The drinks were terrible, not made properly. Service was very slow. I should have been concerned when this bar was empty. I'm an American wearing an American hat, was told it was a "political statement" by the blond bartender. I was asked to remove it, I told her no, she asked me to leave. This place is not American friendly and they discriminated against me. The owner should be ashamed. Makes sense there was only three people on this huge place when all the other pubs were packed . read more

Bought tickets for NYE and spent £160 on tickets for the 4 of us. Was denied entry at the door as they'd oversold tickets and the place was at capacity. I'm being denied a refund now for getting absolutely nothing. Shocking customer service. Never again will I give Hillhead book club any custom. read more

I really wanted to like this place, but unfortunately it left something to be desired. The service was not very friendly. I came by myself around 530pm, and there was barely anyone there dining. I had made a reservation online as well. My server did not acknowledge me until around 15 minutes after the greeter seated me, and she was just talking to the bartenders at the bar. I ordered the corn ribs which were so incredibly touch, they were almost impossible to eat. The bone marrow Mac and cheese was some of the worst Mac and cheese I've ever had. The meat was incredibly bland and flavorless and the Mac and cheese was also bland and tasteless. This seems like it would be a cool vibe to come and party at during the late night hours, but I wouldn't dine here again. read more

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Cute space with good food but as others mentioned, slow, inattentive service. Order your drinks straight away because you're going to be waiting a while. read more

Uber cool place in a great classical building with some seriously amazing woodwork and classical design. The staff is spot on, but sadly, they've been saddled with the current espresso martini craze as it's literally impossible to get a drink as the young kids all show up trying desperately to look important and order said martinis when the rest of us would just like a proper G&T, or for me, a nice neat whiskey or bourbon. No wait staff service unless you're having dinner, which was also a bummer, I'd gladly pay extra to get out of the kiddie silliness. read more

Fascinating architecture augmented with casual, but trendy seating arrangement. Good overall ambience and pub-style food. read more

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Met my old high school classmate/hiking buddy/Yelper Eileen Y. for dinner our second night in Glasgow, Scotland. Details: We were staying in Glasgow a second night on August 5, 2013. My family and I had a free night from our tour group which was a nice break. Free time was hard to come by, unless we were asleep, and we really needed to cut loose from the pack. My friend and Yelper, Eileen Y. from Glendale, was also staying with relatives in Glasgow, so we decided weeks before that we would try to get together for dinner or drinks. Eileen chose Hillhead Bookclub for it's really relaxed atmosphere, history and cool location on the West End near the University. Previously the building had been used as a cinema that was built in 1912. It remained a cinema for 80 years and could seat 500 people. Check out this link for some photos of the building when it was a cinema. Ambiance: 4/5 Stars This is definitely my kind of place. It used to be cinema as I wrote about above, but was converted. It just oozes history and casual ambiance. It is an open floor plan with two stories. You can look down on the first floor from the second. Food: 3/5 Stars They have some nice signature cocktails and beer. I think I had both. The burger was very good, but the fries seemed to have been reheated. They were a little soggy. I can see some improvement can be made in the kitchen as far as food goes though. Service: 4/5 Stars Our server was very nice. He took a photo of our group for us. They did forget one hamburger and we had to wait about a half hour. It was my hubby's and it's a good thing he isn't a Yelper or this review would probably be two stars at the most. Parking: 2/5 Stars You find what you can get on the street. There is no parking lot like the U.S. It is very close to a train station. Misc: My son and Julia's son were minors, so they said we needed to skedaddle by 8:00 p.m., but they were pretty cool about it. This restaurant is very close to the Botanical Garden and the University of Glasgow, so we strolled over there after dinner. Yes, I would recommend coming here for lunch or dinner read more

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It doesn't deserve a star, rudest service in Glasgow. filthy interior and terrible alcohol. No matter what the ratings say, don't go. Terrible experience. read more

Fun place. My daughtet often goes here while she attends Glasgow University. She took ne there this week while i was visiting from the States. Good doood, kind sercice, reasonable prices, clean, and nice selection of beers. read more

Before I visited here, I was all set to score this place pretty low based on my previous experiences. But I wanted to give it a fresh go, so I went back for a lunch time visit! I already had a sandwich stowed away in my handbag. Understanding that it is never cool to eat another venue's food, I asked the bar girl if there were any snacks being served. "No, we only have our full lunch menu" she snarled at me. Wow, what a friendly greeting. Upon looking at the menu I saw lots of things I'd categorise as a snack, including starters and sides, so I'm not sure why she didn't mention those. It also wasn't like the place was packed and I'd have been taking up space! Anyway, from here on in, things improved. A lovely beardy guy served me and was super friendly and helpful. (Most of the men are beardy though, so this won't really narrow it down). I went for the chicken liver parfait, sounded yum and around £4.00. He came back soon after to break the news it wasn't available, so I went for the chickpea and coriander fritters with beetroot and goats cheese (£4.50). It arrived pretty quickly and was a good sized portion of 4 fritters and a lot of beetroot (although it must be said, not much goats cheese). This was tasty and I wolfed it down pretty quickly. The other downside of Hillhead is the toilets, they are just not nice. There is a lot of them, but they aren't maintained and have shoogly seats. No one likes a shoogly toilet seat, especially me - I have a fear of falling in. So I tried a few cubicles, this wasn't just one. In some ways today, Hillhead exceeded expections - tasty food at a reasonable price - but variable (grumpy) service and rubbish toilets let me back down again. I also really, really want them to invest in some books to decorate the place. Ah well. read more

Every so often somebody will go, "Hey, fancy going to the Hillhead Bookclub" and I'm like, "Yeah that sounds good, I've not been in ages". Then I go there and remember why. On paper, the Hillhead Bookclub should be my favourite place in Glasgow. Chintzy decoration and reclaimed interiors? Ace! Imaginative vegetarian menu? Incredible! Interesting and reasonably priced cocktail selection? Bonus! Alternative nights which support local businesses? I'm sold. While HHBC delivers on all these promises, it fails on one very simple aspect, GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE! HHBC consistantly provides some of the worst customer service in Glasgow, in my opinion. I've visited several times over the years and I'm still to see improvement! Speak to someone you know and they'll have a story about the bad customer service they had that one time they went. I have to say, the food and drink here is very good. On my last visit I had the veggie bean burger and it was great. The chips were great too. My friends both had the chicken burger and they agreed it was amazing too. We basically sat in silence the entire time because we were too busy scoffing our meals! The cocktails are also nice and reasonably priced and they do deals on spirits and mixes for £2 during the week. But each visit I'm still left with a bad taste in my mouth. I've been given the wrong food order here, the wrong drinks order. Had an incorrect bill brought after waiting about 30 minutes for it to arrive. I've been ignored by waiting staff. I've asked waiting staff for something only to be forgotten about. I've had to literally shout to be heard when about 50 students turned up on a bar crawl and caused havoc. On our last visit we waited so long for our bill (and then for that bill to be corrected) that we sat and counted out exact money to pay with because we couldn't bear the inevitable wait for change. I don't know if I'll be back to HHBC, if I am it won't be for a good long while. When everything about your place is so good, it's a shame that they go ruin it with bad staff (and probably bad management). read more

Hillhead Bookclub - Grilled halloumi and Waldorf salad! - Bars Near Me - Glasgow, GLG

I was here last night with a friend who had never been before - crazy right?! It was as good as I had remembered- the atmosphere, the food and the staff where great. I never get bored of this place, love the hipster feel of it all! We came for dinner and a couple of drinks. I ordered a fried whitebait with mayonnaise for my starter which was lovely but was definitely a little too salty! I then had a steak and ale pie accompanied with mash and green beans for my main which was delicious. I had never tried their cocktails here before so I ordered a strawberry vodka mojito - oh my goodness it was so good! I'm not a big alcohol drinker as I hate the taste of alcohol, but this one you couldn't taste the alcohol at all! So I ended up having 3..one was a strawberry gin mojito which was slightly stronger but still yummy. The music was excellent all night and I loved that they dimmed the lights later on the night which just added to the atmosphere. My friend absolutely loved it too! read more

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Such a cute place Amazing drinks A must go to!!!! Very nice staff!!! I am def coming back read more

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So it's 2 stars for the food and 4 for the cocktails. Visited for my friends birthday on a Friday night. Started off with a cheap and cheerful strawberry gin mojito for £3. These were super tasty however be warned they are mostly ice! We placed our food orders and I decided to go for chips and chips and the veggie haggis spring rolls. The reason I have given 2 stars for the food is because I just really did not like the chips that came with the food. To me they are not chips but just halves of potatoes which have barely been cooked. They were so firm I actually left quite a lot because I wasn't enjoying it. The fish wasn't too bad though. Spring rolls were okay. Maybe if I did come back then I would have to try something different. After the food was gone we ordered more cocktails! The salted caramel white russian was so delicious. It was like dessert. I also got the promenons-nous dans les bois. The name is a mouthful but it was actually my favourite cocktail. Really refreshing and tasted nice. I seem to have a habit of ordering at least one cocktail I don't like but I was lucky this time. The birthday girl got herself the gramophone punch which is made up of whatever they felt like. Tasted quite good but I couldn't quite figure out what it was. Overall I would come back for decently priced drinks, but I probably wouldn't choose to eat here again. read more

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The Hillhead Bookclub could be great. It has a stunning decor, quirky setup, and some great cocktails (my strawberry gin mojito was excellent) but the restaurant side is where it falls down. Inside it's an impressive space, nicely carved up so you don't ever feel like you are intruding on others conversations, although the volume of the music was perhaps a little too high for what was dinner time? As a pub it works well, the two additional areas with a table tennis table in one, and old computer games in another are a nice touch, but sitting near the table tennis area during dinner meant we were interrupted by shouts several times (not a complaint of the people having fun, more that the whole place doesn't feel quite thought through?), It took us about 10 minutes to finally attract the attention of the, one of two, waiting staff but once we managed to order from the impressive sounding dinner menu, drinks arrived quickly. The first course (of two) arrived promptly enough after that. I had the beef brisket which was tasty enough although the pancetta wasn't fried off enough for my liking, the dauphinoise potatoes were very tasty. Not quite sure what the tiny cocktail onions were supposed to add and the gravy was a drab watery affair but overall it was passable. My partner had steak and ale pie which was tasty but the mash on the side was a bit flavourless. We also ordered two sides, cauliflower cheese which was in a watery sauce, and honeyed parsnips which were good but could've been more caramelised. Desserts were popping candy cheesecake and a chocolate and honeycomb tart. Both were good, the cheesecake a little too much for my partner to finish, and the chocolate tart was delicious, although I was glad for a small slice as I couldn't have eaten much more of it as it was very rich. It could also have done with being left out of the fridge for longer as it was almost completely solid. Overall, for the price I'd have expected better. There was nothing technically challenging or difficult about the meal, and whilst the flavours were ok, I don't think we'll be rushing back to eat there. The entire experience just felt a bit second rate. read more

Hillhead Bookclub - Beef brisket with pancetta and dauphinoise potatoes. - Bars Near Me - Glasgow, GLG

The G3 Creative team enjoyed some lovely food food and a relaxing atmosphere in what use to be the Salon Cinema.

One if my favourite west end cocktail venues, by far. Not the cheapest at £6 a speciality cocky, but cheaper than some places. My favourites are Heart of Darkness, spiced rum, Kaluha, gomme and coffee, and Tequila Mockingbird, featuring Agave tequila and honey...I think. :p I've yet to be fortunate enough to tuck in to a main meal, but having had a selection of their sharing plates, and sampled their catering at the work Christmas party, the bar has been set pretty high. Seating is plentiful, though still elusive at weekends, and there is a ping pong table and games cage of you're less than content people watching. Bar staff are efficient, skilled in their mixology, and will always accommodate an off the menu cocktail request. read more

Hillhead Bookclub - Under Cheery Moon - Bars Near Me - Glasgow, GLG

This is the first time I have been to hipster pub and I really liked it. I wish they had this kind of place at my Uni back in the States because then it would make a lot of money since my University has a bunch of hipsters. I'm breaking out of paragraphs for this and I complied a list of awesome things about this place... -They played jazz and 60's music. It was very enjoyable and definitely set a good tone for the whole time I was there. -There's a ping pong table and across from that there's a couple of tvs with video game platforms that play old school games (when I was there, people were playing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles). Both on the second floor. -Gramophone drinks, You can get your beer/alcoholic drink served out of a gramophone -Farmer markets on Sunday mornings right inside the place, They sell more jewelry and knick and knacks instead of produce. -It's awesome for groups. The wait staff were attentive to us too. -The food isn't bad. I just don't think you get enough food for what you pay for. -The decor is pretty amazing. Definitely check this place out if you are in Glasgow. You have to go here once just to see what everything looks like because you won't find a bar that looks quite like this one. read more

Wow. Ascetic of this place is outstanding. I mean the buildings architecture alone is incredible and they really have done it justice with the decor. We were going for the vintage craft fare but decided to grab some lunch first. They must have a template for hiring staff! Everyone working there were beautiful hipsters. I'm sure I spotted a fair few man buns. It was quite busy which was understandable but we managed to get a corner seat with a small table. I decided to go for the pancakes and bacon with maple syrup. It was...interesting. The pancakes were huge, they took up the entire plate. This would have been awesome but I got two tiny pieces of bacon and a tiny little hipster jar of maple syrup. They were perhaps trying a little too hard with this. The pancakes were very bready and I ended up leaving quite a bit. My partners French toast with bacon and maypole syrup was a lot better and more appropriate sizes! Pricing was pretty average. Which considering the place was great. The fare is on upstairs and again the atmosphere and decor was great. There wasn't as many stalls as I'd hoped there would be but I managed to pick up a couple of cute items. They could do with a little more lighting though, it was difficult to see some of the jewellery. Still it was a nice way to spend a couple of hours and I'll probably check it out again before Christmas! read more

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Hillhead Bookclub has a lot of potential... but it was a total let down... I have been to the HIllhead Bookclub, when it used to be the Salon. The building itself is beautiful with the original molding. It was interesting to see how they changed it inside. The decor is cool and eclectic. Although some of the seating was a bit ill-conceived, because some of the booths feature back cushions secured by belts. Unfortunately for my boyfriend, the belt behind him had a massive buckle and dug into his back the entire time. For a "bookclub" there was no utilization of books for decor from what I could see. It would have been awesome to see shelves upon shelves of vintage books. The venue is quite dimly lit, and features a somber color scheme... so not entirely cheery. Overall ambiance was pretty laid back... and maybe because of that, the service was too laid back? We came for Sunday brunch. Upon entering, we were directed to seat ourselves... cool. So we picked a booth close to other guests and had a gander at the menu. We decided on the pancakes and eggs Florentine. However, we waited a good 15-20 minutes before anyone paid us attention to offer us drinks... then waited another 20 minutes before we were asked for our food order. Service was so. SLOW. We also observed other guests may have felt this way, but got fed up and left. There was a table just diagonal from us. First a woman was seated there, where she sat for a while and waited. She got up and walked out. Next, a party of 3 were seated at the same table, where they too sat and waited a while. Soon after, we watched them all get up and walk out. Interesting... well we decided to stick it out, so I could write this lovely review! ha After watching these people arrive, and leave without being asked their orders... we finally got our food. Meh, it was ok. It filled the void because by that time I was ravenous. Once we finished, we flagged down the waitress, got our bill, and paid it at the bar, because we knew we'd wait another millennium before someone came around to settle the bill. Bottom line: cool venue, not an actual bookclub (no books to be found), SLOW service, generic underwhelming food, but fairly cheap prices. read more

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I love the Bookclub.... It's a bit pretentious and hipster, but the building is beautiful, the staff are friendly, the food is amazing and the cocktails are so good! I'm a particular fan of a Sunday brunch in here - their eggs a la bookclub are amazing as are their pancakes... Two course brunch for me today!!! Mmmm! I've never had a bad experience in here, the service can sometimes be a little bit slow, but it's generally pretty busy so it's understandable. Also, ping pong. Nuff said! read more

Hillhead Bookclub - Sunday brunching - Bars Near Me - Glasgow, GLG

I really like this bar. They have really good meals and deals for lunch and dinner. Their menu include sandwiches and burgers, rice, meat and veggie foods. Price was really afordable and the local's decoration is amazing! For sure I'll be back soon!!!! Hope you find this helpful! read more

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Recently went for a Monday night dinner at the bookclub. We didn't realise that it was Glasgow uni graduation so the place was busy but we only had to wait 10 minutes at the bar to be seated which wasn't bad at all. The wait was made even more palatable by two pound gin and tonics! Very reasonable mid week drink deals on offer. As a vegetarian I was very impressed by the veggie options, as the menu says it's not just your standard mushroom risotto. Myself and my friends split the chickpea fritters and the goats cheese bruschetta to start. We were very impressed with both. I would highly recommend the fritters! For main I went for the spinach and potato saag and was somewhat disappointed as it was overly spicy and lacked flavour. Having eaten saag at both Usha's and Mother India it could be that I just have very high saag standards. My friend got the vegetarian risotto and thoroughly enjoyed it. Overall a good meal, great atmosphere (which was somewhat marred by our rude waitress) and well priced drinks. I would certainly be up for going back to try out the other vegetarian main options! read more

Hillhead Bookclub - Very impressed with the vegetarian options at the hillhead bookclub! - Bars Near Me - Glasgow, GLG

Not the first time I've been here. At the weekends, it's a very busy place. The place looks fantastic. It attracts all different ages. And if you are a single guy like me, it's the best place to come I just need to work on my chat up lines, as they ain't working lol. They have a table tennis "ping pong" comp on Mondays. The only thing stopping me giving it a 5 is that. When playing ping pong, there is lighting at one side and not the other. This creates darkness and heavy shadows. Very hard to play in the dark. So dark the guys in there have lost the ball lol 5 of them looking for it. Get another 2 lights there please. Apart from that. This is the place to hang out. All the classy people come here. That's why I'm here The guys, still can't find the ball in the caged area. Whoops! read more

Hillhead Bookclub - As you can see. Very hard to see. Imagine trying to see the ball. - Bars Near Me - Glasgow, GLG

I love the space in here. Such a beautiful building. I love Hillhead Bookclub as a bar, with ample seating and have been known to enjoy a tipsy late night game of table tennis here. What I am slightly underwhelmed with is the restaurant. Have visited several times and never had a terrible experience. I just wish it was a bit more consistent with the standard of food, and the service. I was in this week for lunch with a friend and our two 1 year olds. We were seated at a good table with plenty of space for prams and highchairs, however we were directly underneath the speakers and the music was LOUD! Asked out server if we could move away from speaker or could they turn music down (bit loud for lunch time regardless). Music was turned down to a more acceptable background level but within 2 minutes the guy at the bar had it back up to pumping bass levels again. We asked again could it be turned down to which the guy at the bar looked grumpy at, then reluctantly turned it down a couple of notches. My friend had to use the baby changing area, disappointed when there was nothing to dry her hands on! As for the food I ordered a club sandwich with chips on the side. The sandwich was delicious. Beautifully moist chicken and bacon cooked to perfection. The chips were a huge disappointment. First, they were wedges not chips (ok so this may be a picky but I like to get what I order, just call it a wedge if that is what it is). Secondly they were hard... Yuk! So much so that I couldn't eat them. Takes a lot for me to leave chips behind! These were left off our bill as I did voice my disappointment to our server. All in all a good spot. I just feel there are things that could be done better... Service was mixed, one waitress was a tad grumpy as was the barman, one waitress was lovely! Please sort out the chips (or are they wedges?)! read more

Trendy restaurant in the G1 style that has taken over the former 20s cinema building that was The Salon and ruined it's elegant period charm in the process. First off I should make it clear, unlike its proprietors, that this is no book club. The music is too loud and the light too dim for reading; not that you'll find any books amongst the ping-pong tables and games consoles. Likewise the cuisine is rather poorly described. The haloumi salad is really haloumi on toast with a bit of green stuff. Our waitress tells us to order a side of chips because the burger doesn't come with chips. True, the burger doesn't come with chips, just a large collection of baked potato wedges, which the side order of chips also reveals to be. On the plus side they serve brunch until 2 on a Saturday and 4 on a Sunday, which may become popular, but I tend to prefer brighter, quieter places to enjoy a brunch. It's early days for this place, but the marketing is all wrong... expect another G1 venue in the ilk of Arta, but with a student vibe, then you'll be pleased. Otherwise the unsophisticated tackiness of the place will disappoint you greatly. Maybe the subtle graffiti advertising campaign was a give away - reminds me of an episode of Hustle. This place just leaves you feeling conned and with such a cheap menu that's impressive. read more

I love that you can get a good cheap lunch here, even if I often end up getting tempted by the specials board and getting something a bit more expensive. That happened last time I visted. I got a beef hash with poached duck egg and hollandaise sauce. Couldn't resist, but it was delicious and still very reasonable for what it was. On the other hand I could easily have eaten two portions. My partner got one of their burgers and said that that was good too. I notice that they also have a decent selection of veggie options - the veggie bookclub sandwich actually sounds amazing. This, funnily enough, is also a place my parents love to visit. I think it's because it's in such a cool big old building. For those not in the know, it used to be a cinema. I guess it's a cool place to take anyone who's visiting the city. There's loads of seating across the two floors and the mezzanine but it definitely gets busier on Friday and Saturday nights when it focusses more on being a bar than a restaurant and often ends up being standing space only. Note also that after about 9pm they relly turn up the music, so if you're hoping for a quiet chat with friends, maybe try somewhere else. The cocktails are pretty standard fayre. A bit priceier than I'd like for too much ice, too much sugar and not enough booze. However, they do always have a few cheaper ones available, including the strawberry mojito which, whilst still a tiny bit sweet for my tastes, isn't a terrible deal. Weirdly, though, they're made with either vodka or gin. Look: A mojito is white rum, lime juice, brown sugar, mint leaves and soda. If you add strawberries and swap the rum for vodka or gin it probably needs a new name. It's a fine cocktail but it's not a mojito. For £3 perhaps it doens't matter. At lunchtime through the week it's much quieter. It's usually not too packed through the week in the early evening, either - though that might change when the students get back for the new university term. When it's quiet the service is speedy enough, although now and then you get a warning that something might take a bit longer than usual. Take that opportunity to go and play Mario Kart or table tennis upstairs. read more

I would absolutely love to give this place 5/5 stars because it's exactly the kinda place I'd love; quirky, beautiful, rustic, vintage, etc etc etc. But I just can't bring myself to give it more than 3 stars for a few reasons. The whole idea of the Bookclub is wonderful. The interior is absolutely stunning, with what I would assume is a old bank hosting the bar. The place is humungous, with 3 floors of seating and 2 caged off areas; one of them is a ping pong area and one of them has loads of old 90s video games such as Super Mario and Mega Drives. The reasons I can't give this place 5 stars are as follows. The prices are so high for both food and desserts; with a sticky toffee pudding being almost a fiver. Their cocktails are cheap, and good, but today when I was in, I asked for 4 different drinks and was told they didn't have the stock in, or the cocktails required a drink they didn't sell. I'm sorry, why is the cocktail on your menu then? I did feel as if the waitress we had today was new, because she seemed to know absolutely NOTHING, and her service was terrible. She had us waiting 20 minutes on the bill because she forgot we asked for it. Twice. I could absolutely love this place if they maybe picked up the staff a bit, and maybe stocked their bar a bit better, as the things I was asking for (BAILEY'S?!?!?) are quite straightforward drinks that most places have. read more

Fun bar/restaurant in Glasgow's West End. Solid beer offerings coupled with bespoke cocktails. Crowd was full of university students. Beautiful and quirky decor. Arcade games. Ping pong. Friendly staff. Mac and cheese was great. Other dishes definitely had spicy twists to them! read more

I like this place-sometimes. Things I like are: the decor, music, gramophone cocktails and the vintage markets they have every so often. There's a great vegetarian selection and some different meals to your average pub grub. The service can be so slow though and I was in there one time and my friend asked if she could take the rest her meal back. They flat out refused on 'health and safety' grounds which I thought was a bit odd. I do live the ping pong table thou! read more

I'm forever in two minds about HB. On one hand, I love the way they restored such a gorgeous building, hold vintage markets and are all about promoting traditional pursuits, such as playing old-school board/video games and (quelle horreur!) talking to one another over a retro cocktail. What I've never felt entirely sure of is the fact they are owned by G1 (notoriously good for having terrible managers at certain venues amongst their number and for generally being a bit devoid of morals). But maybe I should just remove the proverbial stick from betwixt certain areas... I popped in recently for a catch-up with my friend Kirsty W., her fiance Tam and my very own Kris B. We were served quickly with drinks and myself, K and her fiance all ordered steaks, and Kris opted for the Sunday roast (because it was a Sunday, no flies on you!) In the wait time between ordering and receiving, Kirsty and I perused the Granny Would Be Proud Fair on the upper level. I absolutely adore this fair; always lots of beautiful bargains to be had here, and I managed to come away with my bridesmaid's shoes for Kirsty's wedding for... a measly £5!! Huzzah!! Our food then arrived; everyone was very happy with their steaks, mine and Tam's still juicy and slightly bleeding, Kirsty's burnt to a crisp (because she is a heathen :P) and Kris B. was positively ecstatic with the mountain of chicken and tatties and veg that appeared before him. Everything was cooked well, and we all left with rather full bellies! Yeah, I think I'm just gonna have to get over my loathing of G1, because Hillhead Bookclub is just such a gem :) read more

Cant legitimately still give this place 4 stars even though I really want to. Selected cocktails are £3, the food is reasonable and the place looks fantastic. But the service? Oh dear oh dear! Both bar and table service in here can be terribly dire. I've heard the bar staff being insanely cheeky to fellow customers and when we had a meal here the service was shocking! They always appear to be stupidly understaffed which can't help, but still, crack a smile love! read more

How does this keep going downhill? I want to like this place. I really, really, really want to like this place. Why doesn't it want me to like it? *ahem* Eggs florentine is NOT, in any other restaurant in the entire world, a poached egg sitting atop a forest of raw rocket, atop a muffin, with hollondaise. THIS ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/eggsflorentine_88979 ) is the generally accepted idea of eggs florentine. It does not have rocket. It has SPINACH, which is a completely different green with a completely different taste profile. And it is NOT goddamned raw, which is such a jarring sensation and awful taste against a lovely, poached egg that it is nearly inedible. I would also like to know how it takes a server so long to approach a table that is obviously seated, and then does not remember our drinks order and has to ask us again for it. And why it took forty minutes for very simple breakfast orders for seven to come out to us (two pancakes with two slices of bacon, times three, surely cannot take so long)? If you don't have the kitchen capacity to send breakfast out on time, then do not offer so many items for breakfast. Simple as that. And if the kitchen was getting backed up -- hey, we all have run into the weeds while working in a restaurant at some point, even if it was 3/4 empty -- then make sure to reassure your table that their food will be out in just a moment, or check their now-empty drinks. Instead of, you know, ignoring them. The pancakes and bacon are decent. I am glad that maple syrup is offered. This does not redeem the breakfast. read more

I booked a table here for my 21st birthday a few weeks ago and I was more than a bit excited when I found out that you could do that! As a previous visitor to Hillhead Bookclub, I was absolutely entranced by the decor and the design of the place. I love anything that looks like it came from a bygone era and with it's gramophones and cornicing, mismatched chairs and lacy table cloths I was in love with the place. The first time I went. I was especially in love with the £3 Strawberry vodka mojitos- and I still am. Fast forward to April this year and its my 21st birthday. They're very good about gettimg the deposit back to you which is nice. The decor was once again amazing. The place was packed however, and it was a Saturday night. It was so busy you literally could not hear what the person next to you was saying. In addition the bar prices are a tad expensive. The music on a Saturday isn't great and the place just has a lingering aura of pretention. Had I known HB was going to let me down, I'd have had a house party. read more

You will hear about the Hillhead Bookclub well before you actually step in. There are flyers and bookmarks everywhere in town-- from Glasgow University classrooms, toilets, and canteens to thrown all over a random pavement near Ashton Lane. You're not sure if it's a library with alcoholic drinks or if it's a hipster joint or if it's none of the above. But still, the allure drags you in. When I first walked in, I got really happy. The place is huge, well-lit and not too busy and when I found out they had classic videogames in nook on the second level, I thought to myself, "I'd really be spending a lot of time here." But, after the ambiance died down, I really started to think about what I ordered and why I wasn't happy anymore. They pride themselves on their website as serving afternoon tea from 12-4PM, but, other than cute presentation (mismatched quaint tea cups and pots), everything about the tea sucked horribly. Tea here is overpriced, not to mention bagged. It is not even loose-leaf bagged tea, just fannings -- which are bottom of the barrel, low grade dust. I know a lot about tea and the best I can say is that if you want gourmet tea, go to Tchai-Ovna, I suppose. For lunch, I got the Grilled Chicken and Green Bean Salad for £5. It had some sort of light vinaigrette dressing and tomatoes, onions, peppers, and no more than three green beans. There were only two small pieces of chicken in my salad and the rest were heaping vegetables. I was thoroughly disappointed. Coming from America, I am extremely aware of how expensive meat is here...but I think that I should have gotten more than two dingy pieces of wet chicken. Though I do want to go back, for the atmosphere rocked and my friends enjoyed themselves...I probably won't order anything more than a drink at the bar if I do go back. The tea and food just isn't worth it compared to the prices and helpings of other places in the area. read more

Wow! Despite the rather mixed reviews of this joint, i still found myself gravitating towards it with a curious need to cure my curiosity....i'd like to say curious again....curious. Anyway, having bought into the funky advertising campaign and the funky wee entrance, i decided it was about time to give this joint a visit. For me, this place is actually quite funky. I totally dig the hodge podge arrangement of bits and bobs (no further explanation required...just go), mismatched everything and laid back vibe. Ok, so i can't really see this being a favourite hang out of mine, as it's a bot on the large side and will thus never be able to pull off the 'cave' feel i desire in most drinking dens. It is however a nice place for a spot of lunch, dinner or even a cheeky pint. Standing as it is on the site of the departed Salon, a favourite with parents with young kids, HHBC still has a family friendly feel to the joint, with the added bonus of some grown up kids fun upstairs(read board games, ping pong and games consoles....). Also have to make mention of the portions of chips, very reasonable and a pretty meaty snack to help soak up a mid day pintage. All in all a decent attempt to shake up a joint that had lost its way as the Salon...OK so it's not the BoHo, cool cat joint that the branding/advertising had led us to believe it would be, but an ok joint all the same. read more

Acht, I've been in here many a time, but I still can't completely make my mind up about it. On the one hand, it's very cool, quirky, vintagey and a great use of the space. The upstairs mezzanine complete with Mega Drives, SNESs, Ping Pong and Battleships is great fun and definitely gives this place a unique selling point. The bar staff really know their stuff when it comes to good spirits (great gin and rum selection) and they do make a lovely cocktail. I've only had food here on one occasion and it was average. Nothing noteworthy really. At times, especially at the weekends, it can feel a bit contrived and overly trendy, like the staff, the place and clientele are all trying too hard, but that's kinda a given in these parts. Also, in my experience, it's a good place for a date - gin, candlelight and quirky decor. I know I will return, as for something a bit different, it's nice. read more

If you had to recreate my charater in the form of a concert hall come restaurant this probably wouldn't be it. But its a good effort. Well priced for the discerning top hatted gentlemen and the tramp alike. Its lovely blend of sophistication and upcycled junk. The food itself is varied, well presented and tastes good too. Its also the only place i know that slings out a jug of strawberry tap to tide over those who cant stop pounding cokes between starters and mains. They also have sunday markets which is a nice touch. Four word review: free water, nice vibes read more

I'm a girl from Idaho so I can appreciate cool, glowing antlers decorating the walls here. The drinks aren't too bad, and generally there is a good atmosphere and vibe...though these days I sometimes feel a bit old. This bar has cozy nooks, board games, and big tables for large parties. Weekends there is usually somebody spinning some tunes, but it is not a dance party, just a lively groovy place. Service can be hit and miss but overall I like the Bookclub. read more

Met my friend here this morning for a coffee. There's a lot if building work going on on the street outside and it sort of looks like the street is closed off, but there is a small pathway leading up to the entrance. It was quiet when I arrived and I got a booth facing the bar. It's a good sized place with olenty of seating both up and diwn stairs. It's a bit of a dark place as you just walk in, but I like that. My friend brought her dog (who is just the cutest littke bundle of white fluff ever!) and he got brought over a bowl of water. I ordered a cappuccino which was nice, plenty of chocolate topping! Service was friendly. Had a nice catch up. read more