Avant Garde Live Music Bar and Restaurant in Glasgow City

Food and service was excellent at Avant Garde, we will definitely be back soon.

Used to be so good, it was free and went to 12 now I went in at half 10 paid £10 for entry and the dancing stopped at 22:45 and kicked out by 11. The bar tender was nice tho, he had a lip piercing deserves a raise. Think the owners/management need to change the hours on the website and remove the entry fee.

Brilliant menu selection and the food was superb, highly recommend the starters! Staff were friendly, courteous and very helpful. Will definitely be back!

Love the atmosphere great place for music

Lively bar in Central Glasgow. Friendly and super efficient staff. Reasonable prices, live music and comfortable surroundings. Very welcoming and highly recommended.

Good food, friendly staff and colourful, interesting clientele. The live music is good and varied

The staff are amazing ,the owner Billy is a lovely person , food is fantastic I go every fortnight for the jazz on a Saturday ,and a meal ,I have been going for a long time ,the food is the best ,I have something different every time ,the cod was amazing ,as is the steak pie ,the burgers ,the fish and chips ,mousakka too many to mention fresh ingredients and made by the chef I would recommend all dishes

Another beautiful dinner in avant garde the food just keeps getting better…. Such lovely helpful staff to 😊

Great afternoon with the jazz band and later with the fantastic singer Sean mccluskey. Great atmosphere lots of dancing. Lovely bar staff .very busy might need to book a table if u want food. Will def be back .

Took my best friend here for her birthday..never been before. Loved every minute. Wish I took the woman's name who served us, she was amazing! So friendly and attentive. Went above and beyond and was clearly very busy, but nothing was too much trouble for her. Dinner and live entertainment was fab. Meal was good quality freshly cooked food, tasted amazing and was an absolute bargain for Glasgow city prices ( we pay more at home - Falkirk, for what we had here... And lesser quality). Cannot fault anything here. Loved every second.... Best homemade apple crumble I've ever tasted yum yum. Best experience ever. Defo be back. Raved about it to everyone xxx

Brilliant afternoon. Food music wonderful

Fab band. Good atmosphere. Great sound.

Had an amazing lunch celebrating birthdays of 3 friends. Our host Julie was amazing and gave us lots of information. We will definitely be back.

Friendly and efficient staff. Fabulous jazz music.

We have stopped in here few times for lunch & in 2022 for Xmas lunch so we chose here again for Xmas lunch 2023 & won’t be back they left us standing for 20 mins waiting to be seated although we had a booking they just walked by ignoring us , once finally sat down the rude manager asked us why we weren’t having Xmas menu we explained we didn’t enjoy the soup last year to which he gave my daughter the 3rd degree we chose the 2 course set menu with bottle of wine for £55 I’m sure it was my daughter got burger wedges burger was inedible wedges hard , I chose beef which was chewy gravy was like water under cooked potatoes the desert was advertised as hot chocolate fudge cake with ice cream there was no mention of it being covered in some sort of honeycomb bits we really didn’t enjoy the food at all the manager wasn’t only rude to us he was moaning at the waitresses in front of diners to he really does seem like a little horror , my son & his partner came in to meet us went to the bar to order cocktails they didn’t know how to make took them 15 mins to make 3 porn star martinis, definitely not for us & we won’t be back once bitten twice shy not risking a third time

Stayed overnight in Glasgow, needed a place to dine. Tried the Clutha dar. Gentleman in there kindly recommend the Avantgarde. Food tasty, plus side live entertainment. All in all nice evening. Oor Welly 🤗☕

A very bad night for the staff who were struggling due to lack of support. 2 waiting staff on a Friday evening and an overwhelmed chef did not make for a good experience. The food was unfortunately very bad too, stone cold and took an hour to arrive. I've had great nights here so will return, just a victim of wider hospitality staffing issues at the moment.

Enjoyable evening listening to Independence and guest singers somewhat spoiled by somewhat elevated prices for drinks with £4-75 taking the mickey for a Bottle of Heineken 0.00 !!!

Really awful service and even more awful manager who does not know how to speak to customers and has zero people skills. Waited half an hour for drinks and our Christmas meal was missing main components such as stuffing and chipolata because they ran out of food. They didn’t tell us this before we ordered. Ended up with overdone Turkey, 3 potatoes and green beans. That was it for our ‘Christmas dinner’. No apology from the manager and no offer to put anything right until the waiter forced him to come to our table to talk to us. He was defensive and confrontational with no real acknowledgment that it was unacceptable. Unbelievably bad and certainly won’t be returning.

We had to wait 90 minutes for our starters...which were not hot. Another 30 minutes for our Mains...again ...luke warm, at best. Simply shocking & unacceptable service. What annoyed me most that tables that arrived long after us, got served first. Wrote a bad review of this place a few years ago, and hoped they had got their act together...but they simply haven't. They say...Once bitten, twice shy...so I shouldn't have went back. I certainly won't be back a third time. 😡😡😡

3 of us had the 2 courses for £17.50 with a complimentry small glass of wine which is an excellent deal. Especially in December. 👋 Mains were very tasty and fresh. Had a small issue with 2 of the desserts but this was dealt with, no fuss. Staff lovely and friendly, especially Kev who went out of his way to make our dinning experience enjoyable. Well done,definitely recommend a visit

Was here tonight 8th December with 50+ social group to see p90s and a meal, waited 2hrs for main course that was with us having sent our food orders on ahead and food wasn't great, definitely wouldn't return, manager never even came to apologise total disgrace

Really nice bar that puts on ceidhlihs every Saturday. Been a couple times now and they’re super fun, really busy around Christmas time. Nice staff and great atmosphere.

Quiet on a Thursday night but Great food and service. Recommended!

Fantastic food and entertainment. Everything for everyone. Sunday evening has a fantastic singer and a very enjoyable atmosphere.

First visit to Avant Garde. Pleasant place to visit on a wet night. Nice menu with a mix of Greek and Scottish dishes. Some good deals available explained by a very helpful waitress. Food was excellent and a good selection of beers and wine. A local band playing bluegrass and country were fantastic. Great atmosphere and well worth a visit

We brought a big group to Avant Garde, and we could not have received a warmer welcome. We had a great evening and the staff were absolutely lovely. I'm sure it's the friendliest ceilidh in Glasgow and everyone is encouraged to join in. Great fun!

Lovely afternoon with Switch on Swing 🎵🙂

Sunday afternoon worth getting out of bed for. Great band. My food choice was Arrabiata. Best I've tasted in years. Not a wide choice of wine but good quality all the same. One genuine, customer caring, waitress attending to food orders today and making a steller job of it. Whatever they're paying her it isn't enough. Can't recommend a few hours here highly enough.

Visited for a last min visit munch for me and the missus with a plan for a pub crawl. Food was good, atmosphere was here was great, had a band on from 830pm….. service was excellent. First time going but will be back and the steak pie is a belter. 👍 great value overall

Absolutely brilliant night out! Food was amazing £55 for two courses plus bottle of wine/Prosecco per couple was great value. Cocktails were perfect, The atmosphere was buzzing and the staff could not have been more friendly and welcoming. Can’t believe I didn’t know this place existed until last night but will definitely be back. Thank you sincerely to the staff for a fantastic night!

Enjoying the Saturday afternoon sessions with live Jazz. Great band, talented musicians! Seems to attract a senior crowd but they are all dancing and happy day drinking and it's sweet. Some members of the bar staff seem young unexperienced, patience may be required. I'm keen to try the food, and I hope they add beers to their tap options as they are quite basic at the time of this review!

We spent a lovely Saturday afternoon here. Lots of good music, friendly people & staff. We had the 2 course dinner & wine for £21 - the food was excellent. Hadn't been since before lockdown, but won't leave so long until we return.

What a find, we didn’t even know this place existed. Staff were fabulous, meal was nice, reasonable prices. The band were very good and the singer who came on after was excellent. We didn’t stay for the ceilidh but we are already planning our next visit . Spend posted includes wine . Well done Avant garde, you made our day.

Have walked past this place many times, and every time I have looked in, it always have live music (be it a singer belting out Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin hits, or a ceilidh band) but the people who frequent it are probably all over the age of 75..... It was my anniversary with my wife, and we were looking on 5pm.com for deals in Glasgow, and saw Avant Garde had a 2 course meal and a bottle of wine deal for £55. Did not click at first, but we booked it and was only later on I went "oh, there......" We still gave it a chance, and was pleasantly surprised. Its got a very old Scottish old man's pub meets you Blackpool lounge suite vibes about it..... menu is a mixture of Scottish, British and Greek food. Portions were not massive, but they were very filling. For our mains I had the steak pie and my wife the Sunday roast. Very enjoyable, and the entertainment on hand was very enjoyable. Would actually be back again in future.

Food was lovely and staff were helpful and friendly. Live music started just as we were finishing our food- not our kind of music but people seemed to be enjoying it 👍🏻

Lovely bar with live music we went for festive menu lunch , we weren’t keen on the scotch broth soup would personally have preferred another option soup wise , the festive main was lovely as was the desert & a brass band were playing Christmas songs lovely atmosphere short walk to George square for the Christmas markets , will be back this year for our annual Christmas girlie lunch thank you

As an ex staff member I was absolutely a-stalled at the way the owner of the place speaks to his staff members never mind the abuse we all take off him, he constantly had staff coming and going as his attitude is appalling. Also very unhygienic as he has the kitchen staff going in to clean the males toilet( which is worse than a portable toilet) multiple conversations Iv had with customers explaining the was the owner was specking to them appalled me, not only his staff members but his customers too! His prices from his drinks and food are far too high £22 a bottle of wine £15 for a stake pie which probably isn’t bigger then the palm of your hand a hand full of veg and 3 roasted potatoes, not worth the money if you ask me. Not the mention the complete moan he gives off when he has to move his motercycle as it’s blocking the disabled bathroom! 20 minutes for you dinner and no other breaks in between when your doing a full 12 hour shift on a Saturday also only allowed one soft drink from the bar during that 12 hour shift! Absolutely disgusting would highly not recommend this place to anyone!!

I had pre-orded the meatballs, and they were lovely. However I only got four, and a cup of rice. No veg or salad. Was finished in 5 minutes, as the portion was so small. Had ordered a side of fries...which arrived when everyone of our 36 diners had finished eating. Service at the bar was a bit of a nightmare too. On the plus side, the band was excellent and we all enjoyed a wee jig on the dancefloor.

Really enjoyed the Ceilidh dancing last week! Such a blast. Can't wait to do it again!! The cocktails are good as well, with reasonable price.

We were here in a weekend. There were a lot of old people and families. The live music was amazing. We really enjoyed it. But the food was also for old people. Really classic English menu. The staff was rude and unfriendly. So a real mediocre experience at this place. Go in for drinks and music. Not for dinner!

Avent garden fantastic from start to finish. We were a party of six food and entertainment was 1st class. Staff were excellent especially Julie who phoned a taxi for us and waited outside for it to arrive then came in to let us know. Thanks Julie will definitely recommend it

Owner was a horrible old man who barged into our private event in one of their function rooms because we hadnt bought drinks quick enough....we were late in arriving so went straight to the event ... .....he thought we were going to open a bottle of prosecco provided at the event ....and threatened to throw us out. .....quite embarrassing explaining to our italian friends why this little man was ranting and raving .....wouldn't even give him 1 star

If I could leave no stars for this place I would!! Owner was extremely rude, and sat and watched his bar staff through a big mirror..never going back..avoid!! Bar staff were extremely friendly, probably to make up for the owner!

Servers in the kitchen complaining to the back of house staff, loud enough for some of the clientele to hear, should give all the information you need about this place.

Went Sunday night for dinner and live music. Great time.

My first, and definitely last trip to this venue,I had heard some good things about the place, so decided to book a family meal before seeing a show in town, I pre booked over a week in advance through the 5pm app, the deal was for 2 courses including house wine for a reasonable £19.99 per head. On arrival the place was lively and very busy, we approached and stood by the dining area awaiting some service, nobody approached us to offer a welcome or enquire as to why we were stood there, I approached a waitress, who seemed flustered and I informed her we had a reservation. She went to check the diary and confirmed the booking adding that she had no idea where we could be seated! After a 5 min wait, she informed us there indeed was a reserved table, but not amongst the regular diners in the dining area, but at a table further away, and it was occupied by drinkers, after ushering them from the table, we were then seated at a table that was sandwiched between an accesable toilet, a rack of jackets and a full size motorbike! The table was wonky but thanks to a folded napkin under the leg we soon had it under control, we fetched our drinks from the bar and procedded to wait on someone to offer us a menu, unfortunately we seemed to be abandoned so we fetched them ourselves from a nearby table, after an eternity of trying to grab a staff members attention I wandered back over to the dining area and asked if someone could take our order, after another wait, someone eventually came back and took our order, including the wine order, the wine arrived 10 mins later, but not in wine glasses as they had run out, so in small tumblers, and the order was mixed up 3 red two white, we got 3 white, 2 red, but hey ho. As we waited on the food, we were up and down like yo- yo's s as people were trying to squeeze there way past our table to either hang or retrieve a coat or jacket, or make there way to the bathroom, a total joke as both my parents themselves have mobility issues and had to struggle to their feet every few minutes to let someone past! When the food eventually arrived after what seemed an eternity, it was excellent, as was the music that accompanied the meal. When we asked for the bill at the end, we had been overcharged as nobody had realised or asked about the 5pm deal we had booked. All in all it was very poor, the great food and music was let down by very unorganised waiting staff that made the overall experience poor.

Great traditional Scottish live music and dancing . Amazing, the staff polite and very welcoming, everyone was really friendly, we had very nice night,definitely worth visiting in glasgow.

If you are a young person then stay well clear of this place. If you support the discrimination of youngsters trying to get into ceilidh then this place is for you. Extremely rude owner. First time in here was fine and the bartender was kind, but the second time coming here I was faced with an extremely rude old man that swore pushed me and my fiancée out of this place for not purchasing drinks quickly enough (which we explained to the bartender and owner that we were going to purchase and we just needed more time to look over the menu) TLDR: owner is a horrible and rude little man, good music ruined by this little goblin of a man.

Avoid due to staff hostility! Last night, I witnessed a female staff member targeting a couple standing next to me and my pals. She demanded they show their ceilidh tickets and despite them doing so, she was trying to provoke a fight. She was mean and hostile. Kudos to them for keeping their cool. I'm not going to go there ever again, in solidarity. Last night it was an innocent couple, next week it may be me. No one should be subjected to such aggressive behaviour, and it is unheard of in customer service. Clearly staff at Avant garde need training. Some of the staff there are truly miserable, poor souls. Avoid.

A big thank you to owner Billy, Julie and the band for a wonderful Mother's Day afternoon spent at Avant Garde. My 82 years young Mom, my Daughter and I enjoyed delicious food, fabulous live music and a good turn round the dance floor with excellent service. We will be singing your praises to all in Linlithgow and back soon to enjoy another Lunch with Jazz and Dancing. Kindest regards Jill xx

Friendly and fun venue. Good events calendar

Beware of aggressive staff. The woman behind the bar, in her 50s, saw how we were buying our ceilidh tickets from their colleague, yet, some time later, she walked up towards us and asked us to produce our tickets. Her tone was rude from the start. We found the tickets and showed them to her. For no apparent reason, she kept shouting 'Do you want to sort it or do you want a refund?', with our tickets in her hand. We were stunned but kept our calm. We will never return to that place. There is plenty of ceilidhs in this town in places where staff don't display rude and aggressive behaviours. Don't support this business.

Food delicious. Service excellent and band great. Would definitely recommend. We had a fantastic time

Arrived at 2pm Sunday for lunch and music with family. Service was impeccable, food delicious and band great. Not too loud thankfully which meant we could still carry out a conversation while also being able to enjoy the music. Great atmosphere, would definitely recommend. 👍

Fabulous place all walks of life in here great dancers all ages..live music all day Saturday dancing decade's..lots of people just engaging in dancing absolute treat .. ceilidh band on Saturday night..

Perfect relaxing atmosphere.. jazz band not overpowering loud enough that conversation possible. Was introduced to owner on arrival. Later at night jazz changed to singer. Got crowd going minute he started singing once again perfect. Food delicious chicken dipping strips, potatoes wedges ,garlic bread all delicious.. well done avant guarde.

Been in a few times during the day. Service was quick. Pint was okay, nothing spectacular. Didn't eat so that's why I didn't rate the food. This place is always busy weekends full of silver tops. Great asset to the community

Price is very high £5 a bottle is to high for a back street pub

Thanks to Billy and his staff for an excellent Hogmanay at Avant Garde. Food was good and staff were efficient and courteous and the ceilidh band did an excellent job in getting people onto the floor. Most of us had never tried ceilidh dancing before so the 'dance caller' made all the difference and they kept it going without a break for the 3 hours so time passed quickly. All-in-all a great night and an excellent start to the New Year.

Was treated with absolute disrespect. Me and my boyfriend went in and he went to use the toilet whilst I was deciding what to drink once he came back he sat down and asked me what I wanted so he could go up to the bar and the owner came over quite clearly drunk and asked us to buy a drink or leave and we insisted we were just going to buy a drink and he pointed towards the bar as if we were stupid, I’ve never experienced anything like that anywhere I’ve went in Glasgow. Definitely not the Glasgow I know or am used to. We immediately left quite angry.

Great food, great service, pleasant to be able to talk without interruption (left Just after the band came on). But from what little I heard,they were good

Attended a poetry evening and book launch. Food was excellent! We chose from the Bar Menu, excellent prices, very tasty fajitas and chicken goujons. I would highly recommend visiting here. We intend to go one Sunday when there is live music between 2-5pm. Parking was available nearby

I'm writing this from the venue itself as I sit here. Two words... Go there. My lady and myself have just finished the most wonderful meal. We had a great welcome and who could wish for more. To quote Arnold... we'll be back. Thank you to a great team. 11 out of 10. 👍

My friend booked a table for eight people for 6.30 p.m. I turned up 40 minutes early and spoke with a member of staff and asked if we could sit down at our table. It wasn’t going to ready until 10 minutes before the booked time however she returned shortly afterwards and said it was ready. There were only six places and the server said I told her that six were coming and our table for 8 had been allocated to others. I put this down to a slip of the tongue on my part however it would have better if she had sought clarification from me or the person who made the booking. This is a very busy and fast moving place with loud music making it very difficult to communicate. Leanne was excellent in dealing with this matter and offered a couple of alternatives one of which was to add a small table to the main one. She showed excellent customer service skill in dealing with this matter by listening to me and trying to reach a resolution. That was the only highlight because I did not enjoy the evening. This is a pub with a dining area and noise from the music was far too loud making it difficult to have a conversation. The food was not very good and our deposit was not deducted from the bill. The staff were efficient but wished some would smile a bit more. This was not the place for me however most of the other customers seemed to be having a really good time. This review is just my opinion.

Lovely afternoon listening to big band music 😊

Booked a table and paid a deposit. They didn’t have a table. Absolute shambles. Disorganized. Silly wee man, who was the owner came over, aggressive, but seemed terrified when I stood up and towered over him. Won’t be back. The place is terrible, singer was awful, scummy crowd. AVOID!!

Was visiting the Thursday evening Jam session. Outstanding company and a brilliant array of excellent artists.

I was not in for food. My friend and I like to go in on a Sunday evening and listen to live music. The staff are very friendly and welcoming.

Very big spaces around the centre of the bar. They have a pool table! If you are into Jazz/blues, it's the right place for you! :) Super friendly staff.

Great value dinner. Service was fine after a bit of confusion on the meal deals. Music by talented musicians and lively atmosphere

We used to love going here, mainly for the atmosphere, however, as with everything else here, it's sadly gone, not the music, just the whole vibe. The food is totally overpriced for what it is. £15 for a risotto that was not a risotto, it was boiled rice with a couple of pieces of dry, diced haddock and some peppers, (about £1 worth of ingredients) The service was poor (staff not very customer friendly at all), from drinks orders not arriving, not even sure the server actually took it down, to deposit's not being taken off the bill, (even though my partner did actually remind server beforehand that we had paid deposit) again, this seems to be a bit of a regular occurrence, as it's not the first time it's happened to us. This is such a shame as we really enjoyed going here and much as we are aware of how hard it is for small businesses right now; it is also hard for their customers, and we don't have the money to waste on bad food served by grumpy staff.

Great music service not so great

Great value for £15 each 2 courses & glass of wine

Great atmosphere lovely staff music fab goid fun can't wait to go back again

Booked a table for me and my wife for our anniversary tonight. Ordered the roast beef and chicken merida. The food was absolutely disgusting. stone cold roast potatoes, solid veg and undercooked meat. The chicken was pink chips rock hard. Waitresses were great offered us a replacement meal and couldn't have beenmore apologetic but we were put off with the food. Will never be back.

Was a really nice place the food was excellent nd a live band on as well

Classic place. Excellent fresh cooked food, decent prices on food and drink. Great ambience on Friday night with live rock band included. Good central location within easy walking distance from main hotels.

Tried to take my elderly father to see the jazz yesterday afternoon, and we booked a table by the loo for him. The manager came over and was extremely angry with us because the table was right next to their display motorbike as we tried to sit down. This was not our fault and we tried to explain. She was angry, ignored us and walked away. We will never go back.

Tried to take my elderly father to see the jazz yesterday afternoon, and we booked a table by the loo for him. The manager came over and was extremely angry with us because the table was right next to their display motorbike as we tried to sit down. This was not our fault and we tried to explain. She was angry, ignored us and walked away. We will never go back.

Great music venue with dancing...good fun night!

Good music and great dancers and great fun

Came across Avant Garde completely by chance really enjoyed the ceilidh it was lots of fun everyone on the dance floor seemed to be having a great time, of course it was down to the fantastic musician on his accordion who did a marvelous job talking us through the steps fun-tas-tic

1st time in this pub really enjoyed it and we will definitely be back

Absolutely the worst bar and restaurant I've been too the food isn't even fit for compost I could have got more flavoursome nutrition for the bin out side. the music was good though so I would idvise going to the chippy first.

One of the best place I've been. Cocktails price is reasonable, affordable and taste is spot on. There's a life band. Mixed of all ages. Staffs are lovely. Crowded but fun.

open, bright space,friendly staff great experience drinks only no food

Brilliant bar,good food & drinks,love acts excellent

We booked a pre theatre deal, and due to the wait being 1 and a half hours until we received our main meals we were unable to eat our deserts as we had to leave to go to a surprise party. We never received an apology until I complained but we were told, they had over booked and there was nothing they could do. No discount was offered and it felt like we were an inconvenience. Do not go here if you are not willing to wait at least 1 and a half hours for your main meal.

The word sorry was not uttered when we asked how much longer, we were curtly told -one chief on duty, busy staff shortages. So after booking for 5pm five diners finally of got food at 6. 20pm and food was nice. Very reasonably priced but...

Great atmosphere and amazing food fab time had by us all 💯 we will be back 😁

Lo pasamos en grande, una ceilidh divertidísima, gente de diferentes edades compartiendo una experiencia única. No sabíamos bailar los diferentes bailes, pero la gente que sí sabía te ayudaba mucho y enseguida le pillabas el truco. Música folk celta muy animada. La Celilidhs empiezan a partir de las 8 pero en otros horarios cambian de música y de ambiente. Hay diversión garantizada para todas las edades. Lo recomiendo 100% no te lo puedes perder si visitas Escocia.

Always a pleasure to visit Billy and Maria at the Gard. Nice addition to the menu with Gemsis😎

Outstanding choice of meals from very extensive al la carte menu, staff very friendly and attentive and great live music what more could you want. Xxx

Made a booking and they gave our table too someone else. Finally got a table and sat for 10 minutes and nobody approached our table for a drinks order or to give us menus. Decided to leave and when we spoke to the manager his response was ok then bye. Disgusting

Live music and great atmosphere but they need a new chef ! Older generation some up dancing to the fantastic jazz band. Love Greek food as it is usually full of flavour and delish .This wasn't. Bland and tasteless. Won't be back .

Absolutely love this place. Great entertainment, nice venue. Mixed ages. Good food. Bar staff attentive but not overbearing. Small pool table All good

Nice open airy pub/restaurant. Didn't have any food but the drinks were good. Service at the bar from all the staff was good. Big shout out to Tanya who was very chatty and friendly. Actually came to listen to a friend in the band play. The P90's are a good cover band and they were appreciated by the regulars. All in all a good night in pleasant surroundings. Good value drinks and great service

Went to a ceilidh on a Saturday, if you go be prepared to sweat it gets hot. I would recommend going.

You pay money to hire the function room, no tables set up no chairs out and no entertainment.