Champagne Central — Restaurant in Scotland

I've never had a drink before that I felt required a piece of literature but here it stands. A Smokey Amaretto Sour in Champayne Central the bar within Glasgow Central Station. When I walked in to the hotel you pass through to get to the bar I was concerned by how unsecured it was for a place within a city central station. Now I'm pretty sure the inevitable has occurred and I died because heaven is the only place this drink could exist. About the drink it's the perfect balance of sweet, smokey and savoury. It looks fantastic, manly, intriguing and is dressed with spice across the top. When I took the photo of it the flash on my phone triggered drawing everyones attention to the fact I was snapping my drink like a instadicted millenial but was I ashamed or embarresed, was I hell.....I was proud! Proud to be seen with this masterpiece gracing the table I sit at and I with it's presence. This is to me what the Bugatti Veyron is to Jeremy Clarkson. You'd expect me to be happy like you would Jeremy repleat with Bugatti but as he famously said he was enjoying the experience so much that he felt mixed emotions of sorrow knowing he'd unlikely drive the car again and couldn't own one, alas I feel the same knowing that the creator and venue for this Scarlett Johanson of cocktails is 450miles away from 'my ends' or as the locals say, where I'm fir. Even moving wouldn't guarentee this particularly skilled barman would remain. After the first sip I simply stared the cocktail down shocked and stunned as though it just grabbed me by the chap, it's brasen but welcome to do as it pleases. Give it up cocktail bars for here on this day cocktail was achieved. We have answered the begging question of many: How do I cocktail? This is how. ...or words to that effect it was...

We went here for afternoon tea to celebrate my birthday. We arrived about 15mins early, however, our table wasn't ready yet, so we stood out at the stairwell for 15mins as the lounge was too busy, there were no seats available, and at least 10 people were queuing for a drink (only 2 bar staff on the bar and they seemed to be taking an age as they were making cocktails) We returned to the restaurant at our booked time and were shown to our seats. 5 mins later, we were asked if we wanted tea or coffee and that was it for another 30 mins, nothing. We sat with no drink, no food and no explanation as to what was taking so long. If we hadn't have booked it through Living Social and therefore already paid for it, we would have left. Eventually our tiers of food arrived, shortly followed by a cold pot of tea, and my latte. The sandwiches and cakes were delicious, as was the latte, and my partner asked for another pot of tea. Only then did the young girl then ask what kind of tea (this wasn't asked the 1st time), and when it arrived, it was hot. During our visit, we were never asked once if we wanted a drink, if our food was ok, or, if there was anything else we wanted. The staff were nice, and polite, but felt really let down by their customer service skills. This was a special gift to me for my birthday but it didn't turn out to be the special experience I had thought it would be. Extremely...

Much less grand than it was. Everything was dirty. There were quite a few empty tables when we arrived on Saturday afternoon but every one was covered in dirty glasses and hadn't been wiped. There was also litter all over the place, used wrapping paper from earlier groups over the tables and floors that wasn't cleared the whole time we were there.

After we cleared our own table, we ordered drinks - one glass of Veuve Cliqout and one sparkling water and the total was £24. Only after we ordered did I look at the menu to discover the cost of a glass champagne has risen from £14 in December 2022 to £21 in January 2024 - a 50% increase in little over one year! I don't mind splurging on a glass of champagne but £21 for one glass feels like exploitation.

In Costco and on Amazon a bottle of this champagne will set you back about £42, but if you'd like to enjoy that bottle in Champagne Central on dirty tables, surrounded by litter, the experience will cost you £125. I appreciate businesses need to make a profit but this is greed, and if they're going to charge these prices the least customers can expect is a bit of luxury and perhaps table service. The toilets were also disgusting and badly needed some attention.

The bar was busy but there's really no excuse for how filthy everything was. Needless to say we left after the one extremely...