Buddy’s BBQ & Burgers

I had a cheeky wee delivery a few days ago to assist with a hangover that I had somehow developed. I’ve had takeaway from here before and eaten in the diner a couple of times and found the burgers to be really good.
Sadly, with this delivery I found it all to be a bit meh. I had the western burger — which I’ve had before and really enjoyed. It arrived quite promptly, wrapped in foil. However, it was lukewarm and quite squashed. The chips weren’t cooked properly and were soggy by the time they arrived.
It didn’t help the hangover too much either…
I’ll stick to the dining experience

Oh dear! Buddy’s why?
A late night ravenous Sammie was craving the fab Montréal Poutine. Stomach rumbling, mouth drooling and listening out for my door bell. I ordered a delivery at 10:25 and was left waiting and waiting. I didn’t mind just as long as they came. All of a sudden it was 11… Buddies was shut and i had paid for my meal, delivery and the bag and still no poutine in my hands. So as i my bottom lip quivered i searched my cupboards for any sign of food… none.
Off to bed on an empty stomach then, i would go in tomorrow and ask for my money back. In bed watching Netflix and at 12:05 my doorbell rings «they’ve got to be kidding» i say as my partner opens the door. The delivery man apologises and says it was a hectic night. I forgive them. I sit up rubbing my hands together excited to see the cheesy gravy goodness, to find nothing but some soggy chips with a bit of cheese on them.
Oh the disappointment, the hunger the money, why buddies why? I then remember a time walking back from a night out and trying to purchase the exact same thing. They had no Gravy and my friends laughed and said «You guys never have gravy!». This obviously happens a lot, rather then calling me and telling me i have in store credit. You deliver me poutine with no gravy and hour and a half after i ordered. I emailed your customer service who told me they had emailed it to your store to lock into it. I have had no reply from you to fix things so essentially i just donated money to your shop because the food was literally inedible in its current state.
I loved Buddy’s, i loved your food but i must say i don’t think i will be back anytime soon.
Update: I emailed buddy’s asking why i never heard anything back, they apologised and told me i would get a phone call the next day. No phone call and no refund and no word from buddy’s, very bad customer service.

I used to hate Buddy’s because they made the worst burrito in history, it was like a cold fajita with some terrible pork and a bit of rice in it. But then I tried their burgers and chips (at the original Skirving Street venue) and I began to warm to them. I also still really like their sit-​in restaurant as it is actually really good value for money and the food gets to you whilst it’s still hot.
Couple of downers on the takeaway joint though though. Firstly, they forgot to add in an extra burger when I’d ordered a double, and suggested they would give me another patty free next time. No thanks, give me a new burger (they did)!
Also the macaroni cheese was pretty dry. Still tasty, but dry and much worse than before. Mac n Cheese really needs a crispy top and they serve this in plastic bowls which is pretty difficult to crisp up.
And finally, their chipotle mayo used to be mega, worth going for alone. But when I ordered it this time I got some sort of random seafood sauce. Don’t know if it was another mix-​up, but either way it was bad.

Being from Texas where good BBQ can be found on every corner, this recent flux of BBQ in Glasgow has me both excited and rather scared.
I wasn’t sure what to expect, having wanting to try Buddy’s for quite some time. I was in the area one night doing some shopping at local shops, when I decided to ditch all meal plans (the boyfriend was out at a works dinner and I was going to go home to cook chicken) and decided to stop in for a BBQ takeaway.
It was right around what I would consider dinner time, and I ordered the beef brisket sandwich meal– which comes with a side and a can. I ordered mine with a side of mac and cheese and a diet irn-​bru. It was only 2 seconds later when someone from the kitchen came out to inform the girl at the till that I had just purchased the last order of beef brisket for the night– they were out.
Whoa– out?! At 5:45pm?! I was really hoping that meant the brisket was THAT good.
I knew it was going to have to be reheated by the time I got home as it was snowing out and I had a bit of a walk to get home. By the time i got home, I also realised I had a few things to do around the house as my boyfriend and I were leaving town early the next morning. So by the time I got around to eating my meal, it was well and truly cold. (Don’t judge me Buddy) but I heated my meal up in the microwave. Just enough to warm it up, and not turn everything in to leather.
I’m not even sure what to say about my meal, but I’m completely surprised that I loved it as much as I did.
The beef was tender and not dripping in BBQ sauce. There was just enough sauce on it to give it that little kick of flavour. It was piled high on a brioche bun, with mustard and pickled onions (both I would never put on brisket, but it actually really worked). The mac and cheese was a tad on the bland side, but nothing a wee bit of salt couldn’t fix. I would rather it be too bland than salty as all get up.
By the time my boyfriend got home, I was dreaming of the next time we can go to Buddy’s to actually sit down and eat. He’s even more excited because I liked it so much. Great job Buddy’s, great job!

The hype that surrounds the Buddy’s brand on the southside is pretty impressive. So last night I went into the takeaway for two reasonably priced meal deals. I plumped for a cheeseburger and a burger both with salad and sauce, a side of fries and a side of onion rings.
When we got to our eating location we eagerly unwrapped the burgers. No salad, no sauce and a slightly well fired bun. The onion rings were fried in the thinest batter, over salted and quite uninspiring. By way of contrast, there was no salt on the chips.
Yeah, I won’t be back

When Buddy’s first opened in Skirving street, my husband and I joined the crazy queues in freezing cold weather to sample the burgers that would be the start of the curret craze in Glasgow. Back then the food was amazing — the burgers were always top notch and consistent, and the sides included delights such as corn on the cob and mac n cheese. We didn’t mind long waits at all and went through a phase of having Buddy’s as a weekly takeaway treat.
However, since opening the takeaway on Pollokshaws road and then closing the Skirving street branch, the food has really taken a turn for the worse. The burgers are bland, underseasoned and soggy and the sides are frankly non descript. We’ve given them a few chances in the last few months, but are seriously considering if we’ll even bother going back now.
I always get the ‘western’ burger which is a patty with cheese, bacon, an onion ring and BBQ sauce and cajun fries. My husband normally gets the ‘Duke’ or ‘Bubba’ but much preferred when they were on the secret menu rather than blatantly advertised ;)
In our most recent visit neither of us could finish the burgers as they were so dire, and if we lived closer (10 minute drive away) would have been taking them back.
We might give them one more chance in the future — but I think with the absolute glut of far better restaurants in Glasgow Buddy’s will begin to struggle more and more. And their tripadvisor ratings are now reflecting that — they’re in the 800s now whereas before they were often in the top 100.
And don’t even get me started on the diner a little along the road — chaotic, rude service and a poorly managed kitchen coupled with a dirty restaurant does not a good experience make. I’m sorely disappointed as I used to count Buddy’s in my top 3 for burgers, but now they’re lucky if they’re even in the top 10. Please sort it out and get good again!!!

So after hearing amazing things about Buddy’s, but never being close enough to justify a visit there, I finally popped in after performing at the close by Bungo Bar. I was quickly enamoured by the idea of the Bubba burger, a double cheeseburger with pulled pork with mustard and coleslaw. Sounded like my kind of burger — go big or go home, right?
I placed the order with alongside onion rings and a can of orange Fanta. Since it was pretty quiet, I got my meal pretty quickly. I was amused that I was repeatedly asked what flavour of Fanta I wanted — I understand not giving the drink to the customer til the meal was ready, but I seen other customers be a bit put out that they had to ask for their can. As an experienced café worker, my instinct would be to either make a note of the drink and mark it off when received, or use copypaper for the order so one goes to the kitchen, and one stays at the counter, with the can on top, so that when calling out the order for collection they can hand over the correct can then. A small detail, maybe — but a little change can make all the difference.
Now onto the good stuff — the food! I started on the onion rings first, my husband had a few too and we both agreed they were only ok, and waaay too salty. The batter was crunchy and would have been perfectly tasty without the salt, I wasn’t asked if I wanted any, and I prefer to season food myself so it was a major letdown. There was quite a bit of salt at the bottom of the bag, which made me quite queasy to think about.
The burger itself was MASSIVE. Squeezing it down to make a manageable mouthful bite was no easy task, and I realised it wasn’t a great idea to order a burger like this knowing I would be walking along the street eating it. Still I attacked it with gusto, mustard on face be damned! The bun was good, dense enough to hold up to the saucy mess, but I can’t really rate the pulled pork since I couldn’t really taste it, I just knew it was in my mouth because of the texture. The burger patties didn’t taste particularly special either, I’ve had better. The real star of the show was the mustard, to be honest. It was really tasty and I honestly would be happy with a tub of that and fries!
In conclusion, I’ll probably eventually pop back over to the sit in restaurant located a few units down the road from the takeaway, but I’m in no hurry. I wasn’t exactly disappointed with the quality of the burger but wasn’t wowed either. I *am* curious about the BBQ beans though, I wonder if they’re better than mine…

I went in here for lunch today and I’m glad I did. I popped in and there was not a soul to be found which was disappointing but the man took my order and I got the meal deal which included the fried chicken sandwich and BBQ beans. I kind of wish I’d got chips, because I couldn’t eat the BBQ beans as I was so full from the sandwich.
The sandwich was amazing. I’ve never quite had anything like it. It was tasty, crunchy and probably had about 1500 calories, but it was really good.
It was topped off by a wee donner round to Queen’s Park on a lovely spring day to munch it by the pond.
I’ve had worse lunches…

Not the prettiest burger but it was tasty. Popped in on way home late one night, pretty hungry after a minimal early meal so stopped here for a quick takeaway burger. It was quick but delicious and much nicer than my back up plan of McDonalds would have been! :)