Bar Gumbo is a west end restaurant and bar in Glasgow with New Orleans styled food. I loved it, as did by partner. We tried a good selection of the menu before they had their refurbishment so we were excited to try it again.
When we walked up we barely recognised it, gone is the dark wood and in is the very common mostly white setting. The inside has followed suit. They have removed the dark lounge feel for more white and some exposed brick to give it a less modern feel.
The menu has also had a refresh with Gumbo now classing themselves as a seafood and grill restaurant, getting rid of the burgers and sandwiches.
Our starters were the buttermilk grilled chicken and crab salad tacos. The grilled chicken was well cooked and came with the perfect barbecue sauce, both smoky and sweet. The crab salad is for those who love crab as it is completely stuffed with the crustacean but very little salad, I could see a little bit of chilli but there was no other flavour than crab.
We paired our starters with a couple of cocktails, the scorpion and a perfect storm. The scorpion was an orange juice based drink with many spirits but very light in taste, to be honest I can’t remember much more about it. The perfect storm is Gumbo’s version of a dark n stormy and was very tasty.
When it came to our mains we decided to try a few items as we hadn’t eaten much that day and happy to try more dishes, as I said, we loved the restaurant before.
My boyfriend chose the corn beef and potato pie which he said was nice but was exactly as it sounded, there wasn’t anything special to it. The dixi battered fish I had was whiting but used to be catfish. The menu no longer states what the fish is so it may be likely that they will use what is available. The fish was delicious but the batter was slightly overdone for my taste.
We also chose the wild boar mac n cheese and the deep fried pickles. The mac n cheese was quite dry, like it had lost the cheese sauce however the wild boar sausage used was good n spicy. The deep fried pickle was interesting. I didn’t think it would work but the sour vinegar taste went well with an extra layer of crunch.
Dessert was just for me as I really wanted to try one. I had never tried Gumbo’s puddings before but always meant to. I ordered the bengiets but did not get them. What they are calling bengiets are some sort of churro covered, and I mean covered, in granulated sugar. They are also served with strawberries and a strange warm lemon dip.
I tried to finish them as I don’t like to waste food but the lemon dip was just weird, I have a problem with warm fruit. Also there was just too much sugar. I was hoping for a lovely soft dough that would melt in the mouth but it was crunchy and too sweet (who knew this existed). It didn’t hit the spot and I went home and ate biscuits.
When we ate our starters we were talking about the good choice on the menu and what we would want to order next time however at the end of the meal we were unsure when or if we would go back. The restaurant has changed a lot but sadly it has changed into a restaurant that is no longer for us. This review may seem harsh but Gumbo was somewhere we loved, we liked the feel of it before and the food they used to do. Now, its a nice place to go but for us not what we want.