when i first moved to glasgow i was 18 years old and claimed poverty as a student. of course i realise now that this was not at all true and that spending all of my money on vodka & topshop clothes instead of tasty, nutritional food was actually a choice (super noodles only cost 50p a pack back then-perfect). i didn’t often go out for food unless my parents were paying or if it was to the cheaper than cheap pub next to college. after i had been in glasgow for a year or so, i started to branch out and find places that did a cheap deal, i.e. no more than £6 for food. there’s only one or two places that i would still eat in now that i went to back then – some have shut down, some have just gone a bit rank & some i’ve found better alternatives for. the bier halle in gordon street is one of those places that has proved a constant over the years. most people my age seem to rave about their pizzas so i have it on good authority. my friend phil & i used to go to the one upstairs on sauchiehall street next to the west campbell street car park before it shut down and after that we started going to the gordon street one.
the bier halle is down a flight of stairs just off buchanan street and is a busy little place seven days a week. it is a bar that you can go in to just for drinks but most people have a pizza or a hot dog. they do bogof handmade pizzas between noon and 10pm seven days a week. fyi – they don’t take debit/credit cards so pop over to the cash machine across the road before you go in. it is moody and atmospheric with low lighting and loud music. it does have a student-y feel about it but you also get a lot of 20 and 30 somethings coming in after work.
the pizza menu has quite a selection and some nice alternatives from your usual bar pizza choices.
mr s went for the meat feast special, which had pepperoni, chicken & spicy merguez sausage on it. i usually have the chicken, mushroom and pesto one but this time i fancied the black pudding and chorizo special from the board. we also ordered a portion of stealth fries because we know from past experience that they are super tasty. the food arrived quickly and i have to say that it is generally very speedy at coming out of the open kitchen.
my black pudding and chorizo pizza had a lovely crispy base and they certainly were not stingy with the toppings. big chunks of black pudding and authentic tasting chorizo littered the cheesy base. if they ever changed the menu then i’d recommend that they put this on the main menu constantly.
the meat feast pizza was also delicious and mr s chooses it any time he sees it on the specials board.
the fries were crunchy and tasty but had too much salt on them and i would rather they left you to put your own salt on.
i got all excited when i saw little creatures pale ale as it is a personal favourite & we went to the brewery when we were in australia. they also sell a mixture of flavours of super cheap schnapps that make me feel young again so i had a blackcurrant schnapps and lemonade. mr s had a couple of different lagers from their extensive menu that lists beers by country.
i wouldn’t normally say this, but in the interests of being honest, the service in here can be varied. in my experience there is not much smiling going on & it has always puzzled me because most servers live off their tips. it’s almost like it is in keeping with the cool vibe but i find it strange & i know that i am not the only one. it seems to have improved a bit in the last year & the waitress that served us during this visit was pleasant. the pizzas are too good not to go anyway.
the only difference with my visits to the bier halle now compared to my student days is that i don’t go to the union afterwards. i normally go straight home and put my jammies on… more schnapps another day maybe.