They may call it Bloody Mary's, but anyone who walks through the door of the smartest new bar in Glasgow's West End will doubtless say something a little stronger than that.
"Bloody hell," was closer to my reaction.
Tucked in just off Byres Road, opposite Gong, Bloody Mary's was, until several months back, a run- of-the mill Indian restaurant.
Here now lives a trendy little cocktail bar, sharply designed with a brilliant mid- week vibe, an imaginative cocktail menu, and a facelift so dramatic, you wonder if Elizabeth Taylor's plastic surgeon was chief designer. Even on a Tuesday night, the bar was pulsating.
Drinkers sat sipping cocktails under the continental style awnings, while inside, the grey slate floor held a confident 20-30something crowd. There's no posturing, no strutting and no posing like in many city centre equivalents.
First impressions of my German buddy weren't so hot, mind you. "Don't like those paintings," she said, pointing to the two on the back wall. "And why have a big TV over the bar? People want to come and drink and chat, not watch TV."
Fair points, both. And after she disappeared into the gents' toilet, I was sure she'd rather leave.
Thankfully, she realised her mistake on spotting the urinals, and quickly ducked out, into the disabled loo next door, rather than drawing attention to herself. Not impressed by that experience either, then.
The little girls' room isn't next to the guys' lavvy in Bloody Mary's. Instead it's next to the kitchen portal, and even then, none of the signs on the toilet doors are easy to make out. More than a few femmes will make that mistake, after downing a few cocktails.
Painstakingly prepared by chatty barmaids, our favourites were the Fools Gold (Citron vodka, pear cognac, sugar syrup, vanilla and lemon juice) and the Red Rum, which packed quite a punch and, guys take note, didn't come in one of those silly wee cocktail glasses.
As the bar grew livelier, and the chrome operating theatre-style lights dimmer, it dawned on us that Bloody Mary's is cosy enough to feel busy even when it's not really. There's probably only room for about 80 people comfortably.
With Nina Simone cooing away in the background, the lights down low, and a warming buzz of drinkers gabbing over their Chin Chins and Cucumber Martinis, you can easily hear yourself think about which cocktail to try next. I must be getting old.
Open: Sun-Thu, noon-11pm Fri & Sat, noon-midnight
Food: Sun-Thu, until 6pm; Fri & Sat, until 5pm
Drinks: Pint, £2.50; cocktails, £4; wine, £2.85
Rating: Four out of five
Details
0141 560 8004
Thankfully, she realised her mistake on spotting the urinals, and quickly ducked out, into the disabled loo next door, rather than drawing attention to herself. Not impressed by that experience either, then.
The little girls' room isn't next to the guys' lavvy in Bloody Mary's. Instead it's next to the kitchen portal, and even then, none of the signs on the toilet doors are easy to make out. More than a few femmes will make that mistake, after downing a few cocktails.
Painstakingly prepared by chatty barmaids, our favourites were the Fools Gold (Citron vodka, pear cognac, sugar syrup, vanilla and lemon juice) and the Red Rum, which packed quite a punch and, guys take note, didn't come in one of those silly wee cocktail glasses.
As the bar grew livelier, and the chrome operating theatre-style lights dimmer, it dawned on us that Bloody Mary's is cosy enough to feel busy even when it's not really. There's probably only room for about 80 people comfortably.
With Nina Simone cooing away in the background, the lights down low, and a warming buzz of drinkers gabbing over their Chin Chins and Cucumber Martinis, you can easily hear yourself think about which cocktail to try next. I must be getting old.
Open: Sun-Thu, noon-11pm Fri & Sat, noon-midnight
