Volare Italian Bar & Grill

Although Volare has been around for a little while, it took until now for me to talk the husband into visiting. He is very against restaurants that look like houses, and the parking is a bit cramped. Once inside though I was pleased. I am a love stonework, big windows and fireplaces so this was totally my thing. We went in for lunch, so it was bright and sunny, and we were seated quickly. We had the wee one with us, so were offered a high chair and a children’s menu. I do have to note, there was only one baby-​free table, it was a Sunday afternoon, so it may have less so through the week. The menu is great value-£6.95 for 2 courses, and my food was delicious! I had the bruscetta which was tomatoey and balsamicy and flavourful and the lasagne which had a delicious ragu. The food was lovely, and you can’t beat the price!

Fleming’s didn’t last too long in this location, and Volare opened earlier this year. I’m not entire sure that Newton Mearns needs another Italian restaurant so I can’t say I was rushing to get here when it opened, but it is run by the same people who do La Fiorentina which led me to having high expectations of what this would be like.
We arrived for lunch during the week and were seated in the conservatory. It’s a nice bright area that gets quite noisy as soon as there’s a few tables in there. They haven’t changed the décor a whole load, just splashed around some chilis and garlic to give it an Italian vibe (I’m not joking) but it’s pleasant enough. The lunch deal is 2 courses for £6.95, Monday — Friday 12pm — 6.15pm and on the weekend from 12 — 4pm. (On their website there are 4 different versions of the lunch menu which is a bit confusing, but it’s because they rotate them weekly so there is always something different which I think is a good idea!).
I went for the mozzarella sticks and then the main of beef Milanese which had a £1.50 supplement, and we got an extra portion of garlic bread to share. The food didn’t take too long to arrive and the mozzarella sticks were a good size, nice and chunky. Sadly there was no spicy tomato dip that the menu mentioned, so I resorted to dunking my sticks into Graeme’s meatball sauce. I would have asked for the sauce but there was no waiter to be seen from when our meals were dropped off as we were out in the conservatory, and the rest of the diners were in the main restaurant. Not really a huge bother, but at the time it did bug me a little.
My main was another mixed bag — the portion was huge, and the pasta was absolutely delicious, some of the tastiest pasta I’ve had in ages. The beef was really grisly though, and hard to cut — especially as it was served in a bowl with the pasta underneath. Most of the beef was really nice but it was those grisly bits that really tainted the dish for me.
Service was fine, and the bill came to £20-​something which wasn’t too bad seeing as we got a few extras and drinks between us. The other good thing was that it was a pretty quick meal which is handy if you’re out for lunch on your lunch break. But would I rush back? No, probably not — I’ve had a few great meals at Piccolino e Vino at the Broom and would probably head there for lunch rather than here.