A friend and I were looking to go out for a meal in town, somewhere with good food but at not a lot of cost.  So we did the usual and had a wee peak on 5pm to see what offers were around and we stumbled across this little restaurant called Scotalia in Hope Street and the first things we noticed were all the great reviews AND their very tempting BYOB price – only £1.95 a head (not per bottle!) so we were sold and booked ourselves a table.

In case you hadn’t guessed by the name, the restaurant serves up a bit of Scottish/Italian fusion. Simply a selection of freshly prepared Scottish & Italian food from Scottish salmon and steak to lasagne verde and spaghetti bolognaise.

On arrival you are greeted by staff who couldn’t be any friendlier and to be honest it’s been a while since I’ve experienced such lovely, friendly and attentive service that feels genuine.  Firstly they serve up some FREE tasty foccacia and italian dipping sauce while they open your bottle of wine for you and let you have a read of the menu, after this you don’t really need a starter but we indulged nonetheless.

We went for the breaded mozzarella sticks and their special of mushroom pate before moving straight on to some very tasty pasta dishes. I had the lovely penne napoli con pollo, which was pasta with chicken in a lovely tomato, garlic and creamy sauce while my friend indulged in their tasty spaghetti bolognaise and not being a fan of spaghetti asked if she could have penne pasta instead and unsurprisingly for the chef this was not a problem.

One of the things I love most about this restaurant is the staff are just so eager to please, it’s lovely to feel your custom is appreciated even when you know you are dining out for a bit of a bargain.

It may not be the best Italian in Glasgow but the food is nonetheless tasty, freshly prepared and amazing value for money and with staff that make you feel so welcome I think you can’t really complain about 2 courses, complimentary focaccia on arrival for only £8.95 (£10.95 on a Fri & Sat) and a BYOB that only charges £1.95 per head not per bottle – and if you have kids they eat FREE.

The prices, service and tasty food make this a bargain dining experience that is worth a visit or two and we’re booked to return again for another bargain meal this month!

189 Scotalia
189 Hope Street
Glasgow, G2 2UL
0141 333 1000