Had a big, filling, girthy, satisfactory meal here. The fish of the day was yuge, and softer than I could have imagined (and my imagination is pretty efficient). The ingredients were fantastic and the dishes had a rustic diner charm, and worked the eat-me-if-you-really-are-serious-about-eating vibe.The decor, for me, reminded me of a very homey and content setting. Oddly comforting.We had mentioned our dietary restrictions during the reservation, and the place called us to make sure they understood what we wanted, and if we were happy with what they could offer - which is an extremely nice touch.Good hearty stuff, not cheap, but a great meal.Vegetarian options: Slim choices, but what's great is that they will adapt to your needsKid-friendliness: Seemed pretty alright, I'm sure kids who like to eat would have fun hereWheelchair accessibility: Difficult
Scottish Food Review
Sometimes a place is so good you have to go back twice. Just to check the first time wasn't some sort of fluke. Big Counter is one such place. You may not have heard of it, there's no big showy signs, no opulent interiors and its not in a listed building in the heart of the city. And it's better than so many places with all three of those. The hospitality is genuine, the staff all seem delighted to see you, they chat lovingly and knowledgeably about the food and the wine. They want you to have a great dining experience, not because they hope you'll leave a good review or a good tip, but because they seem to genuinely care about their customers. The vibe is laid back, they recognise if you've been before, it feels like a supper club or visiting that one mate that can actually cook and so you and your pals hang out there a lot.The ingredients and the dishes are traditional, tongue, liver, mussels, the best steak Tartare I've had outside of Paris. But this isn't how you'd granny would make it, the dishes have more twists than a Guy Ritchie movie. They are consistently brilliant, with the quality of the ingredients shining through. Bread & butter has never been so exalted. The plate size is all about sharing, three people really should just order every dish on the menu, you'll be nice and full and won't have missed out on anything. The same approach to desserts is absolutely the way forwards. You're looking at around forty to fifty pounds a head if you do this, but with some really good wine available you'll probably spend more.This may well be my favourite restaurant of the last year. But I should probably go back one more time, just to make sure…
Robin Banning
Big Counter came highly recommended by several hospitality friends in Edinburgh, and they were absolutely right – it's 100% worth a visit. Its simplicity is refreshingly delightful, and everything we tried was excellent. I will be back soon!
Irene Simmonds
Best restaurant in Glasgow. The guy who left a poor review of the salad below is a lunatic. It's a huge cloud of parmesan on lettuce and dill and shallots pickled in red wine vinegar and it's the best thing for dinner in the city. Dinner here is always a fab meal and very reasonably priced for the amazing quality.
Jack M
Best restaurant in glasgow. Server John has the best patter about. 10/10
Becky Walker
The best service and atmosphere! Food is without a doubt 10/10, wish we had been sooner!
Derek Mclean
Fantastic place great food and very personable chef owner. Simple but well executed menu. Remember and book we saw 8 tables turned away as was full all evening. Table by door very drafty especially when idiots hold or wedge door open.
P
Visited tonight and cannot rate it highly enough. Tiny menu and small setting which gave very relaxed experience. Everything was delicious (get the house salad for SURE) and the service was so friendly. The owner(?) was noticeably chatting to every table and the whole team delivered a lovely, friendly experience. 10/10 thank you so much :)
Had a pretty terrible experience here in October 2023. There's a few things to cover so I'm going to leave bullet points:- Service was poor and we were left for ages before ordering and menu wasn't explained - when it was, was explained poorly and wasn't clear how much food we should order (they have some small plates and some larger ones but the prices are not clear).- Certain things on the menu are extremely over priced. We were told that their offal bolognese was a small plate, but was £14, turned out not to be small but a normal portion, however was really nice.- They have a "sharing steak" and fries for £55 however the steak is not large and had fatty bits on each end, the fries were also terrible and tasted/had the texture like they had been sitting out and re-heated. For £55 it was unbelievably poor.- They have smaller plates of vegetables and salad things that start at £8 I think, and it was either £8 or £9 for some salad leaves with parmesan grated over it - insanity.- Cheapest bottle of wine was £38 - just madness considering the type of place - it's not a fine dining French restaurant, just seemed really out of touch and almost arrogant.- We had to wait ages for our steak, which arrived last after others had finished eating, we were told they were a chef down however the chef that told us this had been sitting with other tables drinking wine whilst we were there.Overall, the experience was poor and the prices were just outrageous. We spent £140 for 3 people and we barely ate anything. It's hard to believe they also own Errol's Hot Pizza nearby, which serves, in my opinion, the best pizza in Glasgow and is not over-priced.
Rose
I've been a few times now and it's easily my favourite restaurant in Glasgow. Food is always different and completely delicious, service is always with a smile, it's not cheap but prices are really reasonable for how good it all is. It is really not worth coming if you're vegetarian but otherwise if you like oily, fresh food done perfectly it's for you ! The salads are always my favourite part.
Samantha Mcdougall
What a lovely experience. So welcoming and probably the best food I've ever had. Highly reccommend!!
Susanne Wagner
Always a great pleasure to eat at this gem of a place. The service is completely delightful, and even as a vegetarian I highly rate their enthusiastic, muscular kind of cooking.
Had a big, filling, girthy, satisfactory meal here. The fish of the day was yuge, and softer than I could have imagined (and my imagination is pretty efficient). The ingredients were fantastic and the dishes had a rustic diner charm, and worked the eat-me-if-you-really-are-serious-about-eating vibe.The decor, for me, reminded me of a very homey and content setting. Oddly comforting.We had mentioned our dietary restrictions during the reservation, and the place called us to make sure they understood what we wanted, and if we were happy with what they could offer - which is an extremely nice touch.Good hearty stuff, not cheap, but a great meal.Vegetarian options: Slim choices, but what's great is that they will adapt to your needsKid-friendliness: Seemed pretty alright, I'm sure kids who like to eat would have fun hereWheelchair accessibility: Difficult
Sometimes a place is so good you have to go back twice. Just to check the first time wasn't some sort of fluke. Big Counter is one such place. You may not have heard of it, there's no big showy signs, no opulent interiors and its not in a listed building in the heart of the city. And it's better than so many places with all three of those. The hospitality is genuine, the staff all seem delighted to see you, they chat lovingly and knowledgeably about the food and the wine. They want you to have a great dining experience, not because they hope you'll leave a good review or a good tip, but because they seem to genuinely care about their customers. The vibe is laid back, they recognise if you've been before, it feels like a supper club or visiting that one mate that can actually cook and so you and your pals hang out there a lot.The ingredients and the dishes are traditional, tongue, liver, mussels, the best steak Tartare I've had outside of Paris. But this isn't how you'd granny would make it, the dishes have more twists than a Guy Ritchie movie. They are consistently brilliant, with the quality of the ingredients shining through. Bread & butter has never been so exalted. The plate size is all about sharing, three people really should just order every dish on the menu, you'll be nice and full and won't have missed out on anything. The same approach to desserts is absolutely the way forwards. You're looking at around forty to fifty pounds a head if you do this, but with some really good wine available you'll probably spend more.This may well be my favourite restaurant of the last year. But I should probably go back one more time, just to make sure…
Big Counter came highly recommended by several hospitality friends in Edinburgh, and they were absolutely right – it's 100% worth a visit. Its simplicity is refreshingly delightful, and everything we tried was excellent. I will be back soon!
Best restaurant in Glasgow. The guy who left a poor review of the salad below is a lunatic. It's a huge cloud of parmesan on lettuce and dill and shallots pickled in red wine vinegar and it's the best thing for dinner in the city. Dinner here is always a fab meal and very reasonably priced for the amazing quality.
Best restaurant in glasgow. Server John has the best patter about. 10/10
The best service and atmosphere! Food is without a doubt 10/10, wish we had been sooner!
Fantastic place great food and very personable chef owner. Simple but well executed menu. Remember and book we saw 8 tables turned away as was full all evening. Table by door very drafty especially when idiots hold or wedge door open.
Visited tonight and cannot rate it highly enough. Tiny menu and small setting which gave very relaxed experience. Everything was delicious (get the house salad for SURE) and the service was so friendly. The owner(?) was noticeably chatting to every table and the whole team delivered a lovely, friendly experience. 10/10 thank you so much :)
Fantastic every time.
One of the best meals we have had in Glasgow.
Restaurantji Recommends
Lovely place , great food and wine, would highly
Had a pretty terrible experience here in October 2023. There's a few things to cover so I'm going to leave bullet points:- Service was poor and we were left for ages before ordering and menu wasn't explained - when it was, was explained poorly and wasn't clear how much food we should order (they have some small plates and some larger ones but the prices are not clear).- Certain things on the menu are extremely over priced. We were told that their offal bolognese was a small plate, but was £14, turned out not to be small but a normal portion, however was really nice.- They have a "sharing steak" and fries for £55 however the steak is not large and had fatty bits on each end, the fries were also terrible and tasted/had the texture like they had been sitting out and re-heated. For £55 it was unbelievably poor.- They have smaller plates of vegetables and salad things that start at £8 I think, and it was either £8 or £9 for some salad leaves with parmesan grated over it - insanity.- Cheapest bottle of wine was £38 - just madness considering the type of place - it's not a fine dining French restaurant, just seemed really out of touch and almost arrogant.- We had to wait ages for our steak, which arrived last after others had finished eating, we were told they were a chef down however the chef that told us this had been sitting with other tables drinking wine whilst we were there.Overall, the experience was poor and the prices were just outrageous. We spent £140 for 3 people and we barely ate anything. It's hard to believe they also own Errol's Hot Pizza nearby, which serves, in my opinion, the best pizza in Glasgow and is not over-priced.
I've been a few times now and it's easily my favourite restaurant in Glasgow. Food is always different and completely delicious, service is always with a smile, it's not cheap but prices are really reasonable for how good it all is. It is really not worth coming if you're vegetarian but otherwise if you like oily, fresh food done perfectly it's for you ! The salads are always my favourite part.
What a lovely experience. So welcoming and probably the best food I've ever had. Highly reccommend!!
Always a great pleasure to eat at this gem of a place. The service is completely delightful, and even as a vegetarian I highly rate their enthusiastic, muscular kind of cooking.