07/01/2025

I'm pretty sure we've all been to Genova before on an individual basis, but this was the first time as a group. The interesting thing about Genova is you never quite know how good the food will be. I've been there and it's been great, and I've been there and it's been pretty lackluster. This was a lackluster visit.

I freely admit getting the Bianco pizza was a mistake, but that doesn't excuse the crappy processed cheese mix on top of it. DC was good enough to hold his opinion on it until I had finished it. He has the risotto, which he said was good, but I don't think it's possible to get excited about rice. Slim, ever the adventurist, had the lasagne, which still hasn't cooled down enough to eat.

All in, a bit of a let down (the pizza dough used to be better too), but not enough to stop me ever visiting it again. DC also assures me that the head waiter is the real "dish of the day".

08/10/2024

Really good, in an unexpected way. The waiter didn't flinch when I ordered 2 curries (Keto4Lyfe). Slim and DC ordered enough bread to feed a small European nation, and were unable to finish it.

Probably the best curry we've had so far in Paisley.

28/08/2024

Apparently this has only been here a few years, and has changed hands in that time. Seems it used to be a pub, which I have no memory of. 

The service was good and everyone was (seemingly) very impressed with the toilets, which I thought had a bit of a Schipol airport vibe to them.

The food was good, and DC was introduced to the wonder of the Biryani. Then he went home and shit out his eye teeth until 2am. 4/5 food babies.

01/08/2024

A Paisley institution, which none of us have been in since the 90s. Quite small inside, and absolutely dead when we were in it midweek.

The food was fine, the service was... apathetic. Our waiter seemed to speak no English, and literally just left the restaurant unmanned for 5 minutes as he nipped out to the shops. Also, witnessed the chef sitting on the kitchen work surfaces when we had to go an pester someone for the bill.

Minus a million food babies for going home smelling like we had been working in the kitchens all night.

21/06/2024

If you like overpriced novelty burgers which are ultimately a bit disappointing then this is the place for you.

29/05/2024

2 men and a food baby edition, as Slim apparently would rather be refitting his kitchen than enjoying traditional Turkish fare.

Extensive menu with lots of traditional mezze (tapas if you were part of the 2000s Spanish food fad) and a good vegetarian selection. That said, you come for the barbecued meat, which is great. The table got a bit cramped with dishes though, but this always happens. 

The mixed mezze starter was good, although it is quite meat-heavy. Quite why there was a pot of tartare sauce in the middle of it is unknown. The mains were good, although I have no memory of what they were. Lamb for me, and (of course) chicken for Christensen. If there is proof the animal had bones in it he will not eat it.

Service was prompt and friendly, although we must have had every waiter/server in the entire restaurant, and possibly other restaurants too. Maybe this is a continental thing.

16/02/2024

This has been about for a good 20 years and we finally made it to it. It is indeed quite wee. Wee enough that there was a woman darning something on the way to the toilets*.

Given I am writing this in June, we definitely had something to eat, and it was good. Got served by someone who was the spitting image of Jamie Henderson from Bushes Primary School, circa 1992. If you're out there Jamie, I hope you're doing well, as it probably wasn't you serving us.

* Tip -- if you have had one too many refreshments, the toilet doors slide open, and have not in fact jammed shut once you got inside. So don't stand for 30 seconds trying to push open something which isn't on hinges.

04/02/2024

A Slim free trip, as he had the lurgy.

What is Nepalese food? I really don't know. I'm not sure why Johnstone was the place anyone decided to introduce it to Scotland either, but here we are.

The restaurant itself is pretty new in opening (just opposite the Masonic Lodge, for all your spillover secret handshake meetings), and is nicely decorated inside. The chairs alone look like they cost a fortune, although there is an every-so-slight scent of "Essex" about the decor.

The food was fine, nothing more, nothing less. Nepalese food seems to be Indian-ish, with Chinese elements, and a bunch of Western elements just thrown in for good measure. Fair enough, it is Johnstone after all. They've only just discovered cutlery there.

11/12/2023

Do you ever go somewhere and have a religious food experience, which you then want to share with your friends? Do you then take a day off work to have a big Christmas outing to make the most of it? Does one of those friends make it to the restaurant and decide that there is "nothing they can eat" because it isn't all purely off-the-bone chicken breast?

You know who you are.

The food was still good.

22/10/2023

Note: We really need to start taking photos of these places.

A late lunch in the West End with the "West End Wendys" as Christensen refers to them. A Moroccan cafe (no beer, probably for the best), with a selection of middle eastern tapas (which we opted for) and sandwiches. 

The tapas/mezze/whatever is good with lots of sweet and savoury flavours, although there is the occasional strange choice on there, such as some slices of ham which were approaching being Billy Bear meat. The tea and coffees on offer are particularly good, although the portions are quite small. We didn't try the sandwiches, but they all looked to be amalgamations of Moroccan and typical panini flavours, so it seems they are catering for both the local cafe culture and separating themselves with different dishes. If anything, they should just dive fully into the Moroccan side of things and make a few more in house dishes.

Stopped in at B&Q on the way home and Slim introduced me to the difference between PH and PZ screwdriver bits, which has changed everything.

23/09/2023

Massive portions and friendly staff. It's a shame those portions are so middle of the road. Very reminiscent of a buffet in their approach to food presentation and general taste. If it were to be summed up in a single sentence, it would be "where you would go on a date when you are 17 and don't have the money to get into Glasgow".

But the real benefit of going is that you can step out into the carnage of Shuttle Street on a Saturday night, where there is so much flesh on show you'll want to become vegetarian.

28/07/2023

The kind of place you take your mum to dinner, because she "doesn't want any of that foreign muck". Steak pie and burgers are the order of the day. Although the chicken nuggets (for want of a posher word) were well cooked. But there was a distinct lack of Cajun spicing on the Cajun spiced burger. but the real crime is that it took an hour for the mains to arrive.

Still, Christensen introduced us to the joy of Aperol Spritzs, so not a completely wasted night.

"Indian-Iranian tapas" or something along those lines. Service was good and so was the food, but comes in crazy small portions with the typical "tapas" price tag, although it did arrive really quickly (almost too quickly). Milk shakes are just expensive unflavoured milk. 

Discussed Nicola Sturgeon and Philip Schofield (Christensen called it 10 year ago!).

Great food at far too reasonable prices (seriously, add 10% to everything and no-one will notice), and friendly staff who clearly enjoy their job. Portions are enough to choke a horse. 

The only thing worth mentioning is that they need a better extractor fan, as we smelled like we were the ones operating the fryers all day when we left.

Persian cuisine. Amazingly good, friendly staff, 5/5 food babies, would eat there every day.

Good sushi. 

Went home and drank 17 year old Angostura Bitters following a conversation in the pub. Still alive.