The Greek Golden Kebab @ 34 Sinclair Drive

The Greek Golden Kebab in Battlefield is a bit of a Southside institution, the first Greek restaurant in Scotland, its been serving diners amazingly tasty food for over thirty years. Go through any good food guide to Glasgow and its almost sure to get a mention, so why is it not better known, even in its local area?

The reason I suspect is that from the outside it doesn't look like its going to be anything special, tucked down a side street in a largely residential area, the restaurant window with its net curtains, plastic wines and illustrations of diners doesn't really shout out, fine dining. Even the name is slightly off putting with the word kebab having, over the last thirty years, become associated with greasy late night fast food on the way home from the pub, far removed from what is actually on offer inside.

 

Once you do go inside however your eyes, ears and nose are in for a real treat and are in danger of overload. Soft twanging Greek guitar tunes come from speakers in the ceiling, immediately sending your brain off to an island in the Mediterranean and the smells from the kitchen of roasting lamb and spices jump out and grab you like in a cartoon.

The place is very small, split into just 7 small booths which each sit comfortably 4 people. (We tried seven people once and while it worked out ok, it was such a tight squeeze we had to take turns cutting up our food.) Each booth is separated by a wall of plastic wines and fruit with wood walls, red fabric chairs and every available space decorated in Greek memorabilia. Ornaments, postcards and decorative plates hang and sit on every surface and you find your self constantly looking around to see what else you can spot.

Its been written about by others elsewhere but your really do feel like you've just walked into someone’s front room. This feeling is made all the more strong by the lovely staff who work there, who fuss around you, natter away about what you’ve been up to and make you feel so at home you could take your shoes off and put your feet up.

There is a large menu of food to choose from with all the Greek staples you'd expect including taramasalata, to dolmades, moussaka and keftedes. To get the most out of your experience at the Golden Kebab I highly recommended going for a very long walk first and have a small lunch as you will be needing the space, the portions are huge.

The plates and the glasses all have a retro-chique straight out the 1970’s with gold rim and brown flower patterns. Each dish is served with a choice of rice, chips or potatoes but so far everyone I’ve been with has ordered the roasties. Everyone loves roasties, they should be on the menu in every restaurant. The potatoes when they come are large and crispy. I had the moussaka the last time and can honestly say it was fantastic. It was so good I just kept eating it long after the point at which I was full. Ann had the veggie keftedes and Gav had a roast joint of lamb. All three of us thoroughly enjoyed our meals but all three of us really struggled to polish off our plates, but somehow we managed it.

 

The number one thing about the Golden Kebab and the reason for its continued success is not just the great food but the overall package of the experience. The slightly off putting shop front, combined with the 1970’s décor, the tiny tables and the huge portions make it a really odd but wonderful night out. Go once and you will feel like you've discovered somewhere secret, its the kind of place that once you've been you want to go back, taking new friends with you so that you can show them this amazing place you've found. That’s why it continues to be so popular while at the same time is not so well known, it’s like a secret club, you feel like you need to be in the know, to go.

Highly recommended, just remember to book early as they are only open Thurs – Sun from 5pm – 1am and its usually very busy. (They also do takeaway)

PS - Its cash only no plastic. (Thanks to reader Ry for reminding us - never fear though as the Co-Op cash machine is just round the corner.)

The Greek Golden Kebab

34 Sinclair Drive

Battlefield

Glasgow G42 9QE

0141 649 7581

07887528490

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/