Ad Lib

Feature by Ruth Marsh | 17 Mar 2009

In a pleasing two-fingered salute to the credit crunch, Glasgow’s mini-chain of soul food eateries Ad Lib has opened a third branch, a West End companion to its two city centre venues.

More of a restaurant-style interior than the booths-and-beers format of its other incarnations, the menu at the Byres Road outpost still sticks to the same USP of feelgood US staples- think thick, fish-packed jambalaya, deep fried hush puppies and cola braised spare ribs.

I kicked off with a skewer of popcorn shrimp, four fat prawns on the right side of greasy and given the illusion of healthiness by a tingling cucumber and lime salsa. Over the table, my other half’s mini kebabs of chicken were nicely seared but their accompanying tomato dip was a little watery and uninspiring.

Not to worry, as she triumphed with her main course. From the large specials blackboard, her whole sea bass was a monster from the deep, flopping off either side of the plate and stuffed with enough chorizo and sweet red pepper to run a tapas bar for a weekend. Surrounded by hash potatoes and a big green salad, the mountainous plateful came in at under a tenner making it a ridiculous bargain. My choice of a lightly spiced and tender slab of Southern fried chicken to make Colonel Sanders blush was another serious belly-pleaser, soused in a chipotle gravy and topped with a pile of snake beans and okra, which were crunchy enough to avoid the dreaded slimy ladyfingers curse.

Pudding was completely unnecessary and yet, somehow, we managed to share a toffee bourbon waffle sundae, containing all of the latter sandwiched between decent vanilla ice cream, an enjoyably childish end to dinner.

Ad Lib is the latest in a long line of eateries to take over this site - its most recent incarnation was as Pacific Rim fusion joint North of Bondi. I sincerely hope it doesn’t fall foul of the curse - this is honest, well-priced food (the noon-5pm half price burgers should bring in the student and shopping crowd) that deserves to expand its fanbase to the West End.

Dinner for two, plus wine £50.

Ad Lib, 2 Byres Road, Glasgow G11 5JY Tel: 0141 337 1145

http://www.adlibglasgow.com