The Geordie Tourist.

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?

Last Saturday I went with my mam and Geoff (her husband) to Glasgow. We stayed for one night in an apartment we found on Airbnb. If you've never heard of  Airbnb before, its basically a site where you can search for rooms or properties to stay in when you go on your travels. I've used it once before when I went to London a couple of years ago, and had no bother, so I thought I'd try it again. (Plus it worked out a lot cheaper than most of the hotels I came across.)

We stayed about ten minutes away from the BBC Pacific Quay and everything else around that area. 

It was a lovely grey day as you can tell. It was bloody freezing and the drizzle and strong winds made it seem even colder. I had never been to this part of Glasgow before though, so we had a little wander about.

I love how the architecture of the buildings looks against the gloomy water, and how they have a bridge quite similar to our Millennium Bridge.

We passed the SSE Hydro, which was the whole reason we were there in the first place, no I'm not talking being a mega fan of the building or anything, but seeing Adele in concert. I'll get onto how amazing that was in a second though. It looks quite futuristic the building though, which was cool. The grass on the roof reminded me of the Shire for some reason.

I don't have a lot of pictures, if I'm honest we were out and about for about half an hour at the most. I was happy just looking around though and trying to stop my hood flapping about in the wind.

I had no idea what this Clydeport thing was, but I just thought it looked so cool standing there all industrial-like. (I have since Googled this and found its to do with logistics and shipping and what not.)

We ended up finding a place to eat inside The Rotunda. It seemed everyone else had the same idea, so we had to make a reservation for pretty much straight away. We had twenty minutes to get back to the apartment and changed and them get back for our food. (Good job it was so near.)

Afterwards we had a couple of drinks at the Hilton hotel that was nearby too.

Obviously the main attraction was Adele. The concert was just flipping straight out unbelievable. She has such an amazing voice anyways, but seeing her live like that was a real special moment. She is so down to earth and funny too. Definitely one of the best acts I've seen. I had to nab a t-shirt whilst I was there to mark the occasion. I'm just gutted I didn't take any photos. I guess I was just being really present in the moment and enjoying it too much, which is pretty alright too.

Any of you seen Adele, or even Glasgow for that matter?