Phillies of Shawlands — Restaurant in Great Britain

I really don't understand where all these good reviews are coming from. I really don't. If you come in at a certain time of night, Phillies has a policy of making sure you are seated before you can order a drink. I don't understand this, but I can certainly provide some educated guesses based on the people who work here and the clientele that frequent it.

One theory is that they want to keep single men, who they think are looking to talk to women, out – this place is woke to the nth degree, so that would make absolute sense. So they order you to sit at the bar, away from anyone else you might be able to strike up a conversation with, male or female.

Another theory I have is that they're still trying to practice a form of 'social distancing', by which they don't want people who aren't in the same 'bubble' coming too close to each other. That's a long shot, although I wouldn't discount that having something to do with it as well.

I've never entered a pub before and heard the words uttered by a bouncer: "Are you OK?" I left the house at 9 p.m. tonight, and it is now half past twelve. I've only had the time to tank four beers, so clearly I am OK. That's the language of so-called 'safety' I'm very uncomfortable with. I am writing this review as I sit here and am as sober as a judge. I hope that my relatively good eloquence cements that point.

As I came in, I was again told (I've been in before with a friend) that I needed to take a seat and was ordered to take a seat at the bar. What is this? Apartheid? I ask that question in all honesty. The barmaid was at least off the ball enough for me to have to remind her that I hadn't yet paid for my drink, but still. This is discriminatory, if not downright scary. I remember that The Shed, before it closed, also had a policy of not allowing single men to enter, but this goes a step further.

Then I witnessed a guy trying to push past the bouncer to get in, and the staff seemed to just laugh it off as some reprobate trying to enter their circle.

This really is the lowest of the low. The level of control over where somebody should sit, how bad they are feeling, and their 'fitness' to be in a local bar is getting beyond ridiculous. This is gentrification 2.0. What next? Wearing a badge saying that you are a 'safe' person?

Absolutely bizarre. 1984-esque nonsense.

I will never be back. This bar is the most unsettling one I've ever visited. I will quietly finish my pint and never be back again. Gobsmacked.

On the whole, this is an Orwellian pub with incompetent and inattentive staff (but on the ball about where you are sitting), and a clientele who are all of the same demographic and narrow-minded worldview. Wow. Is this what they call a 'safe space'? I would feel a hell of a lot safer in downtown...

It's another gentrified gastropub. Young & wealthy crowd, faddish decor, cool location, quirky side-business in the corner punting artisanal merchandise (similar to the late "Abandon Ship" in Mitchell St). This is fairly standard for Shawlands.

The Phillies is probably a great laugh on event nights, and clearly a cool place to work. But the prices, cuisine choice, and branding of the business seemed to suggest something with more passion than an in-and-out student pub. It is a bar foremost, and a bad choice for a meal. With bare plating and shy portions, it was relatively overpriced - ~£15 for a main (and £4 for a Tennent's). They serve Westernised Asian-fusion, with sides of shop-bought fries.

Overall, we received poor service - We were given table-water without glasses; then after 15 mins we were given dirty glasses. Cutlery was left in a pile on the table for us to hand-out ourselves. Requests for condiments were forgotten. I had to approach servers personally after 30 mins of gesturing for the bill. Some servers prioritised conversation with their friends at the bar.

Review is based only on one visit, and the establishment was very busy (about 70 covers?) with only 5 FoH staff. I only saw 1 chef. 1 of our waiters seemed lovely, the other seemed reluctant to communicate with us.

I work in hospitality myself, and I honestly do understand the sparse service, especially as it was busy. But in tangence with the food, I'm afraid it was a bad experience. In Glasgow, these types of establishments are dime-a-dozen and their pricings are never proportionate. You're paying for the wallpaint and the company of Veja logos. Besides event nights, and maybe some craft beers, there's nothing The Phillies really offers that isn't done better by their nearby...

The decor and atmosphere is really trendy and cool, the staff friendly and the right amount of attentive. The food was super tasty and a bigger portion than I expected. I've only dropped a star because it's very loud (the music is quiet but somehow the noise is extremely loud? But it is busy tonight) and there was a recurring smell that I can only describe as "toilety"?! It was quite unpleasant and it came in waves but didn't seem to be from the actual toilets considering they are not that close to where we were sitting? Quite off-putting but generally a really cool place that I would visit again and try the rest of the menu :) I just hope next time that I can only smell the tasty...