Tabac Glasgow

I love Tabac, everytime I visit they add something new to love. From the very decent ‘house white’ to the (I’ve yet to try them) chicken salt fries. The only problem I’ve found so far is trying to get near the place on a Friday/​Saturday, they’ll even charge your phone if you ask nicely: D

Fell out with them since they took West off tap. Not a great selection of draught anymore, and after finally making it along on a Sunday I found out they also don’t do oysters and Bloody Mary brunches anymore. Really no reason for me to return now.

I’ve visited Tabac twice now: both times with Vicky A. and both times we have been very impressed…
Tabac seems to draw us both in as it seems suitable for almost any kind of meeting or gathering; for us it’s usually for a catch-​up over a cheeky beer/​wine/​gin but when we’ve been in you can see people having business meetings, family gatherings, dates, the start of nights out, literally any and every kind of social gathering. I would attribute this to the atmosphere; by night it looks like a den of iniquity you would find during the prohibition era, but during the day, the large front windows let in enough light to make Tabac feel light and airy.
Drinks: they have all the best top-​shelf spirits, with a nice range of gins, particularly local and Scottish ones like Makar, Edinburgh, Crossbill (one of my favourites!) etc. They have a decent range of taps and bottled beers as well.
Food: Wooooow. Where to start? It’s been mentioned in previous reviews, but the chicken salt fries are just top-​notch, do not miss these! I’ve also tried the cod… I can’t remember what they’re called but they’re like cod bon-​bons, breaded and deep-​fried and utterly delicious!
In short, get along to Tabac, there’s something for everyone!

I was in last night with my partner, and have never been met with such rude staff! We sat down at a table where no cutlery was set, but the table beside was set and reserved.
One rude waitress asked rather abruptly if we would move when the reserved party arrived, to which we agreed.
Followed by a pretentious bar staff (male) to tell us to finish our drinks and leave the bar.
Lovely treatment to customers!
I have recently received a reply from tabac, which you will see in the photos section

Came in to review for a publication but was shocked by the poor service and disastrous management.
After buying drinks, 2 of us grabbed a quick seat while waiting on the rest of the editorial team. Swiftly told by a grumpy waitress the table was reserved for someone (15mins previously) and we agreed to move.
Before we had even picked up our jackets some guy (assume it was a scruffy-​looking manager) told us we need to finish our drinks and leave! Shocking service and would not recommend this to anyone looking for a good night in Glasgow. We’ll be telling everyone we know not to go!

Stopped in here twice in the same Friday night for a drink — let me explain! I excitedly wanted to try Tabac so much that when my friend suggested we meet for drinks before a gig I didn’t think twice about how busy city centre pubs can be on a Friday after work and instead agreed straight away! Unfortunately when we arrived the pub was completely full — people were even sitting in the outside seating in the rain — and we decided to go elsewhere. After our gig however, we thought we’d pop in again to see if we could get a seat, and were successful!
We ended up sitting at the bar where we got a schooner of St Mungos (I asked for a pint for my friend and was mighty confused when presented with this!) and an actual pint cider. The music in the pub was very confusing and didn’t seem to match the overall atmosphere of the pub. There was a lone man dancing drunkenly in the middle of the pub which made us feel a tad uncomfortable. Despite hearing that this was a «spy» themed pub (is that true?) I didn’t really get that impression from the décor but maybe I was ill-​informed. It’s also a strangely shaped pub, tear dropped shaped almost, which means that some of the seating is quite cramped. I struggled to squeeze past some punters to get to the loos! We weren’t eating but as a vegetarian I found the menu extremely unexciting and don’t imagine I’d try the food at all when other great food places such as Bar Soba, yo Sushi and Stereo are so close by.
All in all, I honestly don’t know what the fuss is about with Tabac! I feel that this is a somewhat controversial opinion, but it wasn’t the type of place I could see myself catching up with friends, pre-​gaming before a night out or eating out in, I think next time I’ll just stick to old city centre faithfuls!

Congratulations to the staff of Tabac who coped calmly, efficiently and most importantly good naturedly with the fire alarm going off half way through our lunch. Triggered by workers renovating an adjacent building this has apparently happened several times in the last few weeks. Thankfully it wasn’t raining and we stood outside for nearly twenty minutes until fire officers gave us the all clear. I pity the poor customer from the next door hairdresser’s who had a head full of foils! The alarm continued to ring for a good few minutes after we re– entered the building but eventually peace was restored. Our food had been replated and refreshed and our chicken salt chips (yum) replaced. When the bill came our bottle of wine had been comped which was very fair. An eventful lunch indeed.

I liked this place as Bar Ten and I like it more now. The décor has been updated and it’s a little darker which actually works to make it feel a lot cosier and welcoming.
It’s got a nice laid-​back atmosphere, with friendly staff and a good range of beers (with West brewery well represented) and it’s the kinda place you could quite happily while away an evening in. You can also spend several minutes watching people wander up to either of the cigarette machines only to find they are now fishtanks!
The downside for me is when it gets really busy, where it can get a little loud — they turn the music up a little too much for comfortable conversation — and a bit cramped — the layout is long and narrow — but then again it is a city centre pub so it’s only to be expected.
They have an interesting food menu as well, with some nice dishes that range from very nice to ‘yeah it’s ok’ but tend to be a little bit on the pricey side for what you get.
At this point I should mention the chicken salt fries as I know some other Unilocalers believe they are some form of food from the gods! For me they are tasty but they are just fries with a savoury coating, I wouldn’t rush there just to try them.
For me Tabac is at it’s best when it’s a little quieter in the late afternoon or week day evening and has become a regular meeting place and I don’t see that changing any time soon.
One thing to note, the draught beers are served in schooners (about ¾ of a pint) but that’s fine with me.

Short review — CHICKEN SALT FRIES!!!
Long review — as good as Glasgow is, there are occasional times when you want to get away from it all and feel like you’re somewhere else. If that kicks in, and you’re in the City Centre Tabac is a good shout as it feels like the kind of cool bar that you get in Barcelona or Madrid.
It has the look and feel all of it’s own, with funky lights and fixtures illuminating what’s a pretty dark space at the back (the front has loads of natural light as the front has massive windows and big mirrors), but it doesn’t feel dingy. It’s the kind of place that you can spend a good wee while in looking about and finding new things — it was only on my third visit that I noticed the fish tank in the old cigarette dispenser! If you’re on your own, in a small group or with a decent sized party it’s a good place to spend some time, and the music doesn’t overpower enough that you can’t talk amongst yourselves. Do watch out though, as you get the feeling that it can get busy quickly, so if you’re there at the end of the night it could be a wee bit cramped.
Drinks are pretty reasonably priced, with a good selection of draft and bottled beers (with a house lager and IPA that are at the £3 mark), cocktails that look decent and a good wine list. Food is tapas style, and as per the short review above they have chicken salt fries, which for this adopted Aussie is an absolute winner. Other dishes are great, and are well worth a look.
I haven’t been to the Panther Milk Bar that you can get into at the back. It’s only open on a Saturday, so I can’t comment on it.
This is definitely one of my new favourite city centre bars, especially for when I want a bit of Australia in what feels like Spain!

I like this location a lot, but until tabac took it over, it hasn’t been done any justice. I can just imagine whiling away the hours, half cut, here. not that I get much of a chance to do that these days… I managed to grab a bite to eat here and was pleasantly surprised with the quality and subtlety of flavours, not that I’m big on subtle, but I can appreciate it when I see it. the scallops were great, the chicken salt fries i could have kept on eating all night, simple and tasty. the décor is an improvement on previous, and the staff are nice and friendly too.

I’ve been for drinks in Tabac a couple of times recently, but when I saw Briony C mention their chicken salt fries, I knew this was something I needed in my life, and what better opportunity to try them than on payday? So off I skipped for a wee payday millionaire treat to myself.
Unsurprisingly, walking in at the back of 5 on a Tuesday night it was really quiet so I got my pick of seats. I love the décor in here — stylish and funky, a bit dark & moody & a great view to people watch in Mitchell Lane.
After ordering my wine (they’d run out of rose so had a nice rioja in the end), I went for the scallops, haddock croquettes and the chicken salt fries. There was a wee bit of a mix up with my order — my croquettes didn’t get ordered initially — but it was quickly fixed and I had three very lovely looking dishes on my table.
The scallops were dressed with avocado & lime, with crispy chicken skin. In fairness, this wasn’t my favourite dish. The lime was a bit overpowering, and the avocado really needed the chicken skin to cut through the richness but it was by no means unpleasant, just not to my tastes. The croquettes on the other hand were absolutely to die for — I’d recommend these to share, while you only get three they are quite rich and since I was dining alone I struggled to get through them all.
And then the Chicken Salt Fries (capitalisation absolutely justified). Think beautifully cooked fries with a subtle seasoning of salty chicken goodness. They’re utterly more-​ish and were a great snack which I finished my wine and buried my nose in my book.
I’ve already planned to come back for more — and the menu looks an intriguing mix of plates so it’d be good to try more of their offerings. And I absolutely have to try some of their cocktails — just not on a week night!

I went to Tabac twice last week which says something — I am a little bit in love with this place! First up was for our monthly Newbies Night on Tuesday. Tabac were super easy to book a space with — I just sent them a message and they quickly confirmed, and I called to confirm exact numbers on the day. They gave us a good table opposite the bar and we were really well looked after with table service.
We ordered a bottle of pinot grigio as well as an assortment of food from the tapas menu — there is a lot of really good sounding stuff on the menu but the highlights were the roast carrot, smoked eel croquettes as well as the Chicken Salt Fries (capitalisation intended). Chicken salt fries are popular back in Australia but I’ve never seen them here til Tabac re-​introduced them into my life, and I’ve got to say, they are perfect. They taste a little like roast chicken crisps according to Charlotte D.
They were so good that I went back on Friday with Graeme to have them again. This time they were served with a side of tomato sauce (not needed for the awesomeness that is a chicken salt fry) and we got a few more dishes to try — as per my earlier review, the scallops are amazing and worth a try.
I really love the decoration of this bar, it’s very classy and slick without being too OTT. It’s a perfect date location and you always see lots of people having knock-​off drinks here after work. There’s table service if you’re lucky enough to grab one — post 5pm it gets pretty busy! On a nice evening they even open up the windows and you can sit in the lane. I can’t wait to go back.

Hidden away down Mitchell Lane, just off Buchanan Street in Glasgow’s city centre, is a cool and quirkly little bar called Tabac. This was the location of my first ever official Unilocal event, a newbies night organised by Briony C.
After quick introductions we got to ordering. A selection of small plates to share was ordered from a menu involving a few unusual items — «ancient grains» anyone? Smoked eel croquettas? Don’t be alarmed, everything was delicious. I think the smoked eel croquettas were actually my favourite, although the scallops and the roasted carrot make it very difficult to decide for sure. I’ll just have to go back and try everything again. I also ordered a particularly smooth and creamy panna cotta which I can strongly recommend.
Tabac isn’t a huge bar. It’s cosy, intimate and dimly lit. The décor is trendy and stylised. You feel like you’re sitting somewhere very deliberately and carefully designed, and it really works. I could imagine bringing a date here if I wanted to impress them with how cool I am. The music also really worked for me; think anything between Talking Heads and Depeche Mode, if that makes any kind of sense.
I notice that the bar is very well stocked and that they have a range of cocktails available including a proper Margarita — not a strawberry Margarita, not a passionfruit Margarita, not a sodding Irn Bru Margarita, but a real, honest to goodness, proper Margarita. I’ll be to drink it soon enough. It also looks like they have a decent range of beers on draft and the white wine we ordered was delicious.
I understand that they offer a few express lunch options too. I think this would be the ideal spot to stop at for lunch, perhaps after a wander around the Lighthouse, just a little further up Mitchell Lane. I’d be very interested to see if the atmosphere changes at all during the day.

I visited Tabac last night for the first time for the Unilocal Newbies Night. This was my first visit but, after having a lovely night in a great atmosphere, I’ll definitely be back.
The bar itself is a cool, relaxed space — dimly lit with striking features, including the neon red signs (I appreciated the humour of drinks after work with a ‘Please God Make Tomorrow Better’ sign above our heads!), bold disco ball lights and enormous portrait of Uma Merkel on the back wall. I liked that it was offbeat and cool, but didn’t feel «try hard» at all.
We ordered a selection of small plates for the table to share. As a vegetarian I didn’t try the unusual meat options — I believe there is foie gras and eel on the menu! — but I was happy to see that Tabac clearly make an effort to ensure the meat-​free options are never boring. With roasted vegetables cooked and seasoned to perfection (I appreciate the beauty of a well-​roasted carrot), as well as a variety of salads with unexpected quirks in flavour (including, for example, a green salad with crispy kale, and lime flavouring, and a cous cous salad with pomegranate seeds mixed through) I was pleasantly surprised and stuffed by the end of the meal. We also ordered a couple of portions of chips — while I didn’t try them, Briony, our Australian host, was delighted to find chicken salt chips on the menu! From the ‘mmm’s!’ and ‘ahhh’s’ around the table, I think the meat options went down well too!
I’d also like to mention the staff who were so friendly and helpful — from the waitress who happily served us and made sure we were well looked after, to the friendly bar staff (who even provided us with a pair of scissors when we had a bit of a situation with one sheet of cupcake stickers between three Unilocalers!), they really added to the relaxing environment of Tabac.
I will definitely visit again — from a great place to go for dinner, to just hanging out over drinks, I recommend Tabac as your new favourite place on Mitchell Lane.

I think I’m going for somewhere between and four and a five star rating here, I’ll just have to return to make up my mind…
«Did you order everything on the menu?!»
So said the woman at the table next to us as she looked, greedily, at our groaning table. To answer her question, no we did not, but we did order a lot and far too much for our tiny table for two. Oops. Still, the only way to solve that problem was to delve in and eat as much of it as we could!
Tabac had been recommended by pretty much every member of my family (don’t believe me? Check the reviews by Janie M and Hannah R, mother and sister respectively) so when it came to a destination in town for a belated birthday lunch for my other sister it definitely seemed to fit the bill. And it proved to be a good choice.
Between the pair of us greedy guts we had (deep breath): tomatoes, scallops, clams, croquettes and pork san boy chow. Everything was delicious, although the clams are an acquired taste. They’re razor clams, or to use the traditional Scottish name, spoots, and they’re gritty and taste of the sea. Which I personally quite liked, but my sister less so. In fact, one was so gritty I couldn’t eat it, and it’s probably that which is holding Tabac from its fifth star.
But the rest of the food was a delight. The croquettes (smoked haddock) were maybe my favourite. I’m not keen on smoked foods (salmon excepted) so was a little trepidatious about them, but the flavour wasn’t overwhelming at all and they were creamy and moreish. The pork san boy chow was fresh tasting, not betraying any hint of the hoisin listed in its ingredients. The scallops were served with an avocado purée, roe and crispy chicken skin, which made a nice change from black pudding or chorizo, and was tangy and really very good. I don’t like tomatoes though, so my sister had them all to herself (lucky her).
To wash it all down we ordered a very reasonably priced bottle of Merlot.
The décor is fun yet classy (check out the fish tank in an old cigarette dispenser by the door) and the music was retro and swinging into my soul. And a neon sign towards the back points you to the intriguingly named Panther Milk Bar which is open on Friday and Saturday nights.
Bar Ten is dead, long live Tabac!

As is the case with most reviews for Tabac, let me start by saying that I liked Bar Ten and was sad to see it go.
It’s replacement, however, ain’t half bad. No, it’s not anything like Bar Ten, and no, I don’t like change, but I suppose I could learn to like Tabac all the same.
The staff were friendly and promptly greeted us on arrival with menus and the offer of drinks. We both opted for mineral water and ordered from the «express menu». Express by name, but not necessarily by nature. Put it this way — the burger was, according to my companion, delicious and obviously made from freshly ground meat, my fish n chips was pretty standard and surprisingly light, and the side dishes we ordered were yummy and generously portioned. When the bill came to just £26 we both declared that we had definitely paid much more for much less in other establishments and waddled out the door.
We then, however, realised that our express lunch had taken an hour and 15 minutes, and had somewhat eaten into valuable shopping time. For a quiet Tuesday afternoon it really shouldn’t take quite that long to have lunch, however I’m willing to dismiss slow service as mere teething problems considering how new it is.
The décor is stylish, if a little dark, and when they did eventually get round to putting background music on they pleasingly chose John Martyn and Ella Fitzgerald. The newly refurbished toilets smelt of childhood caravan holidays, and the bar was bright and sparkly.
I’ll certainly need to try it out in the evenings to cement my feelings about Tabac,

Apparently, this place used to be Bar 10, and most of the people in our group of 12 were bummed out when seeing that the place had changed. I’ve only known it as Tabac and took it for face value walking in.
It was a gorgeous sunny Easter Sunday when 12 of us took on city centre for lunch and a bit of a boozing. We only stayed for a couple of drinks per pub and when we landed in Tabac, we had to let our eyes get used to the darkness that was this pub. It’s a very dark pub, only real lighting came from the bar and a few dim overhead lamps, but we ordered and took a seat towards the back of the pub.
We only stayed for one drink, because the majority of us who ordered drinks that came with ice (mainly cider), felt a bit cheated because our pint glass was filled to the brim with ice and we were given just enough cider to fill the glass (it was draught cider, so no half full bottle given to us to finish off ourselves). I think if anything, this will be the reason I won’t give this pub any more of my business.
The ladies toilets were interesting though. Wood walls and a long hallway, it felt like we were heading down a maze.
I’m not sure how Bar 10 was before, but this first impression of Tabac was not that great. There are better places in city centre.

Farewell then, Bar 10 — I will miss your nachos, the best in town. Fact.
Tabac has emerged, and stands on it’s own two feet. No reminders of what used to be are here, only the memories of the punters that came through the doors. There seemed to be a fair few people, like me, who were just in to have a quick look at the new place.
And it looks fine. It’s black. Dark. Funky. Fancy. Cool. The kind of place you take someone to try and impress them.
Y’know, the more I think, it’s an ideal first or second date kind of place. It’s intimate without being TOO intimate; If you can grab one of the tables, you could easily sit and pass the time and grab some food.
I didn’t get a table, so I couldn’t try the food. If I could make one observation, it would perhaps be that more seating or perching options would be needed!
A nice selection of beers, both on tap and fridged was available, and pretty reasonably priced for the city centre location.
First impressions matter, and I liked Tabac; I think I’d like to come back with more people and stay a while to sample the atmosphere — and the food — a little bit more before it gets the fifth star of extra goodness, but at first glance, yeah. I like it.
Anything new and different in this part of town is welcomed, and we need to move on, no matter how damn good Bar 10 was.

Quick update: I totally get it now!
One of the prime reasons I loved Bar 10, was because it’s where weekly date night with the Mr started. So what better way to give Tabac a second outing, than to have this week’s date night here.
I now get where they’re going with the refurb. We went in last night after work, and it was pretty busy; most of the tables were taken. There were a few groups, but it was mainly couples — we ended up sat beside a first date (so cute BTW).
On a cold, wet night, Tabac makes for a really cosy, intimate place to go. The rubbish launch night music has now reverted to Bar 10’s modern, easy listening, background rock playlists. And it totally works. The food that was being served looked and smelled awesome — and the service was very attentive.
I had a closer look at their spirits shelving — big selection of whiskies, rums, and no less than 19 different gins! There are about a dozen beers on draft — all being poured in schooners — and priced accordingly. And an awesome, swanky, shiny new coffee machine.
This is still not a weekend or sunny outside kind of bar for me, but I’ll happily go there and chill during the week. Bring on next week’s date night!

Tabac rises from the smokey ashes of Bar 10, which bowed out gracefully earlier this year after many years the stalwart of the city’s bar scene, since its 1980’s birth as Glasgow’s original style bar. Significantly remodelled, the venue is reinventing itself as an «Illicit drinking den» rather than airy café-​bar which preceded it.
My friends and I visited on the opening night, the smell of fresh paint hung in the air, and there was a frantic slightly chaotic buzz, as you’d hope on first night. First impressions were good — dark interior, frosted glass windows, giant space-​age light fixtures and an air of hip coolness.
We ordered three pale ales, schooner size (²⁄₃ pints) which came to around £8 — no freebies from the bar on opening night for us unfortunately! We took a seat at a small table on the long bench seats adjacent to the bar — a tricky tight space, where previously there high bar-​tables and stools. Very soon there were a selection of tasty samples from the kitchen circulating; breaded fish balls, slider burgers, and so on. Yum.
Taking time to take in the surroundings, I was impressed by the gamble of the remodelling. But I couldn’t help think that the frosted windows were a style-​step too far. Mitchell lane has a fair footfall, so people watching from inside was a plus in the old bar, sadly the frosted windows put an end to that. In the summer the windows open, but our west coast climate doesn’t give too many days for flinging the windaes open. The opaque doors and windows might also be off-​putting to passers-​by and tourists visiting The Lighthouse directly opposite. A small issue, and resolvable if it proves a problem.
I’ll update my review after I’ve been back, once the buzz of the bar opening has passed, and hopefully go into a bit of detail about of the food and drinks on offer. So for now, Its a neutral 3*, which I hope to up soon. Good luck with the new venture!