In Glasgow, before heading off to see to oh so amazing Adele, the family and I headed over to The Rotunda for a bite to eat. The Rotunda is this massive circular building that houses four different restaurants inside of it. There was a choice of Italian, Spanish, Oriental and American. We went for the American option.(The Rotunda Bar and Diner as it is known.)
We managed to get a booking for half four, which was quite early on. It seemed everyone else had the same idea. Eating early is better than not eating at all though.
I managed to take a couple of sneaky photos when we were booking a table. I'm pleased I did, as when we went back there wasn't a spare seat in sight. (No one wants me flashing a camera in their face.)
The place definitely had a cool sort of hipster vibe going on. There was neon colours mixed in with grey muted tones. Some of the booths had giant lit up cards on the walls. Other parts looked like the surface of the moon, which was way cool. The lighting was low, there was a right big hum in the air from all of the chatter, Adele's music playing in the background. It was a good atmosphere is what I'm getting at. That's all well and good though, but the food has to be up to scratch.
They had a set menu. (Pre theatre menu) Starter and a main for £16.95, or all three courses for £19.50
Of course I went for all three, I mean it would be rude not to.
I went for:
Starter:
Handmade sticks of mozzarella coated in breadcrumbs and served with a sweet chilli dip.
Main:
Freshly made sweet potato and chick pea burger with mozzarella cheese, served on a brioche bun with lettuce, tomato and red onion.
Dessert:
Mint chocolate chip sundae with a whipped cream and chocolate sauce topping.
The mozzarella sticks were just beautiful. So crunchy and tasty. Mixed in with a mouthful of salad and chilli sauce they really hit the spot. I'm one of those people that always wants the starter to be bigger. I could have definitely ate more of these that's for sure.
I liked how the main came out on it's own little tray, everything put in its own little section. Everywhere that's cool does something sort of similar these days.
My chips were fine, the coleslaw was really nice and the salad wasn't too bad either. The burger on the other hand wasn't all that nice. It was just so dry. At one point I took it out of the bun to inspect it and it didn't look too good at all. I guess a real burger is some nice juicy beef, and anything else doesn't really compare. I've had other sorts of burgers like this before though and they've been a much better quality.
My mam had macaroni cheese. I may have finished it off for her. It was so tasty. I wish I had of ordered that. Everything else but the burger was spot on though.
I had a sundae for pudding. I know what you're thinking, that's a funny looking sundae. Well the photo I took of it was rubbish, so here is a photo of a banoffee pie instead. My mam didn't like it, but it looks half decent on the picture.
Overall it wasn't the best meal I've ever had. The starter redeemed it a bit for me but everything else was just a little bit so so. The place was nice and it had a great atmosphere, I felt like we were being rushed a bit though. I know they needed the tables, but still.
I don't know if I'd return. I've checked out there other menu and some of the food on there sounds delicious, so maybe just not doing the pre theatre menu would give some different results...
Have any of you tried The Rotunda Bar and Diner Glasgow?
