Glasgow's Hospitality Heroes - Bar 91
I was in Glasgow's Bar 91 the other day - a well-known, well-run hostelry on Candleriggs in the heart of Glasgow's Merchant City.
As ever the service was friendly and first class, but like most bars and restaurants Bar 91 is struggling because of the ScotGov restrictions on opening hours and the ban on selling alcohol.
A limited food menu is still available yet our power mad politicians decree that customers cannot enjoy a glass of wine or drink with their meal - and have to be bundled out the door by 6pm.
Now this is crazy if you ask me, because Bar 91 observes all the Covid safety rules:
- all tables are socially distanced
- mask wearing inside is strictly enforced - by both customers and staff
- the public areas are all cleaned scrupulously as customers come and go
- customers have to provide their contact details
- customers can have a table for two hours maximum
- customers are required to sanitise their hands on entry
- the bar/restaurant is run and managed responsibly - drunks or drunken behaviour have never been allowed
Now I bow to no one in taking Covid safety rules seriously - I am careful and cautious at all times (Hands/Face/Space), but in truth the ban on alcohol amounts to nothing more than a collective punishment.
Seems to me that Scotland's politicians are too cowardly to have an honest discussion about drunkenness and instead take the easy way out by treating everyone as though they can't be trusted - including responsible restaurant and bar owners.
Bar 91 can be found at 91 Candleriggs, Glasgow, G1 1NP - Phone number 0141 552 5211 - Email info@bar91.co.uk
Food Champs vs Food Chumps ((28/10/20)
Before this latest lockdown malarkey I enjoyed a great Burger and Halloumi fries at The Meat Bar in Glasgow's West Regent Street.
We were met at this door of this American style diner where our temperatures were checked before being shown to our socially distanced table.
The staff wore face coverings at all times and customers were required to do so as well, if they moved away from their tables to visit the rest rooms, for example.
Everything was scrupulously clean and we enjoyed a really nice bottle of Spanish red wine with our meal - everyone was being extra careful and courteous, as you'd expect, and no one was remotely drunk or badly behaved.
The Meat Bar offers a wide range of burgers, sandwiches
steaks, salads, small plates and side dishes - and I plan to return when the government's scapegoating of restaurants is over.
Because you can't tell me its safer for people to spend as long as they like in a Costa Coffee or Starbucks, yet they can't go for a meal and enjoy a glass of wine in a city centre restaurant.
The Meat Bar
142 West Regent Street
Glasgow, G2 2RQ
0141 204 3605
