Brown’s Bar and Brasserie

My partner and I visited before Christmas. Unsure if it was because we were younger than the average customer on a Monday afternoon but it took nearly 10 minutes for us to be served at the bar (which was not busy) and other people were served before my partner. When we were served the waiting staff were great and they catered well to Gluten free requirement.
We had a voucher for £10 off to use so we returned. However the second attempt to visit was without a reservation about 4.30 on a Friday and to be honest I was not impressed about their reservations on if they could accommodate us without a reservation.
I would return to Brown’s for lunch because the food was great and the location Is lovely but I’d book in advance and I would wear at least smart casual dress as it is clearly a classy place.
Mixed bag with some disappointment but overall nice place and nice food.

First time in this place and first impressions looked good. The place was packed (Saturday before 5pm). We were a group of four and we hadn’t booked. After a moment checking the tables we were shown to a table with the proviso that we were finished by 630pm. Loads of time says us. We ordered 4 pints and these came after less than 10 minutes. Not bad as it was so busy.
After a further 15 minutes no-​one had appeared to take the order. Perhaps we order at the bar? I went to enquire and was told a waiter would be with us shortly, which she was. We all ordered the same (burgers). After a further long wait the food arrived (it was almost 6 by this time).
The burgers were approved by all, very tasty. I thought they were a bit on the small side. They came with chips served in what looked like a tea cup without a handle and numbered about a dozen. Disappointing, although tasty.
The bill came to £94. As the burger meals were just under £15 each, this meant that 8 pints cost us around £35. The service was pretty slow but it was very busy. It took a further 10 to 15 minutes for the second round of drinks to appear.
Overall good, but I would only be back if it was looking a lot quieter, as there are plenty of other eateries within a short walk.

I would call Browns snobby rather than classy, and even smarted up I feel a bit out of place. But having a £20 e-​voucher as apologies for a data leak, I opted for a wee Gin afternoon tea, which only added £4 to our bill.
NOW, if I had been paying for it I would have been a bit miffed at paying £8 extra (£16 for standard, £24 for gin) for just two single gins. The tea tray wasn’t overly filled, but just a nice amount of sandwiches and cake. Special shoutout goes to THE BEST profiteroles I’ve ever tasted. Now, I realise that could be a controversial given that the chocolate is milk rather than dark, but the taste is divinity in dessert form.
The tea was a bit cold, and they couldn’t find a lid for the pot (!) so it didn’t stay warm for very long.
The waiting staff were just lovely, and were attentive without being crowding.
In summary, I wouldn’t choose to go there, as it’s quite pricey for what it is, and I don’t feel there’s atmosphere.

My first visit to Brown’s was a few years back when it first opened, and I remember quite liking the place. The interior is slick, and the place felt fairly sophisticated, so when my friend opted for here for her birthday dinner, I was looking forward to trying it again.
Our party of thirteen arrived on time (for once) and we were seated at a well set out long table. Often with larger group bookings you find they’ve forgotten about you and/​or you’re squashed together, but this wasn’t the case.
We’d been told beforehand that the place was closing for refurbishment which meant we had to be out by 8pm but this didn’t seem like a problem given our table was booked for 5.45.
Orders for drinks were taken swiftly while we browsed the menu. Unfortunately because we were a larger group we were limited to the group party menu, which was a bit of a let down as it did limit the number of veggie choices. At 2 courses for £18 or 3 for £23 it wasn’t ridiculous but being slightly nit picky, had I ordered the same main from the main menu and a dessert it would have been cheaper!
Anyhow, that aside my veggie choices were between a beetroot and goats cheese tart or the house salad. Sadly I really hate beetroot — (honestly I’ve tried to like it), so the house salad it was, although I opted to leave off the scattering of hazelnuts. A few of the group had starters of soup which seemed tasty enough although there was some fighting/​swapping over the somewhat inconsistent chunks and types of bread that came with it!
The piano player in the corner provided good background music for our chat and hilarity. Onto the mains, my friends had a variety of dishes including the chicken pie, seabass, chicken and chips and steak. On the whole they seemed to all have been reasonable, although we did note the small portion sizes of a few of the dishes and the chicken in the pie seemed a little on the pink side.
As for mine… major disappointment. Essentially, I got served a large bowl of watercress with a few bits of apple, pomegranate and spring onion. It was pretty unbelievable that they thought this could be served as a main course salad and at over £10 I thought they were really taking the mickey. It had a nice pineapple dressing mind you. The advertised grilled chicory, tenderstem broccoli and asparagus on the menu were non existent in my poor wee salad.
Not one to complain I ate it regardless, but did feel totally unsatisfied. It wasn’t until later that I spoke to my friend further up the table who had the same and suggested we mention it. No explanation was offered but the waitress did go off and speak to someone (the chef I imagine), and said they’d only charge us for one salad which was better than nothing as a result.
I wasn’t feeling too confident about dessert, but needed something more substantial so opted for the salted caramel profiteroles. Not being a cream lover this isn’t something I’d normally choose, but they were in fact really unusual and tasty — coated in a yummy chocolate and caramel sauce they were pretty moreish. Others opted for the apple pie and burnt cream which were pretty standard.
As a side note we were entertained by the staff who appeared to be cling-​filming the glasses and pots. Thinking this was a nightly routine we had some giggles around the extra large cling film machine and staff being cling-​filmed at the end of the night. Only did we then remember the refurbishment … ahhh it all make sense now!
Anyway we had a good night despite the food not being that fantastic although the 20% service charge did seem a little cheeky and we weren’t rushing to tip on top of this. With so many independent restaurants in Glasgow I definitely wouldn’t choose to rush back to Brown’s although the service and experience on the whole made for an enjoyable night.

I want to love Browns… I really do…
But if they take the Apple Lychee Martini off the menu I’m afraid I’ve got nothing to return for. I’ve tried the food on 2 separate occasions and both times things were a bit meh. Luke warm, over seasoned, under seasoned. The service can be hit or miss. On my first visit I was questioned by a waitress for calling mozzarella a cheese (I’m dairy free and had mentioned this to her) «That’s not cheese, it’s mozzarella»!!! Then she asked which one French mustard was «is that the orange one?» For any Harry Potter fans out there just think of Luna Lovegood…
I don’t understand why there is a management team really, I witnessed the manageress smoking then not hand washing and the moving of the specials blackboard so she could fix her hair in the mirrored pillar at the bar… hmmmm
I love the décor. I love the music and I ADORE the apple lychee martini. The rest I can live without.

Best food and service I’ve experienced in Scotland to date. Relaxing atmosphere. Shoulder of lamb roast was incredible. Great coffees and desserts! Keep up the good work!

Went to Browns for a Sunday lunch .
So first thing first Browns décor is stunning I love the old brassiere style and the piano is a lovely touch .
The waiting staff look the part and act the part all very happy, polite and efficient BUT the food was a bit of a mixed bag ‚
The starter of chicken liver parfait was not the prettiest to look at it as it was all oxidised and it was very bland .
On to the main course we both had the roasts (chicken & duck breast) the potatoes were on the hard side, you did get a lot of vegetables but they were on the otherside of al dente but the plus point was the yorkie it was damn tasty .
The duck was really nice and cooked pink (perfect) but the chicken was very dry and over cooked!
Would I go back to Browns… probably not there’s far better in Glasgow at the moment.

Have just had dinner here and it has to be said that the food was very good. We had the bread stick starter to share with tapenade, hummus etc. followed by the cotê de boeuf which was done to perfection and was more than ample for 2.
However the service we received leaved much to be desired. We arrived half an hour early for a 5pm booking got seated at the bar which was fine but then apparently we were forgotten about. At 1710 we had ask about our table. Got seated, asked if we would like water, and then never appeared with it. Starter took a while to arrive and then the main arrived before we had finished the starter.
On reflection I would give Browns another go simply because the food is that good, service was bad but it was a Saturday night.

This was my only «fancy» meal in Glasgow since I was travelling with a pipe band that survives on beer and pub grub. I was delighted to happen upon Brown’s by accident when the infamous «Piper’s Pub» across the street closed its kitchen due to too many pipers seeking victuals.
Service was wonderful — relaxed, friendly, attentive, with good recommendations. I had a seared tuna appetizer, which was good, and a beetroot, ricotta and truffle tortellini that was over the top.
I even ended up with two desserts — one a warm chocolate ginger brownie, the other a free sample of «Eton Mess», which I had never tried before.
Although Brown’s is a chain, it felt very unchainlike. The restaurant itself is housed in a 130-​year old post office. High ceilings, spacious, very posh.

I visited Brown’s a couple of times when it first opened (way back in 2011) but haven’t been back since. I was meeting Graeme in town and needed somewhere around George Square to kill time, so headed here. It was busy and bustling (it was Friday night, after all) and I got a seat easily. The staff seemed happy to leave me on my own until I asked to order a drink — yes, I was meeting someone but I didn’t know how long he was going to be. I ordered a drink and it arrived within about 10 minutes which wasn’t too bad considering how busy it was.
I tried the untraditional lemonade (cocktail) made from gin, lemonade, green tea, cucumber and strawberries. It was £5 and for a drink that price, it was fine — not ground breaking, memorable or leaving me wanting another one.
Graeme arrived and instead of ordering another drink and waiting another 10 minutes we headed off. Brown’s is nice, it’s got a glam vibe to it and the staff are polished and slick. There is just something missing here for me, and I can’t see myself remembering here when I’m looking for somewhere to go for a drink in town next time.

I always eat out for special occasions; it beats giving a card any day of the week! For Mother’s Day I delivered said card and a bunch of flowers to my mum and informed her that we would take her and my mother in law out for a meal the following week. My logic: why go out on a really busy day, have to suffer set menus and no doubt countless disappointments when you can’t get booked/​get a table and you’re stuck next to the drafty door? Why would you do that? Why?
SO. MANY. ISSUES.
I picked Browns as I’d been looking at their menu a few months ago when my work colleagues and I were due to go. For whatever reason I didn’t make it, and every time I’m in George Square I look in and wonder. I’ll start by saying: this is a great restaurant. There were just a few little niggles for me.
We sat with our menus and decided what we wanted and were then told that some items were now unavailable. There were a fair few — the starter I wanted, they had run out of lamb chops and none of the burgers were available due to a technical fault in the kitchen with the fan. We’d seen several burgers and they look AMAZING, so to be told ‘no’ was totally gutting. It must be a devious ploy to bring me back. My starter wasn’t great, but all the others we ordered were beautiful.
Two of us ordered steaks, both of which arrived cooked to our request. The issue I had, is that I think my medium steak was left sitting to cool (more than just resting) slightly before it was served. You can see the difference in the anchovy butter between the two from the photos on my blog, and my béarnaise sauce was cold. We were treating our mums so I didn’t want to say to the waiter, but I was quite miffed. Although I ordered sirloin, it was really fatty.
The Fillet of Venison Rossini was TO DIE FOR. I was gutted I didn’t order it myself.
Overall I had a really lovely time in Browns and I do want to recommend it. Their food is really good quality and I find it good value for money. I’d heard that items were unavailable from the menu on a friend’s visit, but I’m not sure if it’s a coincidence that the same happened to me. We were served quickly and by a very informative, friendly and welcoming staff member and the other staff we passed were all smiley and friendly — the place has a lovely relaxed atmosphere.

Anytime I’ve ever been to Browns I’ve had a good time, and that definitely says something about a place. I normally go here for drinks before dinner or drinks after dinner, and I love it! The staff are great, the range of cocktails, wines and beers is huge and the décor is lovely and suave.
There’s also a massive grand piano in the room that is frequently being played for the customers by fantastic musicians. There’s a range of food available too on a decent looking menu, but I’ve never actually eaten in here!
Great place for drinks and a meet up with friends, or indeed food!

Thursday’s are lobster night & you can get a whole lobster for £19.95! The cocktails are huge (my piña colada was a pint!) & not over priced. There is a pianist playing contemporary songs from 6 – 9. Trendy but not overpriced.

If I could give this a 4.5 out of 5 I would. The ⁴⁄₅ is an average score — if I had reviewed this prior to the last evening I spent there I’d have given it a straight 5.
The service has always been fantastic and the food and cocktails are gorgeous. I also love that they have the pianist in, which adds a gorgeous touch to a romantic evening and the toilets are equipped with plenty of mirrors, very important for the ladies like myself who may be running in for a dinner after having been at work all day and who need to apply their face!
The only reason this place loses a point is that I went last Thursday with a group of 4 friends and ordered lobster — lobster only being available on Thursday nights, I figured should take advantage. It was busy and we said we were quite willing to wait at the bar till a table came up but they insisted on seating us straight away — all 5 of us round two tables for 2. Which just didn’t work, we could hear every word of the conversations of the two couples on either end of our seats.
I also didn’t agree with the sauce that was over my lobster when it arrived — really heavy cheese, and also burnt at the top. If it was just a case of I personally wouldn’t have put the sauce with lobster I wouldn’t have pointed it out, as that’s down to my personal taste, but burnt strong cheese sauce pretty much ruined my dinner.
That one experience aside I’ve loved every visit I’ve made to Browns — whether for a romantic meal or catch up drinks with friends Browns has been a wonderful backdrop, and the bar snacks aren’t too shabby either if you just want some small bites.

Excellent place for food and drink.
Very relaxed but formal setting and staff are the same.
Food is generally excellent and good value considering the standard.
Try the afternoon tea for 2-​great value for a treat. The main meals in restaurant are excellent-​steak frites being a favorite.

What an enjoyable evening!
Having had an afternoon shopping trip in Glasgow and having had a couple of drinks in the Corinthian, my mum and I were struggling where to go for an evening meal; to the point that if we didn’t find somewhere we’d be heading back to Edinburgh.
Walking along George Square, we passed Jamie’s Italian, and even though it was packed, I really do refuse to put any more money into his pocket — also a friend had given it a very poor review.
Having been to Brown’s before, I knew what I was expecting but the atmosphere this Wednesday night was exceptional.
We were seated through the back and as soon as we ordered our drinks, a charming pianist began playing some really great tunes (old and new) to set the mood. Someone who can play Foo Fighters (jazzy) and ‘The Piano’ them tune after each other is pretty impressive! Also, for some reason, nice piano music isn’t as intrusive as ‘musak!‘
As I looked around, everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves and there was a varied mix of ages, old and young. It reminded me of a 1920’s evening somewhat.
Anyway! I ordered a delicious burger, which came with the most delicious chips and presented beautifully.
My mum ordered the steak sandwich which looked perfectly cooked.
The highlight for me was the most delicious chocolate, moist brownie I have had in ages! Served with lovely ice cream, it was a find… They seem to be very proud of their brownies and they have a ‘tasting’ menu you can try– if you fancy some of their more interesting flavours!
Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed and I would recommend as a place to visit next time you’re in Glasgow town centre, with sore feet from walking!!! Minutes from the train station also, so you can stumble back onto the train!
Will be back.

Out for lunch Black Friday, but no black meal. Great welcome, great staff, great wine and great food.
Never been before and to be honest on worst day of year for the poor souls working in hospitality i wasnt expecting much. We had prebooked our meals and they were able to tell each of us by name what we had ordered, very impressed. No changing you mind here and letting someone else get the odd meal out.
Wine arrived and troughout meal attentive waiters kept glasses topped up.
food arrived promptly, duck pâté fantastic, second only to my father in laws truely world beating pâté from 1901. I had to try beef wellington. Sadistic curiosity to see ho this would arrive during a busy service. Not disappointed. Brilliant, Cheese board to finish. Only black mark. I love stilton and protion was almost too small to taste. But hey what can I say. I’ll be back!

Having previously tried their dinners and afternoon teas, this visit was to try their breakfasts. The food was fine, however the second cup of tea did not happen as by that time it was far too infused– that’s the downside of loose leaf tea in the type of teapot provided, or not providing a separate jug of hot water. Use a tea bag and the customer can chose when to remove it to stop the infusion process. The restaurant was beginning to fill by the time we left, with other customers about to enjoy their breakfast and brunch menu.

strangely, like the first reviewer, my friend and i also visited this restaurant on the day of the wedding. we were looking for somewhere new to try and walked past. the menu looked quite nice so we went in. the place wasn’t busy but it did look nice.
i ordered a vodka and coke no ice and my friend a JD and coke. there were 5 members of staff behind the bar but it still took 20 minutes for us to get our drinks. when mine arrived it had ice in it so i told the waiter and he took it back to the bar. i then watched as a sullen barmaid started SPOONING the ice out of the glass! i went over and asked her to stop throwing my vodka down the drain and she said «that’s why i’m using a bar spoon!» i really wasn’t in the mood for an arguement but the waiter made her pour a new one when i sat down.
there were very few people in the restaurant and when our food hadn’t arrived after 30 minutes the waiter came over and apologised. i watched a chef put a burger up on the counter and the waiter walk towards it, so i assumed it was our food. there was a little discussion then the waiter walked away empty handed. the burger sat under the lights for almost 10 minutes and then a portion of fish was put up. yup, that was our food.
my burger was crispy and dry on top and they hadn’t reheated the cheap fatty bacon that was in my bun. the peppercorn sauce (£1.45 per portion) was a dribble in the bottom of the dish. the dish of mayonnaise had gone off but had been stirred up to make it look better. the only reason i’m not giving this place 1 star is becaues when i spoke to the manager, he comped our meal immediately. i only wish the barstaff and the chefs were as good at their jobs. wouldn’t recommend.