The Lane

I thought about giving The Lane one star but I have a feeling I’ll end up going here again. I’ve lived in the West End for ten years and it’s one of those places you just end up. Anyway, The Lane is attatched to The Grosvenor Cinema and below The Loft aka The Grosvenor Café. The Lane is a decent looking bar decorated with old film posters and vinyl. You can get drinks here to take in to the cinema, sit in and have a meal, sandwich or brunch or sit out on Ashton Lane which is good on a sunny day (bit crowded on Fri/​Sat evenings).
This all sounds good but the problem is the service, the people behind the bar look stunned that you’re actually asking them for menus, food, drinks and so on. There is no communication about how you should order or when to pay. There’s a sign that says Wait Here To Be Seated but if you do you’ll be waiting all day! You place your order for food at the bar in case you were wondering. There are no table numbers so they just wander about looking for who ordered what. The food takes AGES to arrive as it’s made upstairs. It’s always been this way but today I was told after waiting for half an hour to have my order taken that there would be a long wait as they were busy with bookings. This was Sunday at noon and the place was half empty but there was a large number of people there for a child’s birthday party. They looked pretty sorted with big platters of pizza and sandwiches though so I’m not sure why they were being blamed for the lack of service. I decided just to have a pot of tea but it tasted so horrible I couldn’t drink it.
In the past I’ve had lovely meals here and the food is not bad but the rubbish service has really put me off going back. I’d only recommend this as a place to grab a drink and sit out in the sun.

Coming here to grab a quick drink before watching a film at the Grosvenor cinema, I was surprised by the inside. I like it, I love the film posters that are part of the bar area.
Trying to cheer up my friend whom I was with, I went to bar to get the drinks, which were pricy for them being non alcoholic, but the bar man redeemed himself by only smirking and not outright laughing in my face when I asked to have an umbrella for my friends drink. I haven’t seen cocktail umbrellas for a long time. Nice touch, The Lane.
I can absolutely see this place being ram packed at night, and it has quite a nice atmosphere too.

I came here last night for the first time, and I think it’s probably one of my favourite bars now! We headed upstairs as my friend said it was really nice — I totally didn’t expect it to be so huge inside! I loved the atmosphere, the furniture was simple but classy — very romantic ! It was really quiet with only a few people inside but probably because it was a weekday. It definitely would have been better to go at the weekend I think when it would probably be fairly busy. I wasn’t really bothered about drink so I just got a rekorderlig which was around £4, probably slightly more expensive than other bars/​pubs but still reasonable.
The only downside was the bartender when we were about to order. We waited for a while before we got served while she was cleaning at the other side of the bar — clearly already aware of our presence as she had given me the cocktail menu to look at before ordering. It wasn’t busy at all so the fact we still had to wait to get served was a little annoying, and when we did manage to get her attention she didn’t seem like she wanted to serve us at all.
I think i’ll definitely go on a weekend the next time!

Had eggs benedict today at the Lane from their Brunch Menu (£6)
It arrived pretty much as you would expect — 2 halves of a toasted muffin — each half topped with 2 rashers of bacon a poached egg a piece all garnished with spinach leaves and hollandaise sauce. Very tasty, although was quite rich (as is to be expected of any self respecting EB). NB: if veggie, the bacon would scupper you, so ask for it without up front as no mention of it being involved on the menu description.
The Lane is an excellent location for mummies with buggies as there is a lift at the back of the Grosvenor Café which is really convenient, especially after baby cinema on a Tuesday and Thursday. There is loads of space for screaming without disturbing anyone and lots of comfy seats and sofas if you would prefer to spread out rather than sit at a table with chairs.
It would also be very accessible for anyone with mobility issues/​wheelchair, again via lift at rear of the Grosvenor café.
Service is friendly and efficient.

Popped in for a sneaky French martini after work, accompanied it with a peanut butter crème brûlée. £3 for a French martini is hard to beat, and it hit the spot perfectly. Service was quick and cheerful, which is always good.
The Lane was nice and quiet, especially given the Grosvenor Café upstairs was rammed for the rugby. I managed to have a quick catch up with my friends before heading home. I’d like to see how a Friday night compares to the Sunday afternoon right enough.

You would probably get served quicker downstairs than upstairs section.

Oh dear, the lane. you’re just… not much to you. I like the quotes on the tables, but apart from that you’re just somewhere I go for a beer before the cinema. Sorry.

I think this bar may have had stepped up since earlier reviews posted here.
Yes, it was originally just a bar for people to wait before seeing shows at the adjoining cinema. But for a Glasgow newbie like me, it seemed like it’s own entity and we spend a lovely evening there without watching a film!
They have a great selection of cocktails, and hot bevvies for the non-​alco drinkers.
I loved the tunes that were playing, combined with very comfy seating, it was a great atmosphere all round. And this was on a Monday night!
definitely coming back here next time I’m through.

We ended up walking out without ordering. Staff were uninterested at first then condescending.

The only time I ever go into the Lane is to get a drink while I’m waiting to get into the cinema.
I find it pretty dull in there. The tunes were good, I have to admit.
But it feels like it’s suffering from an identity crisis; and specifically, feels like they needed to put *something* next to the cinema, and thought ‘Oh yeah, what Ashton Lane needs is another bar!’.
It’s more of an afterthought than anything else. And because of that, it’s always an afterthought for me as well.

Admittedly, I am not a big fan of the infamous Aston Lane. Unfortunately (unlike the cool kids) I find it to be too busy, too expensive and most of the people to have a too much attitude and too few manners.
While this place was quiet — always good for getting to the toilet, bar, seats etc… — the service was not particularly speedy, friendly or great.
Furthermore, the prices certainly do not reflect the quality of the venue or drinks. However, it will do for a quick drink before dinner or the pics.

The Lane pub in Ashton Lane is attached onto the gorgeously quaint Grosvenor Cinema, so my friends and i decided to come here for a quick Cosmo before a film, as the cocktails were only 2 pounds on special offer. It wasn’t too busy, pretty average for a Wednesday early evening, yet it still took us about ten minutes to get noticed by one of the two young male bar staff who were deep in conversation.
Eventually, one of them granted me some attention and i ordered 5 cosmopolitans (not all for me, honest Guv) He made them in super, super slow time, even though i was asking for 5 of the same, relatively simple cocktails, but he was too busy finishing his con flab with the other barman to be hasty.
They were pretty lacklustre in colour, not the usual vibrant pink, so i thought he might have used too much or too little of something in them from the start. When we tasted them, we all agreed that he had used too much juice and not enough lime, pretty important when mixing a classic Cosmo. And we should know.
Even though we were only in for a quick drink, i don’t think we would have had another one anyway. I have heard from other people that the service in here is pretty slow as a rule, which doesn’t give a great impression. Stick to Vodka Vodka across the lane, perhaps they could give the staff in The Lane a little lesson in cocktail making!

went for lunch they do two lunch menus a 7.95 set lunch and a quick lunch 5.95 for that you get a tray with spiced onions a few mini popadoms, choice of veg /​chicken pakora, fried or boiled rice, a curry of your choice from the lunch menu (smaller portion) amd a gulab sweet, it all comes in a sectioned metal tray, and the food was really nice
been before in evening and the service and food were excellent