Bowl 

There’s a new name for healthy convenience food in the city entre as Bowl opens on Renfield Street. Owner and chef Colin Campbell will bring a colourful range of superfood salads and global flavours along with customisable poke bowls with fresh Scottish fish and vegetables. You’ll also find coffee from local favourites Grain and Grind.

Glasgow Times:

The idea was inspired by international food trends that are finding their way into the Glasgow culinary ecosystem. Colin says “I took my daughter to New York as a sixteenth birthday present and we were in a place called Sweetgreen.

"They prepared fantastic fresh salads from all kinds of ingredients. We ended up going back a couple of times and the concept stuck with me. I began to research it and realised there was a whole community built around this type of food.

Glasgow Times:

“It was so simple - build your own dishes from the best ingredients. I felt like I could do something within this space. Lockdown then gave me the opportunity to get the work done on the unit and put time into developing the kind of food we will have on offer.”

The idea is to let customers select flavours that appeal to them, bringing together core ingredients, then adding dressings and dips. Colin says: “You can be vegetarian, a meat-eater or vegan. There will be a multitude of salads to add in. Everything will be prepared in front of you.”

“Healthy eating is not going anywhere, that movement is growing in Glasgow. People are looking after themselves and want to take certain types of food out of their diet. I’m a chef so all the options will be led by taste but there’s the advantage of being able to cater for everyone and offer a fitness-friendly alternative.”

House specials include the Korean Veggie with kimchi, fried tofu, baby bok choy, edamame beans, daikon sprouts, sliced apple and roast sesame dressing or a poke bowl of soy honey marinated salmon, sticky rice, avocado, house pickles, cucumber, spring onions, carrot ribbons, wasabi and ginger dressing.

Bowl will open at 23 Renfield Street next week.

West End Bull

I told you in February that the team from Abandon Ship, the independent-minded bar from Dundee, had plans to open in Glasgow city centre and were also responsible for The Luchador, the South American inspired venue set to bring Mexican flavours to Pollokshaws Road. Today brings more news from this emerging presence on the city’s hospitality scene.

The Bull bar and restaurant will replace Munro’s at 185 Great Western Road. They open on Monday 26 April with a focus on Scotch beef, local produce, seasonal cocktails and craft beers.  

AJ McMenemy, Operations Director said, “Ultimately, our aim is to be a fully encompassing neighbourhood venue offering consistency and quality right across the board. Our nationally renowned cocktail bartenders - lead by the global cocktail champion, alongside our top chefs have trained in some of the best establishments across the UK. So, we have big ambitions to bring something quite special to Glasgow and we very much hope people welcome us with open arms.”

The refurbished bar combines traditional gas-lamp lighting with jolts of tangerine velvet and terrazzo tiling. Expect brunch, lunch and daily set dinner menus. Scotch beef will be supplied by MacDuff Beef Farmers. There will be 26 beers available and cocktails including the Loco con Coco with cachaca, guava, coconut water, absinthe and soda.

The group behind the West End venture, MacMerry 300, has signalled their intention to open another three sites in Glasgow over the summer.

thebullglasgow.com

Melting Pot

Queen’s Park Disco Sessions will return on Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 August with tickets going on sale tomorrow. Melting Pot are celebrating 20 years of parties as one of the UK’s longest-running club nights announce a weekend of music for the Southside.

Co-founder Mark Mackechnie told me: "When we started Melting Pot, we had no idea if there was a demand for the music we would be playing, so when it took off, we just went with it and we’ve loved every minute of the journey.
“The audience is what really makes Melting Pot, the enthusiasm and knowledge they have is something we’ve always fed off. It's crazy to think when we started in 2001 at the Riverside Club that we would still throwing parties 20 years later, but the desire is still there and we’re all still having a lot of fun doing it.”

The Saturday event will be themed around the music of New York’s Paradise Garage and Studio 54 with a glittering disco soundtrack. Sunday belongs to Optimo as Twitch and Wilkes bring back the vibe of their Sub Club residency days.

Beer in the Park

Craft Beer and Food Truck Festival is coming to Rouken Glen Park on September 18 and 19. The new gathering of craft brews and street food will unite Overtone Brewery, Simple Things Fermentation, Ride Brewery, Dead End Brew Machine, Acid Brewing Cartel, Hidden Lane Brewery, Boden Brewing and Dookit Brewing Co.

Raise a glass of local beer and enjoy dishes from a plant-based pop-up, an oyster shack, a barbecue smoker, halal bites and an ice cream social. There will also be a Low Alcohol Lane, a beer tasting tent and guest brewer speakers. The event will be family and dog friendly, with a line-up of DJs and musical acts. Tickets for £6 are on sale from Ticket Tailor from today.