The Battlefield Rest will always have a very special place in my heart. It was there that my husband and I had our first ever date together (he lived across the road and he was still late!). We ate there with both sets of parents to celebrate my long awaited pregnancy. We have eaten there ... Read review
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Advantages: Great food, good value, professional staff Disadvantages: None really
The Battlefield Rest will always have a very special place in my heart. It was there that my husband and I had our first ever date together (he lived across the road and he was still late!). We ate there with both sets of parents to celebrate my long awaited pregnancy. We have eaten there with friends and family on numerous occasions and it was there that our girls had their first eating out experience.
LOCATION
...of the Victoria Hospital, on what is effectively a roundabout, The Rest does not have the most picturesque or peaceful of settings. The wail of sirens as ambulances bustle by and the buses thundering past in all directions, would, in most circumstances detract from the ambience of such an establishment, but it actually seems to emphasis the cosy atmosphere inside. There's something comforting about watching the cars driving past in the lashing rain, ... more
The Battlefield Rest will always have a very special place in my heart. It was there that my husband and I had our first ever date together (he lived across the road and he was still late!). We ate there with both sets of parents to celebrate my long awaited pregnancy. We have eaten there with friends and family on numerous occasions and it was there that our girls had their first eating out experience.
LOCATION
Situated in the Southside of Glasgow, in the shadow of the Victoria Hospital, on what is effectively a roundabout, The Rest does not have the most picturesque or peaceful of settings. The wail of sirens as ambulances bustle by and the buses thundering past in all directions, would, in most circumstances detract from the ambience of such an establishment, but it actually seems to emphasis the cosy atmosphere inside. There's something comforting about watching the cars driving past in the lashing rain, while nursing a glass of red, with a steaming bowl of pasta in front of you.
THE BUILDING
The Rest is somewhat unusual, possibly even unique. The building was a tram-stop and newsagents originally and lay derelict for some time. It was threatened with demolition but a local campaign saw it saved and then restored in 1994 when it opened as a restaurant. It is decorated on the outside with green and cream tiles and has an octagonal clock tower. The clock is operational and is a real landmark in the local area.
INSIDE
It's small, and the tables are packed in. Tastefully decorated with original artwork (available for sale) and impressive murals on the walls. A hint of tartan (but not too much), candles, paper napkins. Wooden tables with plastic covers, wooden chairs, unless you are lucky enough to get a wee corner table with a bench seat piled high with comfy cushions.
THE FOOD
The food is predominantly Italian, with pasta and pizza dominating the menu. However the menu is wide and varied with a specials chalkboard supplementing the choices.
Starters include mussels, minestrone soup, fishcakes, sardines, antipasti, bruschettas, pate, Italian sausages, crepes, the list goes on and on. You can also opt to have a small starter portion of any pasta dish from the mains.
Main courses, aside a huge selection of pizza and pasta, also include chicken topped with haggis (one of my favourites), Moroccan lamb stew, duck, steak, salads, seafood, something for everyone really.
If you still have room for a dessert, there is a daily selection in the refrigerated cabinet in front of the bar area of the restaurant, so you can drool before you choose. I usually struggle to choose between the pavlova, which melts in the mouth, and the Tony's homemade tiramisu. There is also a choice of ice creams, crepes or cheese and biscuits.
Still got a wee space left??.…liqueur coffees, expresso, cappuccino anyone?
The Battlefield Rest has a very small but reasonably priced wine list and a full bar. A fairly recent, and in my opinion, very welcome addition, has been the Peroni on tap.
MY EXPERIENCES
Now I am not going to describe the dish I ate because I have eaten my way round this menu so many times, where would I start? Suffice it to say, I have always found the food delicious, portion size spot-on, and the service superb. I think repeat custom speaks volumes for a place and the staff know (and are known by) so many of their customers by name that this is a commendation in itself. The owner is almost always on hand in the evenings, working with the waiters and ensuring everything is running smoothly. Many of the staff have been there since the first time I ate there (1997) and they really do know what they are doing. Some are Scottish, some Italian, some Spanish, all of them exceptionally good at their jobs. It is always busy, but you never feel like you are being rushed to eat up and free up the table. For children, there is no "kids" menu as such but smaller portions of just about anything on the regular menu is available. Our two girls love eating at "The Pasta Shop" and one of them has developed a bit of an addiction to the mussels stew!
THE PRICES
Starters around £5, pizza £8, pasta £7-8, mains £12, desserts £5. Peroni £3.50 (pint), house wine £12 (litre), bottle of wine £14-15 2 Course Lunch £7.90 Pre-theatre (2 courses) £11.90
The last time we ate there (four adults and the two girls) we had three half pints of Peroni, four starters, four mains, two small pastas, two ice creams and two litres of house red and the bill was £92.
Great value, in my opinion.
THE DOWNSIDE
In order to present a balanced opinion I felt I had to include this but I really did have to rack my brains and, to be honest, I'm having to be a bit picky. Sometimes the tables can be a bit on the small side for the party seated. And the view is not great (unless you find the Big Issue seller outside the Co-op particularly entertaining). Err, and that's it.
CONCLUSION
Highly recommended if you are in the area. Very handy if you are heading to an event at Hampden. And I'm free if there's a spare space at your table.
OTHER INFORMATION
Battlefield Rest, 55 Battlefield Road, Glasgow Tel: 0141 636 6955 Closed on Sundays Booking recommended (often essential) Highchair available Check out www.battlefieldrest.co.uk for full details of the menu and pictures of the building.
Advantages: Architecture, atmosphere, good food and service Disadvantages: A few dodgy facilities; noises off at night
water to be drawn by teams of oxen for irrigation. The imagination reels at the collective effort needed for its construction, given the tools available at the time.
So capacious is it, we were assured by our impromptu guides, that a large detachment of the rajah's army was able to hide there before emerging to play a decisive part in the Battle of Neemrana. "Who fought in the battle?" we enquire, since we have not heard of it. "Oh, it was with the British," we are told. The offer is made to show us round the battlefield on the scrubby hillside behind, but it looks no more inspiring than the rest of the scrubby hillside, and once more we decline.
We do, however, buy a few trinkets in their shops before returning to the hotel. On the whole they were pleasant, helpful and interesting. We did not have a "bad experience".
Since ...
Advantages: Pay your respects to the dead, fascinating history, beautiful scenery Disadvantages: None
When I lived in London I had lots of friends from New Zealand and Australia. Each April at least a few of them would head off to Turkey for what I always thought was a big booze up under the guise of visiting the final resting place of long since departed ancestors. Having now visited the Gallipoli battlefields myself, I have to say I feel pretty awful for even thinking such a thing: yes, our Antipodean friends certainly do play hard but I must say that I feel privileged to have shared what is for many the experience of a lifetime with such a decent bunch of people. Of all the places I have visited on my varied and numerous travels, it is this trip that I will always look upon as the most memorable, moving and fascinating.
The Gallipoli peninsula is situated in the region of Thrace in North Eastern Turkey. There is a town called ...
Advantages: Great for a few days; friendly atmosphere. Disadvantages: Unlikely to remain interesting after a week or more.
. But then again, Belgium looks on prostitution rather less kindly than the Dutch do, so this is perhaps understandable.
The next and last day of my stay in Belgium involved an excursion to the Waterloo battlefield. I had bought a combo package from the travel center in Bruxelles-Midi train station, which paid for transport to and from Waterloo as well as access to the numerous museums and attractions. I took the train from Bruxelles-Midi to Braine-l’Alleud, and from there took a bus.
The most visible attraction was the Lion of Waterloo, erected in the 1820s at the spot the Prince of Orange was seriously wounded. Unfortunately, in its construction, earth was taken from the surrounding area, altering the landscape. Further away from it, though, the rest of the field is more or less as it was in 1815.
Walking over the memorial ...
Marechal_Grouchy 16.01.2001
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