AN overcast Sunday afternoon is when Great Western Road is at its most peaceful and content.

There’s less traffic to obscure the sense of space and hints of grandeur along the thoroughfare writer Jack House once described as Glasgow’s Champs Elysées. Maybe in the right light, after a glass of Bordeaux Supérieur Château Lauretan from Bar Brett.

Despite the lack of sunshine today, the outside benches at Bananamoon remain populated. The bar is the local home of Panther Milk.

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Founder Paul Crawford told me last week that the Glasgow cocktail business has had a busy summer with a succession of pop-ups at music festivals and will soon be more visible, both in bars and shops, while retaining a close relationship with the neighbourhood spots and nightclubs that have embraced the Barcelona-inspired alcoholic oat milk drink since day one.

Great Western Road begins at St George’s Cross, crossing Kelvinbridge and continuing through Anniesland, Knightswood and Garscadden. The middle two miles have some of the finest examples of Victorian homes in the city, flanked by imposing lodge houses.

Great Western Terrace, designed during the 1870s by architect Alexander ‘Greek’ Thomson was once the home of Sir William Burrell, the art collector and creator of the Burrell Collection. What remains of the majesty projected by the tree-lined boulevard is largely obscured by its modern function as the A82 trunk road north. Even One Devonshire Gardens, Glasgow’s original luxury townhouse hotel, sits in the background.

The stretch between Oran Mor and Hug & Pint – the vegan food and music venue celebrated its seventh birthday party this week – is where to be if you are looking for the best of local food and drink. A popular cluster, includes Oran Mor, Bread Meats Bread, Morning Glory, Loop & Scoop and The Belle.

This part is overlooked by Buckingham Terrace, where The Blue Nile recorded much of their album Hats, including Headlights on the Parade. Providing the song’s architecture on piano and keyboards was band member PJ Moore, who is still in the West End somewhere and has recorded a new album, alongside composer Malcolm Lindsay and singer Mike McKenzie, that will be released in September. Search for PJ Moore & Co.’s first single, Need to Believe. The album will be called When A Good Day Comes.

Landsdowne Parish Church was built in 1863 to a design by John Honeyman. The spire of 218 feet is one of the slimmest in Europe. Now home to Websters Theatre and Bar, it dominates the view whatever direction you are travelling along Glasgow’s longest, straightest road.

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We are on our way to The Loveable Rogue, a gastropub that’s reserved a place in the city’s culinary diary with a Sunday roast lunch menu. Booths by the window with Harris tweed flourishes provide the best vantage point to watch the goings on outside and also observe the activity in the open kitchen where owner Joe Lazzerini is leading the Sunday service.

Joe and his partner Amalia Colaluca opened the place in September 2020, with a promise of “hearty, unfussy and delicious food that everyone can tuck into”.

Churro as a snack before your meal? Goats cheese, parmesan deep-fried and a truffled honey dip play with your expectations bringing bursts of flavour to wake up the taste buds. “Confusing yet beautiful” they say.

The pub part of the gastropub label is most obvious when you spot the cockail list – try a Ginger Scotsman with whisky, Drambuie, ginger and lemon.

A light, summery pea velouté is a lively preamble to the main event. Speyside beef arranged on a plate arrives. A pause, then a substantial wooden board laden with a cavalcade of sides swings into view. All eyes in the dining room follow its trajectory to our table. The full display is itemised and admired.

Brisket mac n cheese! Now we’re talking. If you don’t consider this part of a Sunday roast, reconsider. Fired in an oven to crisp on the top, small pasta shapes swimming in cheese underneath with beefy tones.

Roast potatoes are swiftly divided. Yorkshire puddings too: oversized, light and fluffy. There’s just about room for root vegetables and vegetable ecrasé to complete the plate. Then taste is turned up a notch by a liberal splash of red wine gravy.

Dessert is warm sticky date pudding in butterscotch sauce alongside a cheesecake loaded with fresh stawberries. All together, a triumph.

A special mention for The Wee Rogue’s menu which offers a kid’s size version of the roast beef dinner, mac n cheese, bangers and mash or a wee battered fish and chips which will have growns-ups looking on enviously.

theloveablerogue.co.uk