Recently a group of us Glasgow bloggers had a fancy-pants night out involving gin, wine and a lot of steak! We donned our glad-rags and visited Alston Bar & Beef which is the trendy new steakhouse found within Glasgow central station at the Gordon Street entrance.

The doorway in looks like a nightclub as there is a security man in the door; when you enter you go straight downstairs. The stairs are metal and glass with an absolutely AMAZING Timorous Beastie thistle mural that sprawls down the staircase. Downstairs has the expected arched ceiling and a very cool, modern decor. I love that as soon as you reach the bottom of the stairs you can see into the kitchen.

Alston takes its name from Alston Street which was a bustling thoroughfare which connected Argyll and Gordon Street, prior to be being demolished in the 1870’s to make way for the first phase of what we now know as Glasgow Central Station.

We took our seats in the trendy bar and began enjoying the gin!

Briony, me, Pammi & Roz – how beautiful are these girls?!

Alston are hosting a ‘ginaissance’ and have a specialised gin cocktail bar, hosting 50+ gins, including several Scottish brands. I’m not a massive fan of gin but the bar staff are just amazing – they can recommend and tailor drinks to suit you, and on my first visit I was made up some drinks that weren’t on the menu to ease me in! We were sipping on a delicious cocktail called ‘The Royal Passage’, described as:

“Caorunn gin, lychee liqueur, fresh lychee, lime juice, homemade grenadine, & cranberry juice served tall over ice. Homage to the ship builders of Glasgow who built the famous HMS Brittania.”

Ahhhhh wine. The cause and solution to most of life’s problems!

We then moved into the restaurant.

Scallops & Beef Shortrib

I’ve actually gone off scallops recently – I ate them so often that I managed to put myself off! When I saw that these were served with a beef short rib and butternut squash purée I was intrigued enough to try it! Scallops are commonly served with bacon or chorizo and I’ve never seen them served with beef, so I had to try. It was gorgeous. The short rib had an intensely deep flavour – it was almost earthy like black pudding which was a perfect match for scallops. The sweet purée was a nice touch.

227g dry-aged Fillet Steak & chips with béarnaise sauce

Here we are: my big fillet of Tweed Valley beef cooked medium rare. What a gorgeously tender and delicious piece of meat. I can’t fault it at all!

There’s the money shot. Just looooook at it!

Because we were in a massive group, I was able to munch my way through several of the side orders. So far in life, I have seriously struggled to find decent macaroni cheese. Until now! Alston’s truffled mac ‘n’ cheese is absolutely gorgeous! I also had a taste of the Parmesan truffle chips, sautéed mushrooms, and the Caesar salad (not pictured) in addition to onion rings which are standard for me. The Caesar salad is gorgeous – I didn’t order it and I never do order salad with a steak, but I think it’s a game changer! Alston’s version is layered with big flat croutons – I wish I had a photo!

Lemon Tart

To finish I opted for a lemon tart – something fairly light. I wasn’t a massive fan – it wasn’t properly set and the pastry was underdone. I ate it all, so it wasn’t bad, but after the calibre of meal I’d eaten I was a little disappointed by the dessert. I’m not a big dessert fan though, in future I’d maybe just not bother!

Alston is a great venue – easily accessed as it’s within the station, extremely trendy and fantastic food. It’s on the pricey end, but if you’re happy to pay the money then you won’t be disappointed! I definitely recommend trying here, both for a meal as well as a place to drink!

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Alston Bar

Central Station

79 Gordon Street

Glasgow

G1 3SQ

(0141) 221 7627

@AlstonGlasgow

http://www.alstonglasgow.co.uk

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