Giraffe

Okay so this isn’t a bad three star review, I just can’t bring myself to give Giraffe four as I can’t say I’m a ‘fan’.
It was deadpool/​Valentines weekend in Glasgow and myself, along with food critic Tomas as well buldings expert and long-​time friend Darren headed out in search of some pre-​movie food. Our strategy was to not stray too far from the cinema (or picture house as Darren calls it) as it was freezing, snowing and pishing down of rain — basically an average day in Glasgow. We soon arrived at the new steel structure that is 1 west regent street and opted to try giraffe, as the idea of an international menu was rather appealing to us for some reason.
As we entered the restaurant only one thing crossed all of our minds. Why is this place always empty? I mean every time without fail this place is detested — in fact according to legend, there as some tables that have never even been sat at in this place’s 6 month history. So needless to say we were seated immediately right next the window at a nice little corner number before placing our drinks orders. I was absolutely disgusted to discover that this joint doesn’t do bottles of Coca Cola, but instead only draught; this is a bit of a deal breaker for me. Tomas and Darren just went for Irn-​Bru (which ironically came in bottles). Soon after, skipping the starters we ordered or main courses. I went for the Firecracker Chicken Katsu — served with Thai noodles, and stir-​fried red peppers, mushrooms, pea pods and onions. Tomas and Darren both opted for the classic American burger, served with fries and fuck all else.
Our food arrived a little while later; it was a rather long wait considering that the restaurant was COMPLETELY EMPTY excluding one other party — the Chicken Katsu was well presented and garnished the dish also came with a complimentary pair of chopsticks which was a nice touch. The chicken strips were sadly very overcooked and slightly dry, but the stir fry and noodles were full of flavour. The burgers were served on a wooden plank and as far as I know were fine but the buns were covered in poppy seeds which I found strange.
In conclusion I can’t see any of the three of us rushing back to giraffe. The food was underwhelming (not bad) but extremely overpriced and that’s probably why this restaurant is always empty.

I’ve walked past this shiny new Giraffe restaurant over the past few months, many times, and kept meaning to try it out, despite my thought that it would be a bit average what with being a chain restaurant.
My birthday night out was postponed for a few weeks and my friends little girl was joining us, so I thought this would be a good time to try it out — especially since by subscribing online I was sent a voucher for a free bottle of Prosecco if you spend over £30.
I booked in advance for a Saturday night and when we arrived the table was all set out complete for our group of ten, with highchair ready to go. The free Prosecco was also swiftly brought over with no quibbles and dished out amongst the drinkers.
The menu is a bit of a mixed bag with a mix of mexican inspired food like burritos and quesidillas, to burgers and chicken with noodles.
I went for the Falafel no bun option being healthy and all that :), but swapped the quinoa salad it came with for the green salad. Now I was expecting it to be slightly smaller than some of the other meals, but when a place has an option of a healthier no bun meal I would expect a lovely big plate of something else green leaves with all the trimmings, but the sparse little salad was a bit underwhelming. The falafel, if I’m being honest was a bit meh. Nothing wrong with it but not particularly exciting, and for the price £10.50 I’ve had tastier out of the frozen section in Tesco (Giraffe is in fact owned by Tesco).
My friends meals went down fairly well with the Firecracker Chicken Katsu being enjoyed by a few folks alongside some burgers and burritos.
The server was a lovely friendly guy who couldn’t have been nicer and we opted to share a few desserts and teas, including the chocolate brownie which was pretty tasty — good gooey/​cracked topping ratio, the rocky road sundae and a waffle.
Price wise its not the cheapest for what you get, but the venue inside was pretty nice, spacious and not as commercial as I expected. Even although my friends daughter was dancing on the table (yes, really shes only little :)), the place didn’t seem overly family oriented and there was a good mix of clientele enjoying a meal/​drink.
Whilst some folks headed off, a few of us sat chatting for a while and didn’t feel under pressure to upsticks and leave after we’d paid the bill (you know that way where you’re all enjoying some hilarious chat, but to be honest you can’t be bothered moving to go elsewhere or indeed can’t stomach another Diet Coke). In this respect, it worked out well that the place wasn’t busy and the venue made for an enjoyable night out.

I found giraffe as I was looking for ‘past noon’ breakfasts, this place fitted the bill perfectly as it does vegetarian breakfasts/​brunch til 4pm. woohoo! Also close to subway station (via shortcut through Forever 21) so ideal for a rainy day.
The brunch I chose was 2 fried eggs, 2 veggie sausages, baked beans, 2 mushrooms & a few slices of avocado with several slices of bread. I also ordered sweet potato fries as they came with spicy mayo dip, as soon as my food arrived I realised this was a mistake as there were a lot of fries and a lot of brunch! I was slightly dissapointed that there were only 2 slices of avocado, but in truth this is more than enough really as the whole breakfast is quite large and a good balance of flavours. My only real peeve was that the veggie sausages were clearly not artisan and hand made, they reminded me of the Brakes ones which you get in catering packs (college/​Uni food canteen supplies) — they are perfectly fine really, and I don’t expect them to make their own baked beans… so I think I am being a little picky there, having been spoilt with some other veggie breakfasts elsewhere.
The staff were lovely, happy to help and explain the huge menu options (especially as the Christmas menu is on at the moment). There are lots of special offers at certain times of day, for example reduced cocktails on certain days and also special lunch time deals. I ordered the ice cold chamomile & green tea with mango, lime & fresh mint… it looked like a cocktail when it came even though no alcohol involved. beautiful presentation and in a jar, great value for £2.95.
I was stuffed after my lovely meal and drink, and couldn’t finish my chips. too many for one I think, even when in greedy mode! I did order a coffee, but it was really dessert in a glass — creamy mocha with chocolate sauce & amaretti biscuit topping. Tip– eat the biscuit topping first or you get soggy crumbs. it’s a delicious drink but I think I would ask for my biscuit on the side next time. I’d happily go back to Giraffe, I was expecting a far more ‘corporate’ type place, but to me it felt welcoming and friendly and had a lot of interesting choices on the menu. That 4pm brunch is so handy. I will never fathom why so many places think you don’t want avocado or other breakfast goodies beyond 12!

My second Giraffe, we figured it would be a good option for a pre-​cinema meal, and so it proved to be. A good, but not great option. I really like the idea of an international menu, it means that everyone can choose something they fancy, and Giraffe and Perla, the tapas restaurant next door, do this kind of thing. The service was really, really good, fast and friendly with banter, but the food was just a little bit lacklustre.
It’s an impressive new-​build. The ceiling is high enough to launch an effective Gary Owen, it’s spacious and comfortable if a touch uninspiring. We elected to share a starter of Firecracker Chicken Tenders, and I chose as my main a Chilli Beef Burrito.
So, the chicken tenders arrived, very slightly over-​crisped in my view but not bad at all. The chicken was still moist and the dip was a good accompaniment. The salad dressing was lovely, surely it can’t be good for you otherwise we would all be veggies! The same tremendous salad accompanied my burrito also, it was a huge burrito, but there was just not enough solid beef in it, it lacked texture and there was not enough spice. Disappointing!
Okay is all it was and when the salad sideshow deserves more merit than the main events you know you have to knock it down to three.

Had lunch here the other day and yum yum, was fantastic, you could still smell the fresh newness of it all accompanied by a tasty looking menu I had the chicken and, ribs which lovely, my dad had the chicken and noodles which was delicious, my wife had the quisedillas which were light and tasty and my mum had the cabonarra which was nice. And the desserts holy jesus they were out of this world, the chocolate tart recommended. I am chef and find it hard not to criticise food but I couldn’t here so well done giraffe. Fantastic staff also.

The sign was big and yellow, and I wanted a drink.
Didn’t really know what to expect, but I am a bit gutted I didn’t eat anything — the food looked immense. I had a good scan of the menu and it looked really varied with some great veggie dishes and non-​alcoholic cocktails. Really accommodating.
The décor is comparable to Las Iguanas down the road a piece, with high ceilings.
My Mojito was ace, properly mixed with ice and not a litre of soda water.
Great service and top location on that stroll down to Central Station.
I will be back to check out their cocktails Mon-​Fri — 50% off!

They have a very long list of fresh non-​alcoholic cocktails which I was very happy about instead of a boring soft drink list! I thought I’d try a Falafel Burger having never tried one before-​Best burger I’ve ever tasted & it came with hand cut chips and a lovely salad. Definitely filled me up!

Came in for lunch today for a treat with a visitor from out of town
This is a new place and still has that fresh smell its nice, clean and colourful.
We where greeted upon our arrival and asked where we would like to sit, and soon after we had our drinks order taken followed by the food order.
We ordered to start, salt & pepper Calamari & chicken wings, and the main courses where a special burger £6.95 and the crispy coated shrimps with sweet chilli dipping sauce.
With the starters they where well presented, nicely garnished and even tasted great, the burger was with bacon & cheese, beef tomato, baby gem, it definitely looked and tasted the part.
The crispy coated prawns where served with a sweet chilli dip & proved a hit with my guest.
Through our duration our table was approached and offered refills of drinks, with staff checking if the food was ok.
I couldn’t fault the the customer service we where made welcome on entering and the food was a pleasant surprise.
Meal for two was around £25 this included two starters & two main courses with drinks, Overall good value for money.
Compared to nearby places such as Hard Rock Café this place beats their food quality hands down.

Had my first lunch in Glasgow here and loved it! Brunch served until 4 p.m. and is yummy. Smoothies are great too! Their cocktails looked great although I did not have one. Servers were very kind.