!

7pm reservation, we were seated immediately. The menu is clever and there really seems to be…read moresomething for everyone. My frittata was light but full of fresh piping hot vegetables. The wine list is replete with moderately priced wines; honestly we would have been willing to pay more for a couple of even better alternatives, but I would not classify that as a complaint. Service was friendly and attentive and this restaurant is so eclectic and fun.

This was a higher rated local pub we tried and about a 12 minute walk from our Hilton. It was…read moreearly at 5:00pm and not busy. 3 of the 4 of us ordered the fish and chips (17.95 GBP) just to try another joint. The wife ordered their "Fisherman" which is pan seared Scottish coley or pollock (for 27 GBP). The battered fish with the chips was more delicately done here and delicious. As an aside I tried several times to find a place here in Glasgow or in Edinburgh that did a "special" fish and chips, that is breaded with crumbs and not battered, but apparently no one does that healthier old school preparation anymore (and I need to inform my old work colleague who hailed from Glasgow and gave me this inside tip that it's not practiced anymore). I also had a Chieftain IPA. The side of peas were dryish and not flavorful and small portioned and not done as well and tasty as I have had in London or Perth, just saying. We also had their sticky toffee pudding with ice cream for dessert and that was good. The fries were mediocre. Server was friendly and attentive. 4 stars overall and a nice local flavor Glasgow outing.

Great place to hang out and enjoy some tasty late-night bites. We've enjoyed several lavash wraps…read moreincluding the chicken, cheese, and Jalapeno with Cajun chicken, cheddar cheese with sliced jalapenos and baby gem lettuce, Southern fried chicken with Maxi's hot sauce, peppers, onions and baby gem lettuce and finally the Halloumi Reuben with baby gem lettuce, crispy O's, pickles, mustard and tomato sauce. The wraps are well constructed and bites of flavor. The fajitas are also well executed and thoughtfully presented. The menu is a bit out there, but accessible to the open-minded.

I can only review as a bar as I ain't eaten here…read more.. As a bar it is decent, seems a bit rough about the edges in a dive bar type of way, but the clientele usually are ok and the atmosphere always seems pleasant enough. It's got a lot going on, In that there is a club down stairs, food is served upstairs and there is also a lot of focus on it just being a pub. I've been a good few times and it's usually mobbed. I think that's partly because there ain't any other decent pubs on queen street (that I can think of) and it means everyone heads here. In other areas it might not be my first destination, but where it is it ranks quite highly amongst the places I would stop for a pint if passing. Sometimes it even has some unusual bottles of craft beer hidden in the fridges which is always a good thing. Could be a three on anther street, but a better option on queen street, so I will go with a positive 4 stars.

We made reservations for our rather large group of 12. They were very accommodating but required a…read more£10 per person deposit. The deposit was applied to the bill. Being from Texas, we tried the nachos for kicks. Like, what do they call "nachos"? They weren't awful, but the cheese was melted on with little flavor. My husband and I shared the ribs and wings which came with a side of chips. Very good and very messy! We had beer and margaritas. The margaritas are small (I didn't get a picture), and not very strong in my opinion but tasty. The staff was awesome and very tolerant of our thirsty, hungry group. I would go again if I had the opportunity as it's a fun atmosphere with rock n roll memorabilia on the walls and good music. I would like to try other menu options. One thing to note, they do not serve food outside--only drinks. Reservations are probably your best bet.

Awesomeeeee saucy and great! Fast service. Ambient. Cooooooooooooolllllllliooooooooo this is awesomeread more