The Left Bank

Working lunches are surely the best way to work, right? Yesterday I done just that at The Left Bank; a deceivingly spacious gastro pub/​lunch spot on Gibson Street in the West End. It had very cosy furnishings… cushions anyone? Plus it was busy enough to have a nice lunch-​time atmosphere, but not too much that you ended up distracted by your surroundings.
I was a little bit gutted that the brunch menu finished at 12 on weekdays because the Huevos Mexicanos was the first thing that caught my eye. However, being a bit of a nut about falafel, when I seen this was a salad option I quickly moved on.
The salad came with pumpkin seeds, chickpeas, three falafel and a little bowl of tzatziki. The salad itself could have been a little more exciting and a little less dressed, but I’m not a stickler for what my salad contains as long as there are plenty of textures.
The falafel were sooo yummy. Lovely crispy texture on the outside, but when you cut into them they were fluffy as a cloud. They had some fab spices and flavours throughout and a lovely little kick that balanced perfectly with the tzatziki. Falafel always run the danger of drying out, but the offerings at The Left Bank stayed far away from that pitfall. I honestly could have had a bowl of them, tzatziki on the side and ate them until I slipped into a food coma. Yum, yum, yum!
They do an unusual range of soft drinks too. I had the green tea, apple and cucumber. Super refreshing and crisp, and went fab with lunch.
A lovely little spot that I felt my working lunch only scratched the surface of. I’d love to go back to try their Gastro Pub menu sometime!

I really enjoy coming here. I’ve been here several times for drinks — they have a wide selection of coffees, teas, sparkling soda, cocktails, beer, cider. If you like cider I recommend the Rosie’s Cloudy Cider. Strong and delicious.
This is the first time I’ve eaten here and it’s just as yummy as it looks. I ordered the falafel salad and think the falafel balls are great. Each ball has whole chickpeas inside and lots of flavor! Also enjoyed the beats and pumpkin seeds for an extra crunch.
They have wifi here so it’s a fun place to study/​work, but also a great place to meet up with friends. And it’s dog friendly!

I’ll admit, when going for a payday breakfast, the Left Bank wasn’t my first choice. I prefer a bit of a fresher, more unusual breakfast choice but as I’ve stated before I have a really fussy son & boyfriend so the Left Bank was a compromise for us all.
The décor in Left Bank is lovely and the wee upstairs balcony is really cute. We sat at one of the big side tables with scatter cushions which made it really comfy.
We both went for the Full Breakfast. Everything on the plate had been chargrilled and had a distinctive charred flavour that I really enjoyed, although Martyn felt it was verging on burnt. I was excited to try the Homemade Baked Beans. To be honest they were w bit of a let down and tasted just like white beans in passata. However the breakfast was enjoyable and we did finish the lot.
My little one asked for a link sausage ciabatta. When it came they’d actually given us a square sausage but we didn’t ask to swap as we were pushed for time. The sausage was nice on a big ciabatta and my little one only managed half.
Overall it was a nice breakfast but I feel it was a bit pricy. £25 for breakfast is quite steep (for a poor student!!!) especially when it’s not the best I’ve had. I’d like to go back and try their other food if I get a chance but I won’t be in any rush.

Really cannot fault it. Décor, service, food and beer. All very nice. Went for a nice burger with some pulled pork (my partner went for chilli as an extra) coming in a small ramekin type vessel so that you can add as much or as little as you want. A nice spicy sauce to dip made of Mayo and spicy sauce like an aioli for batatas Bravas. Super nice staff making you feel welcome and helping when they can. Can’t beat a good mix of beer, spice and lovely succulent meats. There are berg gore options too with a sweet potato style burger.
Another thing about the staff kanthan they know what they serve, Very helpful! Will come back. X

You can definitely tell this is a chain with Two Figs, the menu is similar and so is the vibe. Which is fine! Plenty of seats and spaces for big groups and boy does it fill up. I had brunch at 10am on a Sunday and by 11am the place was pretty fool.
My friend and I both ordered coffees which were great, but they did seem to take awhile. It’s a Sunday, Sunday’s are meant to be lazy so no real problem. I personally just noticed it took awhile.
The food was great, I had eggs, mushrooms, cheese sauce on an english muffin. Oh and some truffle oil which was incredible. Absolutely loved it, but found the cheese sauce odd, not bad, just odd. My friend had french toast which was a plentiful portion for the price.
Here is a great spot, the food is so reasonably priced for the West End and such good quality. Only awkward moment was my card getting rejected 3 times, as did my friends. Resulting in the waitor asking us to use the cash machine next door, not a problem, just slightly awkward. Turns out they had bad reception for the card reader!

The Left Bank was one of the first restaurants are tried when I first moved here! And I remember really liking it then. I still like it now too!
My glam fam and I went over for lunch! The lunch menu is really affordable and quite diverse in choices (£5-£9 depending on your dish). They also have a kids menu for you children or little siblings!
I ordered the fish with salad and chips on the side (for your lunch main dish, you can either have a choice of bread, a wrap or salad). It was pretty big in portion! Quite surprising! But it was delicious. I finished up everything in front of me, which is usually a good sign.
My italian dad had the super salad (I think that’s what it’s called) and it was HUGE! With squash, lots of leafy veges and other healthy things liddat (if you’re into that kinda stuff haha). That was £9 and he said he was good and so big lol
The Italians were not too happy with their espressos though so I don’t recommend having that in The Left Bank. But regular coffees like caffe lattes are fine cause mind was pretty good :)
Also, methinks the waiting staff could be just a little bit more friendly and less «eye-​rolling».
Regardless, will definitely go back for lunch! Well worth the ££!

Having been here for lunch a few times with a friend, and finding it generally OK, I didn’t think I’d need to think twice about a dinner booking with my parents when they visited for a rare weekend staying with us.
The menu looked appealing and the only trouble we had was finally settling on our choices. For starters, the ribs, prawns, tofu and hummus we all chose were good — though the hummus was freezing cold. Obviously you want to keep it in the fridge but maybe sitting it out for five minutes before serving might be good — and serving the huge pot with more than one small pitta — or a smaller pot!
However, the mains were a real let down. My mum’s lamb was tough, and the crushed potato that came with it was in fact a large, dry puck of new potatoes squashed together. My salmon was OK — pretty bland for something that was supposed to come with kimchee. But the real shame was reserved for the two rib eye steaks ordered by my dad and husband.
These were — well, for a start — not rib eye steaks. The distinctive ‘eye’ — the area of fat that makes a rib eye so tasty — was not there. The steak was dry, overcooked (a rib eye should generally be medium rare, so the fat melts — these were well done) and so thin (seriously, about a centimetre) that we assumed they had used one of the steaks meant to go on the steak sandwich.
The waitress told us, on questioning this, that they only had rib eyes in the restaurant. So for the first time ever in a restaurant, we spoke to the chef. He came out, agreed that the steaks weren’t rib eyes, promised to cook new ones. Twenty minutes later, during which my mum and I had of course finished our food, two new steaks came out. Exactly the same. Except possibly a little more overdone than before.
The steaks were picked at and mostly left. No one felt like eating much after that.
The steaks — on the menu at £18 each — were not charged for, and we were given a free round of drinks. The bill still came to something upwards of £80. Not an experience I would wish to repeat.

High fives all around for the Left Bank today. We popped in for coffee but I was seduced by the promise of a falafel ciabatta from the lunch menu (£5.50) and a glass of homemade hibiscus spritz to wash it down (£2 or just £1.50 with a lunch menu main). I can’t get enough falafel!
I changed my mind at the eleventh hour when I spotted a chickpea & sweet potato burger with fries on the all-​day menu for a few pounds more. No regrets. What arrived was akin to a tasty fat falafel disguised as a veggie burger. It arrived with a crisp little slaw on the side, some hot chipotle mayo and decent homemade skinny fries. Much yum.
Service was friendly and efficient and they were more than happy to bring a jug of water to the table, much needed as it turned out. Extra liquid was required to put out the chipotle fire in my belly!
The mezzanine floor overlooking the bar is definitely my favourite spot in the whole restaurant. I bagged the table right at the balcony for top people watching rights and there was never a dull moment. Him indoors declared the beer battered haddock the best he’d had for a very long time. Nice one Left Bank.

«Award winning chilli».
Let me say that again… «AWARD WINNING CHILLI». I planned on having a cooked breakfast, but left having had a bowl of chilli as I saw this the bold statement on their menu that indicated the Leftbank chilli should/​would be epic and not one to be missed.
I have had drinks here before but never eaten, so when we decided to have some lunch on Sunday we opted to give Leftbank a try. First impressions were good it has a modern feel to it, staff were friendly, they let dogs in, they have joker IPA on tap and we got given nice seat on the upper floor overlooking the whole bar/​restaurant.
As you are now aware I went for the chilli but there was loads of options that I fancied. From the Lebanese breakfast to the Vietnamese sounding panini to the great looking burger. (Yes I was staring at other diners food, don’t worry I did not steal and chips) The chilli itself was great, a mixture of beef mince, pulled pork and lots of chopped Chilli’s. It has a couple a taco shells and some rice in the side. For me it was one of the best Chilli’s I have ever had. I thought the combination of meats worked amazingly well and I loved the level of spice. If I had one complaint it would maybe be the portion was quite small for £8.95, but still it tasted great.
Leftbank is a winner for me. Loads of things I still want to try from the menu. It provided Great tasting food in a nice environment and the staff were super efficient and friendly. All in an excellent Sunday lunch.

I could eat the Left Bank lunch menu every single day.

I popped into this gastropub whilst waiting for my bike to be serviced in gear bikes just a few doors down! See previous review for gear lol. *plug plug*.
So this place is basically the west end version of the bungo from the southside. I dunno if its the same people who run it but its pretty similar in selections and menu look so i wouldnt be surprised. Anywho onto the place itself.
You walk in and its very cosy but without feeling small, small but well stocked bar with comfy chairs, upstairs area with seats and couch like things and a little bit opposite the bar with tables and generally well lit areas. I had the left bank breakfast and it was delicious! It came with sausage, home made beans, herby mushrooms, potato scones, bacon, black pudding and a lovely egg. It was all cooked on a grill as it had lovely marks on it and was cooked to a tee! Even the mushrooms which i ate… i dont even like mushrooms! lol And all this for just 7:95! Great Value!
The staff were great, never felt rushed or hassled which is possible as i was the only person on a 4 seat table. All in all a gorgeous place which is nice and cosy with good staff and tasty well priced food!

Big disappointment. In fairness, the food was very good (if a tad overpriced for what you’re getting), lots of vegetarian options which is always nice to see. But the service is pretty bloomin’ rubbish and really lets this place down.
Someone else has pointed it out in their review, but the service is all over the place. Multiple staff serving our table without any communication. Drinks not arriving, small mistakes with our orders — and sure, they were sorted out, but just gives off an «amateur» impression. Our main server didn’t know the specials, couldn’t describe one of the dishes to me and just wasn’t with it. Gordon M pointed that out too and I totally agree — very curt and not really friendly.
The Left Bank is obviously a bit more pricey, gastropub style place, and the food is great, but the service isn’t what I expected and I don’t think I’ll be back. I really can’t stick restaurants with poor service even if the food is good!

I’ve wanted to visit the Left Bank for a while, and on a weekend wander about the West End finally got the chance to give it a go.
With large windows the place is bright and airy with classy décor and a few nice touches (I particularly like the butterfly lamps). Its a nice place to sit and our upstairs seat had a great lookout to the bar below.
Theres a good choice of small plates/​starters, larger main dishes served all day including burgers, chilli, salads and desserts. However, we were drawn to the weekend brunch menu served till 5pm with options including the banks breakfast, eggs mornay, french toast and an unusual sounding lebanese breakfast.
I was enticed by the grilled banana bread with homemade hazelnut chocolate sauce (I mean how good does that sound) and Mr H opted for the breakfast ciabatta with potato scone, tomato and mushroom) with a side of ayrshire chips.
Arriving pretty quickly the banana bread was lovely with some griddled sweet bananas on top. It wasn’t the largest portion so might not satisfy someone looking for a hearty brunch, but I think a bigger plateful would have been a bit too sweet.
The breakfast ciabatta went down well with Mr H and stealing a bit too it was pretty tasty. The chips were a bit salty for our tastes but that didn’t stop most of the generous bowl from disappearing.
The staff were friendly and it was really reasonably priced for great quality food. They had a great selection of veggie options so I’m looking forward to a return visit to try something from the evening menu and the desserts!

Had a lovely meal here. It was a last minute decision to go here as my friend got lost trying to find restaurant in Giffnock but ended up on Gibson Street… don’t ask!
It was very quiet when arrived, tho it was a Monday night. Nice neutral décor inside. I had mussels, chips and bread. Very tasty, fresh mussels. Bread was lovely too.
The only reason it is a 4 star, is due to waitress. She was very inattentive and we spent a lot of time trying to get her attention at various times during the meal.
Would recommend as food was tasty but staff need to get their finger out.

I booked a table for brunch on the day the Commonwealth Games road race was due to go right past the Left Bank’s massive windows. A big table for 10: 6 adults, an 8 year old, a toddler and an 8 week old. We didn’t count the baby in the booking. The poor mite was with family and wasn’t set down once in over 3 hours!
The staff were attentive taking drinks orders as we arrived in dribs and drabs. They also deserve massive praise for not showing any sign of annoyance that we didn’t order for over an hour after arriving. Flaky sister was being flaky. We tried waiting before eventually giving up.
By the time we ordered and saw food hungry doesn’t really go far enough. Nobody was disappointed and whilst my Caledonian Eggs Mornay was spectacular with perfectly runny poached eggs, I had total food envy of smudge’s french toast and bacon, g’s burger, onion rings and chips, Mum’s Lebanese breakfast, Dad’s Bank’s breakfast and my brother in law’s chilli. The only reason I wasn’t eyeing up my sisters food was that we had the same. Although, I’m sure her’s had more smoked salmon.
Unfortunately, I was at the other end of the table when my other sister and brother in law eventually arrived, ordered and got food. So I didn’t get to drool on their plates — next time!
We stayed for hours. Never feeling rushed, constantly being topped up with coffee. I have to admit we were probably the table from hell. Dashing in and out to cheer cyclists, then returning dripping water everywhere, buggies, breastfeeding, a tantrum — the toddler, a screaming session –the 8 week old, hogging the table for over 3 hours, letting one of the party sit in their pants because their skirt got so wet cheering at anything that moved — yep that’s my girl!
But at no point were the staff anything other than awesome. Great food made all the better by being indulged and made to feel truly welcome.

Ate here for the first time last week, and have to say that (on balance) I left the place feeling distinctly underwhelmed.
The place itself is pretty, it’s a really cool spot to be seen in. For a Thursday night, it was packed out.
We were sitting up on the mezzanine level on a large group table. The first thing that struck me was that the service was pretty haphazard, drinks orders being taken but food arriving before drinks and inclusive side order options not being flagged up to us/​taken until the main dishes arrived etc. You know the sort of thing.
I got the sense that with multiple staff doing different things at our table on a busy night that there was obviously a lapse in communication somewhere.
This was a shame, as the food was quite good without completely blowing me away.
I had the «prize winning» chilli. As a chilli connoisseur this one was fun because it was a mix of pulled pork and beef mince. The spice had a good kick to
It too, which the sour cream offset nicely. The rice was basic boiled basmati, I might have liked lime rice or something a with a bit of a twist here if I’m honest.
Overall, this would be a safe bet for the start of a big night out if you are looking to mix drinks and chat in very nice surroundings but aren’t expecting or wanting anything too fancy on the food or service front.

After passing the Left Bank pretty much every day on my way to and from uni, today I finally satisfied my curiosity and ventured in. Excellent life choice.
The left bank is really appealing from street view and inside the atmosphere is cosy and comfortable. I felt right at home. It wasn’t pretentiously west-​endy or annoyingly hipster!
The staff were friendly and attentive, and there was a real warmth to the place.
However, it was the food that snared the 5 stars. So so tasty. I ordered the halloumi and aubergine skewers which chickpea and tomato ragout and tahini/​pomegranate/​pistachio yoghurt, and I chose the oriental slaw as my side. It may sound like there was ALOT going on with that dish, but the flavours were so complimentary and the variety of textures made it an incredible meal. My friend ordered the (award-​winning) chilli and according to her it was the best she’d tasted — coming from a chilli aficionado.
Our bill was unexpectedly reasonable (for a popular west end restaurant) and we left singing the Left Bank’s praises and vowing to return in the very near future.

Lots of good reviews for The Left Bank tipped it to the top of the ‘let’s try brunch’ list, so we pitched up … err. mid-​afternoon, and perused the all day breakfasts.
First impressions are good, it’s a nice space, lots of wood and stone, and the mezzanine floor adds to the general sense of style. The delicious looking carrot cake on the bar helped too!
Our first encounter with the staff was the curt ‘follow me’ once the waitress had been told we were looking for a table for two. She led us upstairs to the top most mezzanine area. It was pretty busy, but not quite full which was a relief as it was already bordering on being too hot up there.
My partner ordered the «Bank’s breakfast» (their version of a fry-​up), and I plumped for a breakfast ciabatta with square sausage and poached eggs.
Coffee and tea arrived promptly. My coffee was good if a little cool for my liking, so it didn’t last long. The breakfast tea was served in a pot and enough for two mugs and was pretty standard ‘builders tea’ (which is just how she likes it).
The food arrived a little while later. I wouldn’t say it took a long time but given the place wasn’t that busy and a large table cleared out not long after we sat down, it did seem to take a fair while.
Taste wise it was great! The square sausage in my ciabatta was delicious, a nice big thick hunk of taste accompanied by two well poached eggs. Downside of the eggs was the vinegar taste (but at least I know which method they use for poaching).
The Bank’s breakfast went down well but only after we pointed out it was missing an ingredient. A slice of potato scone was rustled up quickly with lots of apologies.
Overall whilst the food was good, the overall experience was a bit flat and slightly odd. Both waitresses that we dealt with were fairly curt when talking to us, and there just didn’t seem to be a great atmosphere about the place, I wouldn’t say it was unwelcoming but it certainly wasn’t friendly. Not somewhere I’d want to spend much time.

Since my first trip to the West End I have had my eye on The Left Bank located in Gibson Street. Something about it looks so cool but friendly… Stylish but inviting… West End Hipster but inclusive — basically it’s completely my style. Today finally after 8 months I got round to trying it out, and I am furious with myself that it has taken me so long because it was delicious.
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Like I said everything about The Left Bank screams ‘this is when the cool kids hang out’ but not to the exclusion of families, west end loves and ladies meeting for lunch… this place feels like a really hub of our little community. Let me set the scene for you — there is huge windows looking out on to Gibson Street which lets in so much light (I was lucky enough to be sat at a window table and loved it), there is lots of wood — on the walls, the floor and the tables and chairs. The tables are spaces quite far apart so you don’t feel like you are listening into other people’s chat! I loved it, the over all feeling was one of chilled out, spacey, Sunday morning haven.
The staff were fun, friendly and welcoming — we did wait quite a while for them to clear away the dessert plates but I didn’t mind because they looked run off their feet. Every member of staff had a smile for us which I always like.
Since it is the day of brunch I made my way straight to the brunch section of the impressive menu, it is extensive and interesting — including such delights as Grilled Banana Bread with homemade hazelnut spread (hello! — whoever thought of this deserves a pay rise!) Breakfast Ciabattas, Huevos Mexicanos — a mexican scrambled egg packed with peppers and chilli. yum. yum…YUM! I was not to be tempted by any of these delights tho, instead I picked the Lebanese Breakfast.
The Lebanese Breakfast was sensational, it consisted of fried halloumi, shakshuka (spicy chickpeas ragout & baked egg) batata harra (potatoes sautéed with garlic, coriander and chilli) and warm toasted pitta. This dish sounds like it might be quite hot but it wasn’t at all it just had a really lovely warmth to it. The halloumi was excellent and the potatoes were the perfect accompaniment. I wasn’t sure what to expect from the shakshuka but it was a lovely little pot of morish ragout. I will definitely order this dish again.
I decided to break my sugar-​free diet with a little treat and boy what a treat it was. I ordered the warm pecan and raspberry brownie served with berry coulis and mackies vanilla ice cream. It was utterly amazing — it was warm and fudgey and you could really taste the raspberry coming though in the brownie. It is incredibly rich so beware if you like a lighter dessert this is not the choice for you.
Love The Left Bank and will be going back again soon for both brunch and to try their evening menu.

We came in here for a pre-​dinner drink, and left feeling seriously underwhelmed. I’m a fan of Two Figs so expected this place to be similar and just as good.
We arrived, and it seemed like they were setting up for an event/​dinner that night. We asked for a couple of drinks and were shown to a seat by the window. Lovely, I thought, until I realised we’d been seated in an empty bar next to the only other people there — two women with a group of 4 kids. Now, I have nothing against women and children but when a couple goes out for a romantic drink, I’d have thought the waiter twigged to perhaps sit us somewhere else. As we were only going to be there for one drink, I felt too uncomfortable to ask to sit somewhere else.
Now for the drinks, I was really pleased with my mojito, it was super tasty and really minty. When it was brought over to us, the girl was spilling it over her hands because it was overfilled which was a bit weird.
The Left Bank is very similar in décor to the Two Figs, which I quite like as it’s comfortable and relaxing. Lots of timber as well as a mezzanine seating area which looks pretty cool.
When we went to leave, there were about 4 staff members milling around the bar, and again they all seemed distracted. I think they might have been setting up for a dinner that special night? Anyway, I felt a little like we were bothering them and that they were glad we were leaving. I didn’t leave with an overwhelming urge to return, which is a shame as I did quite like my drink.

Après 3 jours de repas principalement constitués de pommes de terre, de scones, de crème et de bière, autant dire que j’étais sur le chemin de l’obésité et/​ou du diabète.
Mais c’était sans compter sur Left Bank, un petit restaurant très mignon, dont la déco n’est pas follement originale, bois, métal, assez rustique et sobre en fait, mais dont l’équipe est suffisamment chaleureuse pour vous donner envie de partir en leur faisant un calin. Oui l’Ecosse a cet effet là: on a envie de faire des calins à tout le monde. Peut être parce qu’ils font un peu de peine avec leur accent totalement improbable, peut être parce qu’ils sont tout simplement sincèrement sympas.
Dans tous les cas, là où je n’avais pas particulièrement été impressionnée par la cuisine un peu sans relief des autres bistrots ou nous avions mangé, celui ci m’a vraiment séduite. La carte propose une dizaine de starters tous superbes: patates douces à la coriandre, légumes marinés, hoummous, salades… né vous fiez pas à l’apparente simplicité des plats: ils sont tous relevés d’épices, d’herbes, d’un twist léger et original. PArfait. En plat, une grosse salade quinoa, pois, coriandre, patates douces, roquette, graines de tournesol grillées… Un régal. Léger et travaillé.
Les desserts sont à l’anglo saxonne: trop de sucre, trop de custard, trop de chocolat. Et c’est cool.