Battlefield Rest - 55 Battlefield Road

The owners of the Battlefield Rest should be congratulated, for many things, one of which is the saving of the building itself which was the subject of a demolition order by Glasgow District Council in 1990 and was only saved by the petition of locals. In 1994 Marco Giannasi took over ownership and converted into a restaurant and its become a landmark location in the Southside ever since and is celebrating it's 15th birthday this year.

Built in 1915, back when we built things properly, the "Rest" was a small newsagent kiosk and shelter for tram passengers, it was once described as "The most exotic tram shelter in Scotland". The iconic tiles are in the original Glasgow Corporation Transport colours of green and cream and really make it stand out and give it character. Compare it to the little glass stops we have these days. It must have been amazing back in the day when the Southside was serviced by the Trams, that whole junction must have been jumping with so many people passing through.

Inside, the restaurant is warm and welcoming, the staff are really friendly, though we didn't quite understand some of our waiters jokes. There was obviously some banter going on in the kitchen and when he brought us out our food, he laughed and jokingly said he was going to get revenge on the kitchen staff by putting laxatives into their food. Probably not best timing, to say that while actually handing us our food.

The menu is as you would expect from an upmarket Italian restaurant with all the typical favourites of lasagne, various pastas etc but there are a few twists and specialists thrown in. For example, my favourite starter is the "Battlefield Bruschetta". This consists as you would expect of amazingly moist and juicy grilled garlic bread, topped with fresh chopped tomatoes, vinegar and oil. What makes it special however, is the ingenious decision to add grilled bacon and courgette - one of the best bruschettas, I've had anywhere, I'd probably quite happily eat a giant one of these for a main meal. Word of warning - "Battlefield Bruschetta" is currently not on the menu and I had to ask for it specially, it was worth it though.

My friend had the minestrone soup and for mains we had Lasange and another Battlefield twist - Haggis cannelloni. Both were very tasty and we ordered another round of the tasty garlic bread to mop up our sauce.

With its big hearty style of comfort food, the Battlefield Rest is an ideal place to escape from the cold in the winter months with a nice glass of wine. The only thing is they are only open Monday to Saturday 10am - 10pm so you can't go on a Sunday night which does tend to be the night we fancy getting some tasty comfort food. You should also try and book in advance as they are very, very popular.

Currently they are doing a Christmas menu, and a range of special offers. When we were in, it was £6.90 for a main and a drink. In total for the two of us it was £20 for two courses which is great value considering we had to roll up the hill home we were so stuffed.

Battlefield Rest
Battlefield Road, Glasgow, G42 9JL

0141 6366955
http://www.battlefieldrest.co.uk/