Dinner at Alston Bar & Beef, Glasgow

We were heading to see Derren Brown in the Kings Theatre on a Saturday night and decided that we would go somewhere for an early dinner. As I'm on a little bit of a clean eating buzz at the minute I have to choose carefully where to eat. After looking at a few menu's I decided on Alston, not only could I have a main course, there was also something that I could have for starter. Alston is somewhere that I have wanted to visit since before I moved over to Scotland. I spent a year commuting between Dublin and Scotland before officially moving over. It was during this time that I became aware of Alston - to this day I still don't know why it has taken me so long to visit - the following saying comes to mind 'good things come to those who wait' and this was certainly the case with Alston. 

As we walked to the entrance of Alston, I kinda imagined that I was walking to Platform 9 3/4 as I really didn't know what to expect from a restaurant that was underground which you gained entry to by a train station. We walked down the stairway and the first thing we saw was the kitchen - I love to see a kitchen as its the most integral part of a restaurant! We were greeted by a very friendly member of staff who showed us to our table. I think it was about 15 minutes after taking my seat before I could look at the menu, I was just so busy looking around and taking the whole atmosphere in. 

Food
We were given 2 menu's - the set menu and the a la carte. There was plenty of choice on the set menu but both Mr EmmaEats and I wanted to order off the a la carte. The menu caters for everyones needs but both Mr EE & I were there for one thing and one thing only - the steak. I ordered the stuffed picuillo pepper and the fillet steak with salad and Mr EE ordered the red onion and goats cheese tart and the t-bone with parmesan and truffle chips. 

So our starters arrived out and both dishes looked very pretty. I loved the flavours of my dish, everything really worked well together and it was very satisfying. The only thing I would say was that I would have liked my dish to have been a little warmer, even though there was steam rising off it, it just wasn't as warm as I would have liked. Mr EE loved his starter and said everything really worked well together.

So next up was the steak - it was Mr EE's first time having a t-bone and he loved it and thankfully, as a result of the waiters advice, it was done to his satisfaction. He wasn't a huge fan of the truffle chips but I think that just a taste thing rather than anything wrong with the chips. My steak was done to perfection and it was a really good piece of meat. I like it well done, and I know most chef's think that this is ruining the steak, however this is how I like it done! You would be surprised with the amount of times I have to send steaks back, however it was cooked to my liking here. Food rating: 4.5/5.

Service
Service was great here from the moment we arrived until we left. There was one point when I thought to myself 'oh god don't do this to me' but thankfully the waiter pulled it back. When I was ordering my steak I asked the waiter if the chips were cooked in a fryer and he said yes, so I said I can't have them. He then said I could have mashed potato instead and I said I'm guessing that butter will be put in them and he said yes. So I just said the salad would be fine. There was no offer of 'let me talk to the chef to see what we can do' so I was a little disappointed. However, (thankfully) when the waiter was finished taking Mr EE's order he turned to me and asked what can I eat and that he would go and talk to the chef. I nearly got up from my seat to hug him. But I decided that I was fine with the salad as I'd have enough food between the starter and the steak. Service rating: 4.5/5.

Atmosphere
The atmosphere is great here, there is a great lively vibe in the bar area and then you go back to the restaurant area where there is a lovely relaxed atmosphere. I think it is very romantic with its dim lighting and white walls. Atmosphere rating: 4/5.

Price
We had 2 starters, 2 main courses, 2 glasses of champagne, 2 glasses of red wine and 2 coffees - the total cost of our meal was £119.20. I think this was a very reasonable price for the quality of the food and service. Price rating: 4/5.

Last Words
I love this place, everything about it is great. It might not be the cheapest restaurant but you certainly get value for money here. I will definitely bring my mum here the next time she is over as I think she will love it but I also think that it is a lovely spot for a romantic meal. This is a great find and it is certainly worth a visit. I won't be waiting as long to visit again. Total rating 17 out of 20. 

Date Visited: Saturday, 9 July 2016

Restaurant Details:-
Alston Bar & Beef,
Central Station,
79 Gordon Street,
Glasgow,
G1 3SQ.

Website:- click here
Telephone:- 0141 221 7627

If you have any recommendations of where I should try out I would love to hear from you. 

Thanks a mil for reading.

Emma Mai xx