Reviews Ad Lib Hope Street

Best burger in town. . .. Ad lib on Hope Street has been a regular haunt of mine for years. The service is always good and the food consistent. You won't find a better burger served anywhere in Glasgow and that includes Ketchup in the West end. My favourite is the classic beef burger with dill pickle and Arran onion relish. However, the Sweet potato and Monterey Jack hash browns are a close second. As a venue I prefer Hope Street to the Merchant City or West end branches as I feel it are the original and best.

The Dear Green Place, Glasvegas, Glaschu or simply Glasgow. Whatever you prefer to call it, as an Edinburgher I have a soft spot for Scotland’s second city. Yet despite the fact that it’s only 40 miles and 50 minutes away on the train, for some reason I don’t seem to visit Scotland’s largest metropolis anywhere as often as I should, despite the fact it has some great places to eat and drink. The centre of Glasgow is architecturally stunning, and very different from Edinburgh. Like Birmingham – the city of my birth – it grew out of the industrial revolution, and similarly its city centre is still adorned with many of the grand Victorian buildings constructed from its industrial wealth. Central Glasgow is also laid out in a grid system, which – it is rumoured – inspired the one that is now such a prominent feature of New York. It has even doubled as the Big Apple on a number of film shoots.

How appropriate then that when JML and I caught up with some friends in Glasgow last weekend, one of the members of our party suggested we go for lunch at Ad Lib – a New York-inspired eatery a stone’s through away from the city’s grand Central Station (sorry!). To be honest, it wasn’t a place I had heard of before, but I do love the melting pot of influences and flavours there is to be had in a decent US diner – even one located on Scotland’s West Coast – so was most definitely keen to give it a go.

The frontage of Ad Lib is certainly understated – not the brash Americana one might expect, given its culinary specialisation – and my first thought on stepping through the door was that the place was “toty”. Yet I was actually greeted by a slim, but cleverly stylish, dining space leading to the bar and main restaurant area, and which matches vermillion walls, cubic wooden furniture and tasteful, US-influenced artwork. Collectively, this had more of a nod to Frank Lloyd Wright than Trump Towers, I am pleased to say. Beyond the bar the airy dining room offers more of this stylish, Greenwich Village-esque vibe. But enough already about the décor, what about the food?

Ad Lib’s lunch menu is engaging in a “I really can’t make up my mind what to have” sort of way. Inviting sounding starters and mains, deli salads and sandwiches, gourmet burgers, steak AND lobster (I kid you not), and a burgeoning specials board all vie for attention. Now, for the purposes of this review I shall be focusing on what JML and I consumed, given that trying to cover what eight people were eating might just stretch a point a wee bit too far. Oh, and in terms of drinks, I should point out that Ad Lib serves the excellent Portuguese lager that is Sagres on draft, meaning this was our quaff of choice. So…

In choosing a dish to kick of proceedings, I was somewhat torn. The salt and pepper squid, and Cajun prawn popcorn both sounded really inviting, but in the end it was the sticky molasses baby back ribs, with chilli and star anise than won me over. They certainly did not disappoint, featuring perfectly tender meat adorned in a tackily sweet-rich-spicy sauce, topped with a zingy fresh tomato salsa. Truly splendid. JML’s starter consisted of three ‘sliders’ (why so named?) – mini classic Aberdeen angus burgers accompanied by an onion relish. These were certainly tasty, with the relish providing a nice contrast to the umami flavour of the beef, but maybe the burgers were just ever so slightly on the dry side.

Read full review at: http://www.scrumptiousscran.com/2014/02/glasgow-restaurant-review-ad-lib.html

Good food. Ordered the pulled pork fries side and the chicken tenders appetizer. Both were tasty and done well. Probably should have ordered a side of the corn as that looked good too..

Amazing burgers! We liked the vegetarian burger more than the chicken. It was amazing. Very fast service. If you are looking for juicy burgers should visit this place. There are options for beers and drinks as well.

Quite the hole in the wall. Service was a bit slow but man did they deliver on quality, flavour, and huge portions! Delicious food and friendly service and reasonably priced. Thanks!

Nice wee American restaurant with booths and tables. Also has open kitchen to dining area. Staff are friendly and helpful. Food was great although perhaps a little overpriced. Toilets were clean and restaurant was spotless. You can go in for food or just for a drink. They do milkshake, cocktails and usual alcohol drinks. Small outside seating area. NOT wheelchair friendly inside. Large step to front door and toilets reminded me of the ones we had at school.

Great staff and lovely food, had been to their other branch years ago and when this closed down I overlooked the hope street branch as it looks really small outside. Was totally wrong. Lovely setting and very spacious inside, feels very 50s diner and genuinely couldn't fault the food or service. Portion size and quality is amazing for the prices they charge, will be a regular here now that I've tried it!

Had organic highland lamb chops off the specials board. Excellent.

Highly recommend. Food was delish along with a lovely bottle of red....staff were also lovely...a wee night out and seeing neyo with my sister... will be back ....

Love this place so much. It's a gem. As reviews have said before, very chilled, comfortable and if you're up for it, Fridays and Saturdays they're open til 3 with a DJ. Food is always fantastic, I genuinely think the mac and cheese is the best in Glasgow. Also the homemade baked special cheesecake should never be missed, whatever the flavour!