Glasgow’s 100 Best Restaurants book brings together the culinary highlights that define the hospitality scene in Scotland’s biggest city. You’ll find recommendations for breakfast, lunch, dinner, drinks and chips on the way home. A comprehensive snapshot of the thriving local scene, consider it your restaurant tick-list for right now. Order your copy here.
Today is National Burger Day, here’s five of the best Glasgow has to offer.
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5. The Butchershop Bar & Grill
1055 Sauchiehall St, G3 7UD / 0141 339 2999
Serve the best steak and let people have fun. That was the short mission statement when James and Louise Rusk decided to open a neighbourhood restaurant in 2010. Exposed brick walls, cosy round leather booths. Regulars tell us they are interested in one thing. Grass-fed Scotch beef, hung on the bone and dry-aged for up to 45 days. They come from far and wide, congregating for fillets, sirloins, rib eyes, tomahawks and all the rest of the prime cuts. Burgers are the star of the show on a Tuesday night with a special dedicated menu.
4. Porter & Rye
1131 Argyle St, G3 8ND / 0141 572 1212 / porterandrye.com
Porter & Rye’s dry-aged beef is delivered daily by Tom Rodgers Butchers of Byres Road. It’s all sourced from the Brown family at Gaindykehead Farm of Airdrie. They’ve been working closely with the farm since the doors opened on Argyle Street in 2014. The Porter & Rye signature rib-eye burger features coffee braised brisket, pickles, beef dripping chips and black truffle mayo. They mix up some inventive cocktails at the bar – ask for a Caribbean Affogato after dinner.
3. Dennistoun Bar-B-Que
585 Duke St, G31 1PY / 0141 237 7200
Dennistoun is attracting attention. The past year has brought more tangible reasons to hang out in this part of town. It’s a case of filling in the gaps around the existing mix than a takeover. A slow, steady sea-change. Bookies, booze shops and barbers remain prevalent on Duke Street. There’s also burgers. You’d almost describe Dennistoun Bar-B-Que as a diner. The food has American sensibilities but the attitude is pure Glasgow. It’s a heady mix. Order at the counter and take your food home. Gather lots of napkins – this is messy eating – and dig in. Their locally sourced meats are smoked in-house using imported Texas oak. Try the Nutella barbecue ribs and imported soft drinks.
2. Bread Meats Bread
701 Great Western Rd, G12 8RA / 0141 249 9898
We are at the burger crossroads. The much-maligned fast food staple has been elevated to a higher place and competition is fierce across the city. Local favourite Bread Meats Bread’s high-impact combinations includes the ridiculously indulgent Luther Burger – a double smashed burger with American cheese, candied bacon, spicy beefy mayo and crispy fried onions inside a grilled glazed ring donut to turn the taste levels up to eleven. It’s food to put a smile on your face. They serve up big flavours from Great Western Road and The Fort with a bigger city centre branch to open next month, replacing their St Vincent Street headquarters. The menu includes gluten free and halal options. Order a portion of caramelised sweet potato fries, with maple syrup, cayenne pepper and coconut to accompany your burger. A sensational side.
1. El Perro Negro
152 Woodlands Rd, G3 6LF / 0141 248 2875
Dreamed up by Nick Watkins who started out with events that established demand for their Top Dog burger – a rare-breed beef patty topped with slices of rare-breed bacon, then bone marrow and roquefort butter, caramelised onions and black truffle mayo on a toasted brioche bun. It’s a thing of beauty. A neat little permanent base opened in Finnieston with backing from The Gannet co-owners and chefs Peter McKenna and Ivan Stein, followed by a neighbourhood burger joint in Woodlands. Organic and free range beef from Peelham Farm. Nick went to London and defeated competition from Gordon Ramsay’s Bread Street Kitchen and some of the leading restaurants in the country to win the National Burger of the Year title last year. Today’s special for National Burger Day: “Double smash, double cheese, double bacon, marrow butter, burnt butter mayo pickles and onions”.