Mini Grill

I have visited this restaurant on multiple occasions — I will tell you in detail about my visit in April. Mini bar is a quirky little restaurant located on Glasgow’s bustling Bath Street. Like many others in the area, the restaurant is a dinky below ground level cellar restaurant. The atmosphere is great here, super cosy with some fantastic mood lighting as the night draws in. There is minimal seating so reserve ahead of time if you can.
On my visit, back in April, I was blown away by the food and the service. I’m a lover of burgers — and the burgers that were on offer here were out of this world. At the time the options were Scottish themed. I picked the ‘Feasterhouse’ burger which consisted of a beef patty topped with deep fried Buckfast bacon strips, chips ‘n’ cheese and battered onion rings. My mouth is literally watering thinking about it… Portions were big and the food ridiculously delicious. The burger menu was trendy, unique and on point — featuring other wonders such as the ‘Barrlinnie’ (Irn bru pulled pork, Buckfast bacon, haggis, Glasgow cheddar) and ‘The Horse’ (patty with jerk brisket, bacon, scotch bonnet chilli & toasted cheddar served with cool mint mayo & topped with a traffic cone). All burgers came with the most wonderful hand cut chips, the chips were lovely and crisp on the outside but as soft as a cloud on the inside and seasoned to perfection. This was then paired with luscious creamy coleslaw. So yeah, pretty blumming amazing! Who new buckfast marinated bacon would taste so good?!
The cocktails here are also pretty spectacular. Wonders such as the ‘Absolute Amy’ (tall cocktail made with vodka, cranberry and pineapple juice) were tasty and refreshing — the prosecco on offer was also a hit; extra dry but yet zesty and crisp. Not to mention that as this was our 3^rd visit our loyalty had been rewarded with a ‘locals keyring’. The key ring allows for discounts on both food and drinks on different days of the week. For more info please ask the restaurant.
No word of a lie — on this visit 2 cocktails and 2 burger meals cost me £20. Do you see why I love it and can’t get enough? This place is homely, cracking value for money and offers fantastic customer service. I think I may actually be able to say that this place offers the best burgers I’ve ever had. All my foodie boxes were ticked and I can highly recommended.
I’m in love. I’ve fallen head over heels with a burger.

Booked a table through 5pm for the 2 course for £9.95 deal
I went for the Bruschetta to start which which covered in lots of yummy pesto, laced with lots of garlic! My friend went for the pâté, which came with 3 small slices of fresh toasted bread. Both of us cleared our plates but werent too full for our main courses.
We both ordered the same main — Peterhead caught Fish with an Inns & Gunn batter. The fish came with chunky chips with their skin on. The tartar sauce tasted delicious and was definately fresh made, it would have been good for the onions on the side to have been proper «chip shop» onions instead of silverskin onions.
With still some room left for a pudding we shared the Puff candy dessert, the meringue appeared slightly tough to break with the spoon but had a chewed centre inside.
Throughout the time in Mini Bar the waitress was really attentive and also checked that all the food was ok.

Aaah Mini Bar. I remember my student days when I lived above this teeny tiny place, enticing us in with their filthy cheap beer and showing all the best footy games live on TV. Back in the day it was a kinda feeder bar for the now burnt down Shack night-​club, and so was always busy with young, tarted up students.
Fast forward 10 years and this place has gone through a bit of a transformation. Having been closed for many years and gone through several name changes, the new owners have come back to us with the original (and imaginative) name of Mini Bar.
Gone are the ridiculously cheep beers and in come some smashing bottled craft beers. The clientèle has also changed, much less studenty than before, with a more laid back, grown up feel. The main focus now seems to be selling top quality pub food and on this level they have succeeded. Here you will find some of your classic pub dishes such as fish and chips, mac and cheese etc, but it’s the meat dishes they really excel in.
I find it hard to look beyond a burger on my first visit to a new pub and think its a good thing to judge by. So, of course, I ordered the biggest, dirtiest burger on the menu, «Taken the Brisk» and from the craft beer list, a lovely 5am Saint red ale.
The burger, was excellent I must say. I know we are completely swamped with burger options in Glasgow, but I think the Mini Bar burger stands up as one the best. A wonderfully cooked and moist beef paty topped with loads of Jack cheese, smokey bacon & succulent jerk brisket. It was just bloomin’ marvelous. The burger was served with a side of massively cut, thick, skin on chips, that on first bite, where hotter than the sun. So beware folks, let them cool down first before getting stuck in.
If you hadn’t already guessed, Mini Bar is err, rather mini. There are probably only 6 or 7 little tables. We went in on a busy Thursday night after failing to be seated in two nearby burger-​y type pub establishments. So keep this place in mind if you are looking for food, I’m not sure how well know it is at the moment.
My only gripe about the place would be the bog situation. Lets just say they were not the nicest, nor the cleanest, and for a pub that looks so pleasant, I was a bit surprised.
Nonetheless, service was great and the food was top-​notch. Defo a great wee hidden gem to check out!

My first visit here, it’s gotten good reviews on other websites and have to say I enjoyed it.
The staff were excellent, friendly and attentive without being overbearing, and the food was good tasty fare.
The menu offers a good choice of some fairly standard British/​Scottish dishes.
My starter of black pudding, crispy pancetta with a poached egg was tasty and well cooked and presented. The main course of «highland chicken» was good, a tasty haggis in a well cooked chicken breast, with some tasty mash to accompany it.
Dessert was an delicious ice cream sundae with chunks of chewy brownie hidden away, yum!
Admittedly the food wasn’t spectacular but for the price we had a very nice tasty meal, given I’ve paid more and not had such good food, I can’t complain. Definitely felt like the menu choice was deliberately safe, no bad thing when it’s executed well.
The downside was partly down to the size of the place, and the time we ate, I think.
At 6pm on a Friday, the post work crowd were still in and being very noisy, in such a small place it had a big impact. Not sure how they solve that one though.
Overall, a good meal, and I even got a sparkler in my dessert as it was a birthday surprise! :)

I always thought that the main point of this place was it’s tiny little weeness. I’d say that it was average sized, but I was never in during any of it’s previous incarnations. This one is failing to impress though.
I have the feeling that it’s trying to reinvent itself and the stalwarts at the bar are refusing to let it. To be fair, they are right. What we really don’t need is another light beige pub with recessed halogen lighting.
I didn’t try the food stuffs, but looking at the menu it seems fairly unassuming, which, in a way, is to be praised. The prices looked very reasonable also. Proof then that it’s not overstretching itself (good grief, that was a long word, I need a lie down after that).
The drinks selection is pretty standard also. Fizzy ambers and popular spirits with the odd odd spirit thrown in. Unfortunately I finished off the bottles of unusual whisky, which left them with the Fiddich and Morangie that you can get in any bar anywhere.
Also, the 2 massive flat screens are a tad over the top and the 90’s R&B is unwelcome.
So to sum up, this pub is absolutely and utterly average. Not bad, but there are more interesting places nearby.

What a difference an unidentified amount of time makes… not quite as catchy a song title, but pretty apt to describe my feelings about this.
That three stars up there. Them’s a good solid three stars. Not yer ‘ooh this place was hyped up to be awesome, but then just ended up being average’. Nah, them’s a ‘woah, this place used to be an absolute dive (aye you heard Bar Petite!) now it’s actually quite nice!’.
So when myself, the infamous Capt Wiggles and resident Unilocal Glasgow photo ninja Mr A Watson were invited along to a charity gig at the Blythswood Square hotel, we obviously made plans for a pre gig pintage. The Cap chose this place only to read my review of the old Bar Petite on the way and pure get the fear!
Fear he not though as this place (standby for the kind of language that i’d love to hear on Grand Designs) has had the arse ripped out of it, to be replaced with something altogether more appealing. Décor wise they’ve stripped it right back to the sandstone and done away with the homemade looking booths that seem to take up most of the bar, whilst not really offering much space to sit.
Drinks have also improved. Not a massive selection, but decent enough for a bar of this size. I’d also have to say that the carbonara I ordered was decent for the price and a darn sight better than some I’ve ordered in Italian restaurants for a third more of the price!
In all, this is an ok wee place. Would I frequent it? Probably not no, but I know it’s one of those places that will suit a situation when/​if it should arrive. You know the ones… awkward drinks with old school mates. Post work drinks with the boss. Somewhere where you don’t want to give away your regular drinking haunts, but still don’t want to cross the threshold of a big nasty place.