Radio (Ashton Lane)

What: Bar
For: Drinks
With: Friends
Site: Here

Goodness me! I seem to spend a lot of time eating and drinking in the West End! You must forgive me, I do usually live there. Also I'm a student, I can't help but think that this is a good enough excuse.

Radio is probably one of my favourite bars. I haven't tried the food, but I was always impressed with their drinks selection, the chilled our atmosphere, and the student-friendly prices. Really, though, I was only truly sold when I discovered that on Wednesdays they have a real student night, and drinks are only £1.

Usually, when you see somewhere advertising "£1 Drinks" you assume that your options will be; house vodka and mix, shot of apple sourz or a pint of something cheap. Everything else will be the usual price, possibly even more expensive than usual. Your best bet is actually to avoid this. Cheap vodka is truly dreadful, as will be whatever larger they have to offer. Sourz is sourz, at least it's brand name, but you can't drink shots of it all night. Or maybe you can, but you shouldn't, and I'm not taking you home.

At Radio though, they meant all drinks. All of them. Whatever you order. Well, actually, doubles are £2, which is fair, and they exclude cocktails and champagne, which is also fair. It's fair because it means that a Koppaburg is £1, Corona is £1, importantly, 7-year-old Havana Club and lemonade is £1. That means it's a good idea to go. That means it's a good deal, and you won't spend all evening wishing you could justify buying nicer vodka. Because you can.

So, all through Winter and Spring, Radio was my bar of choice for a Wednesday night. Sure, it would be crowded, but the seats were comfy when you finally got one, and the music was usually good enough for me to forgive the volume.

Over Summer though, I only visited once. I asked if they still did £1 drinks, the girl behind the bar confirmed this, and the listed the £1 options. I balked. I ordered a bottle beer that was worth more than £1. I looked at the vastly depleted bar. Gone was the Havana, gone was the Absolut, and gone were the interesting liqueurs. I could not see any expensive ciders. I was alarmed.

We left after one drink. In spite of the now limited choice, the bar was still very busy, the music wasn't good enough to keep me, and so I saw no reason to stay.

I suspect, and hope, that this was simply because it wasn't term-time. Maybe because fewer students are around it isn't worth running the student night with full enthusiasm. After all, you have a great turnover on a Wednesday, maybe make a loss, but the rest of the week, everyone is talking about how cool your bar is, they go, and don't mind paying full price. Without students, that won't happen.

And it is a cool bar, I will go again and pay full price. But only if they get their selection sorted out again, otherwise it'll just be another student bar. Cuter than some, but there would be no reason to stay there all night, there's plenty of other places to try close by.

So, because I love it lots, and because I love you lots, here's what I'm going to do: When term starts again, I shall drag a few friends there on a Wednesday night. We'll take the hit for you, we'll scope it out. If all is back to normal I'll write a new review, letting you know. It'll be hard to go there not knowing if I can drink something interesting cheaply, but I'll risk it, for you.

Wish me luck.

Ketchup (Ashton Lane)

What: Restaurant
For: Lunch
With: Boyfriend
Site: Here

I am a sucker for a good student offer. I am also usually dragged in by marketing ploys. Burgers are good too. As a result, it's hard for me to stay away from this particular "gourmet" burger restaurant.

Ketchup is part of the Social Animal network in Glasgow, a relatively new addition, it partakes in the network's tendency to do plenty of student offers. It's main (usually only) offer is two-for-one on weekdays.

Now, if you're a student, you'll read that as "half-price if I bring a friend along and we split the bill." Generally this is what I do. I actually visit the place alarmingly often, and I've probably been there more than any other single restaurant in Glasgow, which is impressive to say it only opened in September.

The service isn't always the fastest, particularly when they're busy (which they often are) but the staff are friendly, and the atmosphere is good. So I tend to forgive them. It's not the sort of place where you mind having to sit and wait for someone to come and take your order, because it's so relaxed - plus you can play with the magnets that are stuck to the magnetic drinks menu board, and make naughty sentences!

In terms of drinks they offer the standard range of soft drinks, a few good bottle beers and a couple on draft, and a small range of wines. Personally, wine seems like an odd thing to order with this kind of food, but I guess there's no harm in offering it. They also have milkshakes, which are large, and arrive in a milk bottle. Not the most spectacular I've had, but up there, and worth trying, although beer is probably the best thing to drink with a burger. Ideally peroni, but I digress.

I have only ever tried one of their starters. Predictably, the nachos. Order the small, and enjoy being surprised at the size, the first time I ordered them I had to ask to make sure they'd got it right and not accidentally brought the large ones. Plus, they taste really rather excellent. If the other starters are as good, then they've got it right.

For the main you are limited to burgers or a small selection of salads. I haven't tried the salads before, but every burger I've ordered I've loved. I was sad to learn that they'd taken the kangaroo burger off the menu (it was actually less a burger and more like a kangaroo steak in a bun, delicious), but there's still plenty of interesting stuff. The venison and the Greek burgers both come highly recommended, or, for the slightly less brave, the good fella and the over-easy. "Mushroom lover's Delight" isn't really, perhaps mine simply wasn't up to their usual standard, but when they said it came "loaded with mushrooms" I feel they lied.

Do note that the burgers don't come with chips or salad. You get your burger and whatever's in with it, and a pot of coleslaw. I'd suggest getting a portion of chips and a portion of onion rings for every two people, though not if you've ordered a starter or fancy a dessert. A burger might not seem like much, but these are quite special, and surprisingly filling.

If you're still hungry they do have deserts on offer, the selection being Knickerbocker glory, cherry pie or New York cheesecake. The Knickerbocker glory is beyond huge, plenty to share with a friend. The cherry pies are individual, rather than a slice, and impossibly cute, the filling is exceptional, though the pastry does let it down a little. New York cheesecake is a slice, and I'm told it's very good, though I haven't tried it myself.

For the price, the mood, the vibe, it's wonderful. Gloriously relaxed dining that has been aimed perfectly at students. Good enough that I don't mind going occasionally at weekends, even though it isn't two-for-one, as I did on Sunday. So, next time you're thinking of getting take-out because you can't be bothered to cook, don't. Instead, drag a friend along to Ketchup with your student cards and enjoy one of the best burgers in Glasgow.