Restaurant Review: a Bloc party for your mouth

If Glasgow’s best eats are to be found in the street food places drawing in foodies for the last few years, then burgers are the city’s culinary calling card.

There are so many contenders for Glasgow’s best burger — there’s even a blog and annual competition dedicated to it — but just a handful worthy of the title.

To my mind, Meathammer Ltd’s Willy Wonka-style efforts at Nice N Sleazy and southside institution Buddy’s are top of the list — so it’s high praise indeed to say that the recently revamped menu at student hangout Bloc could rival either.

The gig venue is packing people in with Pasta Mondays and Burger Tuesdays (just £3 a plate), but a taste of the regular menu and some very good beers behind the bar prove this is more than just a cheap weeknight option.

The other half opted for the Durty Burger; a succulent patty topped with crispy bacon fries, cheese, homemade relish and signature gravy.

It was a winning combination; the crunch of the bacon fries working well against slurpable meaty gravy – although napkins, and some speeding eating, are definitely required.

My Doppleganger dog was dirty food at its finest; towering and packed with everything but the kitchen sink – entirely unnecessary but oh so tasty, like a foodie dare gone right.

Consider a nine inch bockwurst to be small potatoes? Then by all means, wrap it in smoky bacon. Beef chilli topping not quite saucy enough to satisfy? Then there’s always a layer of pulled pork, all capped off with a layer of molten cheese, jalepenos and ketchup and mustard.

Tackling this hot dog was like climbing Everest, with yet another layer waiting at each level — highly recommended for those with an empty stomach and a sense of foodie adventure.

Desserts were entirely unnecessary but the OH couldn’t resist the call of Bloc’s boozy milkshake; a mix of ice cream flavours with a dash of Kraken rum.

My peanut bomb — a broken biscuit, marscapone and Reese’s peanut butter cup concoction — was even better, combining a personal guilty pleasure with the best flavours of a cheesecake. It’s a welcome break from the usual dessert options, and I’d recommend saving room for one, if at all possible.

Bloc might not be serving up polite company grub but, in a city saturated with down and dirty food on a sliding scale, the student stalwart deserves to be up there with the burger big boys.

9/10

Bloc+

117 Bath Street

Glasgow

G2 2SZ

Tel: 0141 574 6066