Words by Chris Lindsay
Hello there! Welcome to what I hope will become your go to resource when you’re looking for some tasty (and at times downright filthy) food in Glasgow. I’m Chris and I’ve lived in Glasgow for most of my life (except a little stint Down Under), so when it comes to eating in Glasgow, I’m experienced to say the least. I’ve also spent the last 4 years running an Instagram food blog (@chriseatsglasgow) which has led to me finding some hidden gems as well as firm favourites and hopefully I’ll be able to help you all do the same.
So where do we begin? Glasgow’s a big place and you can’t walk down the street these days without walking past a new café, restaurant, bar or food truck every few steps (maybe I’m exaggerating but you get the jist). Over the course of the next few months, I’ll be sharing some of my favourite Glasgow spots with you but for today I thought we’d look at some of the places I visited in October that I think you might enjoy.
I’ll go through the places in somewhat of a chronological order as I’m a firm believer that comparing a brunch café to a pizza joint and picking a winner is nigh on impossible and wrong. So, lets rewind back to October 1st when people where still planning out their Halloween costumes and look at where life, and more probably my stomach, took me in Glasgow (and beyond).
The reason I do mention it is because it led to me feeling slightly worse for wear the following morning and looking for some breakfast rolls to be delivered. That led to my discovery of The Crazy’s Chef Cafe where I tried and very much enjoyed one of their signature rolls with square sausage, pulled pork, a perfectly fried egg and sriracha mayo. Now the signature roll was good but the reason this little café goes down as a hidden gem in my book is the fact that they do chicken pakora loaded fries that are everything you think and hope they would be and a total gamechanger if you ask me.
After the restorative powers of chicken pakora loaded fries did the trick (that and another night’s sleep), I was back up and at it with a visit to Ocho Cafe. This place has been on my hitlist for too long, so it was great to finally get down and check it out. You’ll learn quickly that I’m a massive brunch fan and the big hook at Ocho for me is their Build Your Own Brunch option that lets you pick a base, style of eggs, add two additional items and a sauce to finish it off. If you’re curious to know what I went for then let me fill you in; a sourdough base with halloumi, black pudding and chorizo jam topped with poached eggs and a hollandaise sauce. I’ve got two sauces on there but who wouldn’t add chorizo jam to everything?! Another to add to your brunch list.
To finish of a rather indulgent weekend I decided I needed to order from Ho’s Chinese, my favourite Chinese takeaway in Glasgow as they had a new special wonton on offer. The specials are always incredible and this months was no different; sausage and bean filled salt and chilli wontons with a curry sauce dip and although it may sound bizarre, I can promise you it was delicious. One of the reasons I love Ho’s Chinese (other than owners Ricky and Pam being two of the nicest people you’ll ever meet) is their innovative menu that includes all the classics you’d expect from your local Chinese alongside dishes like salt and chilli mozzarella sticks and jalapeno poppers or black pudding spring rolls. It’s well worth the trip to Knightswood to pick up an order from this hugely popular Chinese.
After all that indulgence you might think that I’d need the rest of the month to recover but being the trooper that I am I was back at it the following weekend at another two cracking spots in Glasgow city centre. Sunday was spent brunching in Mezcal, a really cool Mexican restaurant near Central Station, that was running a couple of specials that week created by yours truly that I obviously had to check out. Sticking with my love of brunch and fries I created a brunch taco with chorizo, halloumi, avocado crema, pickled red onions and black pudding crumb and then some loaded fries with cheese, chipotle pulled pork, fresh jalapenos, spring onions and avocado crema drizzled on top. Safe to say they were great (although I may be biased), who doesn’t love some loaded fries with brunch? I’ve been to Mezcal a couple of times now and it’s a great spot for Mexican food and cocktails.
After that fantastic brunch you’re probably thinking I went home, right? That’s surely enough for one man to eat in a day? Not this man! By 6pm I was sitting in Paesano, often referred to as Glasgow’s best pizza, awaiting my dinner as I’m a glutton. Not for punishment, just a glutton! Now whether its Glasgow’s best pizza is not for me to say, it’s definitely one of the tastiest pizza places in town when it comes to authentic Neapolitan pizzas, but what they do have that’s better than anywhere else in Glasgow are their balsamic onions! They’re little bites of deliciousness and the perfect accompaniment to their number 4 pizza (spicy salami) which is a favourite of mine along with their ricotta dip.
After that belly buster of a Sunday, I decided that a few days rest was needed before my next food related venture. I’d been hearing good things about MacTassos, who specialise in original Greek gyros and have a couple of food trucks; one at Kelvin Way and one at Glasgow Fort. Fortunately for me I was due a visit to Glasgow Fort to pick up some new threads, so I had the perfect opportunity to check out MacTassos while I was there. I went for the mixed gyros (always go mixed is my advice) with added halloumi and an extra side of halloumi fries. Great for lunch or dinner and perfect if you’re out shopping and in need of some food to refuel.
After all that eating in the first half of the month, I decided I needed some down time, so I took a little break from Glasgow and spent a couple of days up north before flying to Dublin for the weekend. There wasn’t much rest involved in these trips, but I won’t bore you with the details.
As soon as I landed back in Glasgow from Dublin there was only one thing on my mind, where am I eating tonight? I went for a place that is fast becoming one of my favourite spots in Glasgow and my go to takeaway when I need some filthy scran; Nonna Said. This isn’t your traditional Italian pizzeria with items on the menu like deep fried lasagne bites, loaded hash browns and lamb shawarma pizza. I’ve tried all of these items and they’re all fantastic but on this occasion, I went for the salt and chilli chicken pizza which is fusion food at its finest as far as I’m concerned. This is a great spot in the Merchant City and has a great vibe in the restaurant as well as offering great takeaway options, one of my top-rated places in Glasgow right now for sure.
After a big weekend in Dublin, I hit a midweek slump and decided that another takeaway was needed but I didn’t want something as filthy as the weekend’s pizza so instead I decided to grab some sushi from Maki & Ramen who are relatively new in Glasgow but a firm favourite in Edinburgh with multiple locations already well established in the capital. As well as delicious sushi, they do some great ramen (as their name suggests) and their spicy teriyaki chicken karagae was a new find for me but definitely one to try. A great spot that does a mix of delicious and healthy-ish scran, perfect for a midweek or weekend treat.
Now by this point I was ready to call it quits for October after what I think you’ll agree was a rather indulgent, decadent and enjoyable month of food but then Bloc+ decided to launch some Halloween specials and invite me down to try them and who was I to say no to such a gracious offer? I’ve been a fan of the food at Bloc+ since my student days and these specials where no different. They may have looked bizarre (charcoal buns and bloody ‘bat’ wings) but they tasted great and rumour has it there’s a new menu dropping there soon so I’ll keep you posted on what I’m sure will be some fantastic new dishes from their very talented chef.
I finished off my October food odyssey with a trip to the aptly named Bangin’ Pizza down in Dumbarton. I’d been drooling over their pizzas on Instagram for a few months and was trying to find the time to fit in a visit when a friend of mine mentioned he was heading down and asked if I wanted to join him. Result! Join him I did and between the 4 of us who went we had what can only be described as a feast. Highlights for me where the pizza americana with New York inspired pepperoni from Parma and a homemade chilli honey drizzle; the Banging’ Favourite pizza, cheesy garlic bread, bangin’ fries and the homemade spicy cajun mayo dip! All absolutely bangin’, pun intended! It’s probably apt that I finished of my eating for October here with a deliciously decadent biscoff dessert calzone that everyone needs in their life.
Congratulations if you made it through to the end because that was a lot of eating, even for me! I’ll leave you with the news of some new openings in Glasgow that I’m excited for next month. Franks Pizza and Subs has only just opened in Partick and seems to have somewhat of a cult following already. I can’t wait to get down and check out the pizza (you might have noticed from todays post that I’m quite the pizza fan) and everything else on the menu.
The other place I’m really excited for is Lobo that has just opened up in the southside in place of Gnom which was a firm favourite in Glasgow’s southside and leaves big shoes to fill. By all accounts Lobo will be another great addition to the southside and I’m already booked in for early December to check it out (yes that’s how far in advance I plan my meals ha). I’m sure there’s loads more but I think I’ve said enough for one day, I’m off to work on my November roundup by eating even more great food. Laters.
Written by Chris Lindsay
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