Chequers Cocktail House

awesome cocktails!

Well my review seems to be almost the opposite of all the previous ones. The service was really good, everyone was very enthusiastic and friendly. Unfortunately the food was just slightly disappointing. It’s a nice place, typically West End, a bit light on the sofas though.
I went with the honey-​glazed chicken wings to start, followed by the Chequers burger with sweet potato fries. The chicken wings completely disintegrated when I tried to pick them up to put them in the chilli dip. They were served in a gravy, but neither the gravy nor the dip was particularly hot or particularly interesting. Clearly the wings were overcooked, in saying that though the dish was passable without being good. My partner enjoyed her crab cakes.
The burgers came, my partner had an All American Cheeseburger with the bacon substituted by mushrooms. The first thing we noticed was the strong smell of thyme, not a favourite herb of mine or hers. Her mushrooms were inconsistently cooked, and we both thought our burgers were a bit too finely textured. My sweet potato chips were inconsistent too, some were soft and a bit mushy, I didn’t find them very enjoyable.
All-​in-​all a mixed bag, if I was rating it purely on food it would be a two, but the surroundings and service lifted the experience to not bad.

Well this was a bit of a weird experience. I met a friend here on a weeknight at 6pm. When I arrived, I was the only customer in there. They gave me a huge table even though it was just the two of us for dinner. The music was loud and nightclubby — it seemed an odd choice for 6 pm on a weeknight in a near-​empty place, but ok.
We both ordered the steak frites and the food was enjoyable. The steak comes with a peppercorn sauce that was really nice. For just under 10 quid, it’s a pretty good deal. Compared to their £7 and up cocktails, it’s a steal!
They have a few good whiskys on hand that are priced much more reasonably.
If it were just for the food, I’d have given the place four stars, but I’m giving the experience three for two reasons. One, the ambiance — between the inappropriately loud music and freezing cold temperatures, it was a unique sensory experience. Two, the service. Our server gave us a dirty table (despite the entire room being empty), took forever to take orders, barely checked on us, never refilled water and was just generally not around at all. By the end a different person seemed to take over and he was much more attentive and friendly.
Will I go back? Probably, but I’ll take a heavier jumper next time.

I drive along Great Western Road every Monday night and watched with anticipation the creation of Chequers, a cocktail and grill bar as a new addition to the Westend. It opened not long before Christmas and I was pleased to get a sneaky wee table for some pre-​birthday drinks and some food with friends…
Food ⁴⁄₅: the food in Chequers was yummy and plentiful. As bar food goes the quality was really high and very competitively priced. We all ordered a starter each and shared them. For the main I had steak frites, which was lovely if a little bit tough, and smothered in loads of peppercorn sauce which was nice and creamy. The frites were described as stealth fries and I don’t know what they did to them but they were amazing. They had a really crunchy texture, with what was like a crispy, floury coating on them and were very moreish. Colin described them as ‘the best fries I’ve ever had in Glasgow’, high praise indeed.
Service ²⁄₅: As a new venture I think the aspect that Chequers really has room for improvement with regards to service.
Atmosphere 3.5÷5: The main bar area is very funky with a downstairs and mezzanine area, great atmosphere, intimate lighting, decoration and good music. It feels like a place you could have a great night, for dinner, drinks or both. However, we were seated in a small room off of the mezzanine area, which was very plain, had none of the decoration of the main bar and mezannine and had bright, harsh lighting. This was quite disappointing as it felt that you were in a forgotten room next to all the fun but not quite part of it.
Price £: The price was really reasonable and great value for the quality and amount of food served. Individual starters ranged from £2.95-£4.95, main dishes were really good value with most under £10. My steak frites for example was £9.95, burgers and Mac and cheese come in about £6 which is great. Cocktails were between £7-£9.
Overall Score ³⁄₅: Overall I really enjoyed Chequers and would recommend it. The cocktails were brilliant, the menu is really good and the food is of great quality. I think if the service is improved then it is an overall brilliant addition to the Westend.
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Just opened and it’s a great addition to the west end! Has fair priced cocktails and food that rivals anything in the west end. I would highly recommend and I will be coming back!