The Raven

The Raven has grown on me over the past few months. It has a nice atmosphere and a good vibe to it. Although there is nothing that really stands out in the place, the food is good and there is a good choice of smokehouse/​BBQ food, burgers, hot dogs and the like. I’m a fan of their Hot Dogs especially and their spicy chips with cheese are really good (most of the time) and a favorite side.
Overall, it’s a nice pub in the city centre, with good beer options and tasty food to go with the drinks. Can get really busy on weekends…

I’d have bet my first-​born child that I’d already written this review, but what do you know, I never did. Woops. Sorry, The Raven, you deserve better than that.
I’ve actually been to The Raven loads of times, too. I have no recollection of what it was before, but it’s been open for about a year and is in a great location on Renfield Street which means it’s a good meeting spot before the cinema/​movies, before dinner or even just for an afternoon pint. I like the look from the outside — a bit modern and funky without being wanky/​hideous.
Inside it’s comfy and cosy, and generally has a chilled vibe. I still haven’t properly explored the other half of the place — I seem to either hang out in the main bar area or upstairs, but it’s pretty comfy where ever you are. The décor is well done without being OTT and I love the drinks selection — say the words Outaspace Apple Ale by Drygate and I’ll be there in less than 10 minutes. They have Drygate beers here as well as an ever-​changing list of interesting beers you don’t get at too many other places.
I can’t say the food menu is really my kind of thing — it’s mostly smoked meats and BBQ food which I like when the occasion calls, but that doesn’t happen too often. On my most recent visit here we were just having drinks and then heading to dinner but I’d consider getting a starter if I was feeling pre-​dinner-​hanger-​rage approaching.
Staff are nice, the vibe tends to be pretty relaxed and this bar is classier than quite a lot of other city centre bars, so I definitely think it’s worth a visit. The upstairs area is also worth a look if you’re looking for a function/​events space.

When we ended up here we had had plans to go somewhere else.
Although I’ve been here before (thank you Unilocal and Menabrea Birra for the guitar session), this was the first time I had the time to appreciate and pay proper attention to this place.
I’m really torn. This is the way I see it: The Raven is the matured version of Bloc+, after Bloc+ has gone to University, gotten a job, settled down a little and had a shower. The music is relatively similar, but a lot quieter. The food is similar, but more expensive and the menu is a little more extensive — but still very much the same… and this is not a bad thing. But that is the best way I can explain The Raven. If it were a person, it would be that young-​at-​heart Father to a really cute hipster baby that you see posted on Instagram and Buzzed pages #FamilyGoalz. I’m getting sidetracked.
I love their beer menu, it’s extensive. I like the sauces on the table (all home made?) — N.B. if you don’t like BBQ or smokey flavours, this place is probably not for you — and I do like the set up. Be advised though, the tables can be rather sticky.
The food menu is very meat-​centric, very South of America (not South American), but there are some very good sounding things on the menu. Half of our group went for the chilli dawg (which comes without chips), and there were two deli subs. One with pulled meat, and I went for the fish finger one. The deli subs come with ‘slaw and skin-​on fries.
When the food arrived, I was really rather surprised — those «fish fingers» have got to be the longest I’ve ever seen. They were the same length of the roll they came in, and that «roll» was more like a hot dog bun (very nice though). On the whole, I did very much enjoy my fish finger sandwich. The tartar sauce wasn’t perfectly distributed, but I would absolutely, most definitely order it again, and I will come back to The Raven.
Now for something I will try to avoid having again: The slaw I could in no way get on board with, I simply hate it. It was vinegary and stingy and an odd colour. Personally I would have liked them to ask if we needed any other sauces (even with plenty of options already on the table).
The fries were served in a little bucket, which is a cute touch but not needed. Generally, they are nice fries but nothing out of the ordinary. Chunky, semi fluffy and semi crispy on the outside, I suppose. Nothing to write home about and I’ve definitely had better.
Generally, the consensus around the table was relatively positive, the majority of foods were enjoyed although Carolyn E. had very strong (negative) feelings about the actual sausage of the hot dog. She did, however, enjoy the pickles which weren’t sweet (this is a good thing), but in case she writes a review, make sure you check it out for her opinion!
So why am I not giving it more stars? It has an excellent vibe, the menu is simple and accessible (but definitely on the pricier side of the spectrum) and the food is hearty and enjoyable. But for me, The Raven is just missing that particular je né sais qoui. I’m sorry, I truly am, but I cannot bring myself to give it more stars.

I’ve had mixed views of The Raven since it opened, but I’d now say it’s a favourite spot to drop by if I’m in the area (a perfect pre-​cinema pub for Cineworld!).
The beer line-​up is pretty good; they have 4 hand-​pull ales on draft, and 4 craft beers on tap at any one time. This plus a standard lineup of the usual drafts (incl. some Williams Bros) and a decent bottled selection.
Price-​wise, it’s good, with the ales priced between £3.40 and £3.80 for a pint. A bit pricier for the craft beers as you’d expect. Friendly staff are happy to help you choose and when I asked for a wee taster it was no problem at all.
The food looked pretty good, lots of own-​smoked BBQ meats, as well as a regular meal menu.
My only gripe with the bar is the TVs. I’m not a fan of sports bars, so when this «craft beer bar» opened with sports being shown, I wasn’t keen. But there’s now plenty good beer bars without sports I can visit, so who says sports-​loving beer fans shouldn’t be well catered for?
A welcome addition to this often overlooked bit of town.

I popped in here with my mum and dad for a drink one autumn evening, before catching the train home. Side note 1: I love going to the pub with my mum and dad, I really do.
As it was approaching Halloween, The Raven had pumpkin ale which was a-​calling to me from the bar. The barman let me have a sip, and then I ordered a pint of the stuff, because: mmm, ale, and mmm, pumpkin. Side note 2: I’m really not an ale drinker and just one had me dizzy. Still, I enjoyed the pumpkin ale. And I enjoyed The Raven.
It was busy so we nestled by the bar for our one last drink. There was a lively atmosphere but it wasn’t rowdy or raucous, and service was fast and friendly.
Side note 3: I like you, Raven.

I’m poppin 5 big boys for this bar. It has 4 draft craft beers and 4 ale taps, whilst feeling fairly modern, having friendly staff, sporting 3 tvs for news/​sport and a fairly good menu.
Along with food comes a good sauce tray, towel roll, S&P, cutlery and wet wipes. Very smooth.
For those drinking the earlier mentioned beers they do a sampler selection which is a 3×33% pint situation for the cost of a pint.
They also have sir down table service in the other half of the establishment.

This review is souly based on a work event I threw a few weeks ago here. One of my work buddies had suggested here as it’s relatively close to the office and venue hire is free.
It was fairly easy to setup, went in to explain how many people, how much food etc, leave a deposit. The week before the event I e-​mailed to check that the money had been received and give any dietary requirements. At this point it became apparent that the money had never been paid, which was fine, but I would have thought this would have been communicated before. Although, they do require you to pay on the night. Which after a lot of to and froing and calls to the place, I found out at 3pm, with the event due to start at 5.30pm. Eventually it all got paid, just would have been nice if the venue could have been slightly more flexible, given a venue had been paid.
Anyways, the good! The manager was super helpful on the night, explaining about the drinks tokens. Basically you couldn’t get any change on them. I liked that they had the bar upstairs fully stocked which resulted in a fair few cocktails being drank. The food itself was good, plenty of sliders, hot-​dogs, nachos, chips, chicken wings. The nachos in particular were great, I loved the home-​made chips and the guacamole. The buns on the sliders weren’t my cup of tea, but given the numbers being catered for can’t complain. The donughts then appeared much later on at night.
So if you are looking to hold an event in Glasgow, with pre-​ordered food and some drinks tokens, I would recommend here.

After the first time I visited The Raven I was a bit reluctant to return. I’d liked the atmosphere and the beer and I’d been impressed with the range of home made ketchups but my pulled pork bagette had been average and I’m not crazy about bars with sports on TV. So my judgement was that the place was «fine.» Why go back to somewhere that’s just «fine» when there are so many places in Glasgow that are «great»?
Well, because my boyfriend disagreed and insisted that I had been unlucky with my mediocre meal and that The Raven was actually also «great.» Eventually I relented and we gave it a second try. He was right (don’t tell him I said that) and we’ve been back several times since. Sometimes just for beer, sometimes for food as well, but since then it has indeed always been «great.»
I think my early mistake was opting for one of the smaller meals they offer for a reduced price midweek. Since then I’ve always ordered from the main section of the menu and everything has been perfect. Sure, you pay a few extra pounds, but it’s definitely worth it.
A major selling point is the beer and how close to the city centre you can be to really great beer on draft. The staff really know their stuff too — tell them what you like and they’ll recommend something perfect for you. They’re very friendly and happy to chat away about the different beers and will offer samples if you aren’t sure. They want you to get the best pint you can and they’re usually right in their suggestions.

I’m a firm believer in last chances. And it’s a philosophy The Raven has just benefited from.
My previous experiences here were basically rubbish. In spite of this, I ended up here last night as part of the weekly date night with the Mr.
This time it was quite a nice surprise. The staff were pleasant and helpful. The tv screens are much reduced in number and are now quite unobtrusive. The Raven has pretty much given up on trying to be all things to all people and seems to be focusing more on their food and beer. This is a very good thing.
The customer base is very different now — it was full of young professionals, some dates, and a few groups. But gone is the slightly aggressive crowd it had last time I visited.
The music was also pretty good too — loud enough to hear and enjoy, but not so loud you need to shout yup be heard.
Oh, they’ve also sorted out the manky toilet issues.
Overall, it’s still not somewhere i’d want to spend all night, but I’d happily stop in here for a beer after work.
This is 4 stars as, although there’s a good selection of beers available, it’s definitely on the pricey side. And they still have that god awful, stupid pig on display!

We booked into The Raven as a pre cinema meal and headed along. I have been a couple of times before so had good feelings about another visit. The staff are friendly and quick enough to take drinks orders. The Samuel Adams is nice, though I still have issues about being charged £4.95 for a pint.
Can only write about my burger, a bacon and cheese effort. To be honest there wasn’t much effort in it. The patty seemed small, dry and pretty tasteless, the bun was not really too great, the bacon was fatty and undercooked, the cheese I could see but not really taste. The fries are nice though at £2.50 I would like to see a few more in the bucket they serve them in.
A couple of friends had the special Mac and cheese and raved about it, another couple had the venison burger and enjoyed that. I just simply felt underwhelmed by mine. The place gets the three stars for the quality of the service and atmosphere but the burger was two really. I have had the same burger before there and it was a lot better so I think this might be a touch of kitchen complacency kicking in. Burgers are a cut throat product in Glasgow so I hope they up their game.
It’s a nice place, will go there again but I just left feeling a bit «meh» about my food.

I completely adore the Raven.
I have been twice now and both times the food has been totally amazing.
Their pulled pork is to due for, buns made fresh and a wide selection of sides.
The sweet potatoe fries and Mac and cheese are by far my favourite.
I always take my boyfriend and best mate there and then both being 6foot lads enjoy the vast amounts of meat available.
Currently one of my favourite places to eat

As I write this review, the morning after the night before, I’m still utterly *stuffed* from the dinner we had last night at The Raven. Looking for somewhere a bit different to go for a quick drink and food before the cinema, we decided to come here and get some nice smoked food in our bellies.
And we over-​ordered. MASSIVELY over-​ordered. Starting with the nachos, which are made with flour rather than corn which gives an interesting pie-​crust like texture. Sounds weird, but actually it’s lovely and more-​ish. I can’t handle spicy food too well, so I had to scrape a lot of the little green balls of fire known as jalapenos off them, but they were really tasty (and came to the table in 2 mins after our order. No word of a lie!)
Then came along the sharing platter, and 3 sliders (I know, I know… rookie error ordering that much between *two* of us)…the sliders were nice enough, we chose pulled pork, chicken and the normal burger but they were completely overshadowed by the slow cooked platter. Chicken which was dropping off the bone, pulled pork covered in the nicest seasoning, and ribs to top it off. The chicken was my favourite, and I could probably happily eat it all over again! The ribs were my least favourite, a bit fatty and on the dry side, but they had a top notch crowd to fight for attention over.
If you’re looking for generous portions of tasty food, then definitely come along here.

The Raven is a pub that I’m not sure knows what it wants to be. It has a good selection of beer, but slightly too expensive for most people who appreciate beer enough to drink it regularly. It’s got decently priced food, but there is better quality for similar prices elsewhere.
That sort of puts it in a special place which is ideal for work dos, or one-​off meeting places if you can’t decide what you want. I don’t think I’d plan a night around going here, but it could certainly end up on my journey between other pubs or restaurants. They do have some odd pricing on the beers, so take a minute to check the prices before ordering.

I’ve now been here a few times, for either food or drinks, and feel comfortable saying that I’m a fan.
The Raven is a good place in city centre to get some craft beer and BBQ. I’ll fully admit that the craft and cask beer selections aren’t especially large for a place that brags about their range, but it’s a flaw I’m willing to overlook for the BBQ.
I’ve gone for lunch and I’ve gone for dinner, and both are pleasing. Lunch has some really good values and dinner has just some excellent options.
The last time I went for food, it was with a group of around 8 for a newly formed dinner meetup. Despite not being clever enough to book ahead of time, we were able to get a table pretty quickly. Our server was attentive, asking for each of our drink orders as we arrived.
And the food was all I promised the group. Some people got items off the winter sale going on at the time and others shared meat platters. Everything impressed the group beyond my already high sales points. There was pulled pork, chips with cheese, and too much for me to recall at this point. I do know it was delicious and that we were thinking about going again despite the reason for the group being to try new places.

Eleven friends and I (12 total) booked a table here for the start of our Easter Sunday shenanigans in the city centre. My boyfriend and I met 4 of our friends prior to lunch for drinks and happily started sampling the numerous beers (both bottled and draft) that they have on offer. They have everything from local brews like West and American brews like Sam Adams. They also have loads of massive TVs all over the place, so we were able to watch (or not watch– depending who you were asking) the Rangers v Hearts match that was on.
By the time the rest of our friends showed up, we had already looked over the menu about a million times and were good and ready to order. The wait staff were very friendly and attentive which was good since there were so many of us. We were sat at a massive table near the kitchen, which fit us perfectly. the rest of the décor is that of a typical Texas style smoke house. I really love this place and always feel really at home when I walk in. There is loads of seating and availability to book out sections for any gathering you might have.
One of the specials of the day was brisket on a baguette, which came with fries for £7. Most of us went for that, plus, I ordered a side of mac and cheese– because that’s what I do. The brisket was a little underwhelming, although it reminded me big time of Texas. I’ve never had a shredded brisket sandwich, it’s usually served in thick slices. It had a good taste, but I could have eaten about two of them. I opted for sweet potato fries which added 50p on to my total. The mac and cheese i quite liked. Not quite my homemade, but tasty none the less. I will definitely order it again!
I swear, my boyfriend has this way of picking things off any menu that taste so much better than what I’ve ordered and i’m always wishing I’d gone for what he ordered. This time was no different. He went with the pulled pork baguette and spicy cheesy fries. The pulled pork had the right amount of BBQ sauce on it and was tender and just so delicious. I only had a small sampling of his fries because like they suggest, they were spicy with loads of diced jalapenos on top of mounds of cheese.
One of our friends ordered the ribs and at first was boasting about how they were fall of the bone tender, but then added that they could use loads more sauce on them because they were a bit dry. We failed to realise that there was a huge carousel of sauces just off to the side of our table and by the time it was brought to our attention, he was already almost finished.
One of our friends ordered the chicken caesar salad wrap, which we all scoffed at and judged tremendously. I jest, but who orders something like that when there’s BBQ to be eaten!!!
Anyway, all in all it was a fantastic way to start off the booze fest of an Easter celebration that the 12 of us had. Sorry if anyone saw us out and were intimidated by our size (both in numbers and in height, haha!)

I’m really loving The Raven at the moment. Since we had our Unilocal event last year it has really encouraged me to go back for more. Well, they did give us a splendiferous spread with copious plates of delicious food to try.
In January they had a Winter Sale on with some meals available at £4 and £5 so decided to take advantage of this with my bestie and fellow Unilocaler Angela B. As a result I ended up with a taste tantalising wee mac and cheese topped with bacon bits including a wee bucket of chips. Not bad for a fiver. Boom!
I’ve also frequented for drinks and they have an excellent bar selection, there’s even some cheeky fruit beers in there. Yay!
I would highly recommend popping in for a wee swally or a sit down meal within the designated dinning area. It’s pretty, it’s relaxing and the music is pretty good with some 90’s indie beats to tickle your ear drums. Other music probably plays at other times.
It’s also bang smack right in the middle of town so super handy but ladies beware of the icy blast of the hand-​drier in the toilets. Ice burns beware! Please note, not in the Urban Dictionary sense.
«(noun): an insult so harsh, that it is both freezing and red hot. Often used sarcastically, like after „yer maw“ jokes.»
Boab: «I wiz playing fitbaw last night.»
Shug: «I wiz playing with YER MAW last night!»
Boab: «Ohhhhh, ICE BURN!»
Enjoy and no ravens were harmed within writing this review.

On a mini pub crawl post Christmas late lunch then some lovely Cherry Beer and wine in the Raven.
The bar area was very busy so we went up to the loft to grab a seat at first there were only a couple of tables occupied but then a large party came in and lifted the atmosphere.
We had a couple of bottles of the house Tinto at £7.99 it was very good value and was a light red but very palatable.
The background music was a really good mix with just the occasional Christmas song still being played.
We had already eaten but the smell of the delicious food almost tempted us to try it, next time I will go for food and the excellent range of craft beers.
Just to mention you can have the loft area for free for a privet party.

I’ve been seeing and hearing good things about The Raven but last night was the first time I’ve stepped inside.
Is it just me, or does the exterior not really match the interior? I certainly wasn’t expecting the light woods and exposed stone work featured inside but what a lovely space. We headed round to the ‘restaurant’ side and wow, it’s very cleverly laid out indeed without feeling too crammed in.
If I was to summarise what The Raven is all about I’d say they are aiming at quality beers and smoked meats. They have a great selection of lagers, ales, and craft beers, but it was a night for something familiar so a tall cool pint of Samuel Adams was soon plopped down in front of me, a Rosé wine spritzer for Clare.
The food menu is, obviously, meat heavy but there is a pretty broad selection of options so it should cater for most tastes. In the end, keeping things simple, we opted for a combo sliders — chicken, pulled pork and mac cheese. Clare added some sweet potato fries too.
It was pretty busy when we arrived and having been told they were also a little short staffed that evening — in case there were any delays — I’ll praise the staff for some excellent service, delivered with a smile!
Our food arrived and the first thing that was obvious was the smoking process, a nice subtle tang of smokiness the minute I picked up the pulled pork slider. One bite in and I’ll happily confess that this is the best pulled pork I’ve had. Lovely BBQ sauce with just enough kick, tender juice pork… I could’ve eaten another 3 of those alone! The chicken was wonderfully moist and tender, with a nice chargrill, and the mac cheese was great although I did add some of their own Smokey Ketchup Sauce to beef up the flavour a little. The sweet potato fries were tasty, always a nice alternative, and the homemade ketchup and BBQ sauces complimented their sweetness well.
All in it was hard to fault, good service, great food, nice surroundings, and price wise it was pretty on the mark too. Bravo!
In fact the only thing I don’t think they’ve gotten right is the exterior, it’s not the most inviting looking place, very dark looking and very ‘masculine’. That’s not a bad thing but jars a little once you step inside. Regardless, I will definitely be back not only to try some of the craft beers but try sample some more of the menu, I’m a sucker for BBQ.

This isn’t an easy thing for me to do as I hate having to give bad reviews. I so badly wanted to love this place but I was left massively disappointed!
Upon hearing of The Raven I was desperate to try it as it sounded like a Debs Haven (minus the whole sports thing, but we can ignore that) so I decided to go there for my birthday with the boyfriend.
When we got there it all seemed good, nice décor, great atmosphere as the place was buzzing around 6pm on a Thursday night, and really excellent music! The staff were friendly and we were seated and attended to pretty quickly. I opted for the cask ale tasters on a plank, due to my wanting to try everything and also my love of smaller versions of things. That’s definitely a great idea because it means you don’t have to commit to an entire pint or half pint, and if (like me) you aren’t too keen on one of them, you don’t feel that bad about not finishing it!
The menu sounded amazing — I’d already decided what I was having (as I always do when an online menu is available) and was really looking forward to my mac and cheese, pulled pork and beef burger sliders. With them being 3 for £10 I thought this was great value for money, but this unfortunately wasn’t the case.
I didn’t eat much of the mac and cheese burger because it just wasn’t nice, it felt greasy and gloopy (technical term) but I had another two sliders so I persevered.
Have to say I couldn’t fault the beef burger slider, that was pretty tasty but certainly nowhere near the standard of other Glasgow burger institutions. By this point I was pretty full (it was my birthday so I’d spent most of the day eating!) so I got my pulled pork slider wrapped up to take away with me — in fairness, they did ask me instead of the other way around which made a nice change! My boyfriend had the pulled pork burrito with chips and he seemed to enjoy that, I nibbled a bit of the pulled pork off my slider and it was tasty so I was looking forward to having it for lunch the next day or something.
However. Within about an hour of returning home I was… er…revisited by said meal and the lovely bit of birthday cake I’d just eaten. I’ve got a bit of a stupid stomach at the best of times and considering I’d done nothing but eat rubbish all day I figured that was probably the cause. But when I received a text from my boyfriend early the next morning that simply read «DON’T EAT THE PULLED PORK SLIDER.» I realised that it wasn’t just me! Poor guy was rather unwell the entire day :(
Not really sure if I’d go back here to be honest. I’ve seen good reviews on here and Unilocalers tend to be pretty spot-​on with places, so maybe it’s worth returning at some point just for drinks or maybe to try their other dishes — but I think I’ll definitely be staying away from the pulled pork!

I was in Glasgow and heading off to a real ale festival, and thought I’d better grab some food first in preparation, so I decided to pop in here and check it out, maybe have a pint while I decided where to go to eat.
I opted for the taster plank — 1 third of a pint of three different ales, served in a plank with the beer names written on. That in itself is a great touch, a few places don’t identify which beer is which.
I had a Casear Augustus from Williams Brothers, a Fake Lager from Brewdog and a Witless IV from Red Willow Brewery — as you can see, there’s a great range to choose from and the staff were really helpful and knowledgeable about them all.
While I was looking around and supping my drinks (the Witless was the pick of the bunch, fact fans!) I noticed the menu. I knew that The Raven were offering food, but wasn’t too sure what. Looking at the menu, it looked pretty nifty so I figured I’d just eat here, and I was glad I did!
The food is BBQ based — low and slow smoked pork, burgers, ribs, that sort of thing. There’s been an explosion of this kind of food in Glasgow recently, I perhaps lay the blame at the feet of Adam Richman and Man vs. Food (my dream job too, it has to be said) but I’m not complaining!
I opted for a pulled pork burrito with a side of spicy cheesy fries, and at £9 for the two, it was a steal. They arrived quickly, the fries in a basket and the burrito served on a platter. I was given cutlery before the food arrived, and what looked like a carrying case full of sauces, salt, pepper, kitchen roll and a great sight, a wet wipe! A great thing to have when eating what is esssentially finger food!
There wasn’t a long wait at all for the food; The burrito was lovely, really filled to the brim and fresh — but the spicy cheesy fries were stunning. Covered in jalapenos, cheese and a smoky, spicy BBQ sauce, they were quickly devoured. I could honestly have had a second helping of those on their own.
A great first impression here, not just for the great food, but for the really helpful and friendly staff, and the attention to detail that the whole place shows. It’s somewhere that I can see me returning to time and time again.