Bar Soba Merchant City in Glasgow City

Well looked after by our waitresses. Food very decent and the boozy brunch not bad value for money.

Booked a table for office Xmas night out, place was messy, table next to us was full of empty drinks glass which continued to be placed there, dangerous if anyone had bumped into. Lack of staff so waited ages for a drink, ended up going to bar downstairs to buy one while we waited on our order. Drinks mediocre, ice tasted off. Not the staffs fault there wasn't more of them, over priced and lacking in atmosphere. Went elsewhere.

Restaurant Review: A Disappointing Experience I had the unfortunate experience of dining at this restaurant recently, and it was one of the most disappointing meals I’ve had in a long time. From the food to the facilities and the service, almost everything fell short of even the most basic expectations. The Food: The food was an absolute disaster. To start with, the chicken satay was overcooked and burnt, leaving it tough, dry, and practically inedible. The Thai green curry was another major letdown—it was so overwhelmingly spicy that it masked any other flavors and made it impossible to enjoy. The fish and chips were also really bad. The fish was frozen hard and the batter was drenched in oil. The squid fry was also really bad coz it was drenched in oil. The wings were overcooked as well. It was borderline inedible for most of our group. The only thing good was about the food was the fries. The pulled pork was another big disappointment. It wasn’t pulled at all but rather rock-hard chunks of pork that were impossible to chew, let alone enjoy. To make things worse, the chicken satay was poorly prepared; it had an overwhelming amount of cornflour in the sauce, leaving it lumpy and unappetizing. Every dish we tried felt like it had been rushed or made without care. For the prices being charged, the quality was simply unacceptable. The Service: Adding insult to injury, the wait time for the food was painfully long. We had to wait for over an hour—60 minutes!—just to receive our meals. Considering how poorly cooked everything was, I find it hard to understand why it took so long. There was no explanation or apology for the delay, leaving us feeling neglected and frustrated. The Facilities: The dining experience was further ruined by the condition of the restrooms. The urinals stank so badly that the stench wafted into the area near the washbasins. It was almost nauseating to even use the restroom. The bathrooms were in such poor condition that it reflected a lack of attention to cleanliness and hygiene overall. It’s incredibly off-putting to have such unsanitary facilities, especially in a place where food is being served. Final Thoughts: From the food to the service to the facilities, this restaurant failed on all fronts. The food was inedible, the wait time was unacceptable, and the state of the bathrooms was disgusting. There was no redeeming factor that could make up for this terrible experience. I would strongly advise against visiting this place unless significant changes are made to improve food quality, service efficiency, and hygiene standards. Definitely not worth your time or money.

Came with a party of 4 for the boozy brunch and felt it was really good value for money. Noodle dishes and burgers - fantastic however do not order the bao buns! My friend got 1 bao bun which was tiny and even served on a side plate as her meal! (It did give us all a good laugh!) Staff and atmosphere fab!

Dreadful experience never to be repeated. Saturday 30th Nov was inevitably mayhem in Glasgow city centre, not a shock, it's the beginning of party season and pay weekend for a lot of people. The staff at Bar Soba, Merchant City were just not coping. The young people behind the bar were doing their best and stayed calm and polite. Shame the same can't be said for the manager, whoever is paying her needs to have a rethink. Bad mannered, bad tempered and extremely bad attitude to customer service. The app stopped working but she downright refused to accept this and wasn't in the mood to look at evidence of the fact. Told me to stop shouting at her though my voice was only raised so she could actually hear me in the very noisy environment, waste of time though as she didn't want to listen. Food was utterly disgusting and full plates went back to the kitchen, if anyone cared we certainly didn't hear about it. Such a shame because we've had great nights here in the past. With so much choice in the city, why would you return to somewhere you've been treated appalling? I know I won't. 25 minute wait at a bar being ignored is not acceptable, very poor quality, cold food is not acceptable. A manager who couldn't give two hoots is definitely not one I'll be seeing again. Seven establishments visited, six just as busy but coping with good humour. Again, bar staff were lovely as always but I won't see them again, at least not the ones that stay. The cost of living crisis is still ongoing, pubs and restaurants are closing down. I'm not giving my money where I'm not welcome. Anchor Line soothed my shredded nerves nicely. 😃

Popped into the merchant city tonight for an impromptu meal. Spotted this restaurant which looked inviting. No one to help us at the front desk so we went to sit down on one of the many empty tables. A lass came and asked if we had a reservation, we said no and she responded with “ah we are only taking reservations” then promptly walked away. We went online and booked a table for 4pm (it was currently 3:55pm) and popped back. The same lass said ah okay what time is it? I pointed out there was only a few minute until 4pm. She disappeared and another lady, who I presumed was the manager, came over and told us that we had been spoken to by another member of staff and were told that they could not fit us in because they were too busy. We said that wasn’t what we were told, we repeated what the first lass said and the assumed manager said “No that’s not the case” as we tried to point out that her on-line system should not have taken a booking and should be shut down, she walked away from us nodding her head. Disappointing and unprofessional. Looking at the reviews on here, I think we had a lucky escape! We actually found a gem of a place The Dhabba across the street who were more than happy to have us as a walk in.

Josh is incredible - so attentive and knowledgeable. What a brilliant guy! Has a great personality and made our night!

The chicken Katsu curry was an embarrassment to food. The curry had congealed by the time it arrived to my table. The rice was stale and clearly left under a heat lamp. And the chicken was burnt and almost inedible. The service and staff were absolute credit to the company. I could not have asked for better service and attitudes. The staff should be appreciated a lot more than they currently are. Other than the food being an issue the establishment is a good place to get a drink and have a chat

Popped here at the weekend and wasn't sure what to expect (and I was probably older than the usual demographic) but very impressed with the service. We kept it safe with chicken spring rolls and the chicken burgers (although I was freaked out by the black buns), but I have to say it was all very tasty and I will certainly be back.

The prices at the front are fake, it is 14 for 2 and 18 pound for 3.

Food was lovely and Josh was fab, really friendly and accommodating Xx

We had Josh serving us today/tonight and he was absolutely amazing. He was very attentive, gave great advice on food and also cocktails. Overall the best experience.

Fairly tasteless greasy overpriced food unfortunately. Spring roll were oozing grease and tateless

Nice setting within Merchant square. Despite being quiet on arrival had to look for staff to get seated. Staff member not overly friendly. Food was excellent, warm, beautifully presented and very tasty. Tap order and pay didn’t work at table and staff said that is the case. Nice interior and simple menu. Quality food and nice experience hampered only by lack of enthusiasm, cheer and engagement by staff. Shame. Would eat again if different member of staff.

Josh !!!!! What can I say? Great job, wonderful atmosphere. Thank you ☺️ xxx

Although the restaurant was empty the speed of the food delivery was poor, the staff were hardly seen. We ordered starters the tempura veg was cool and chewy, the goza were alright as were the prawns. HOWEVER the mains were served like a dogs dinner and looked like it too! we had Yakisoba and Singapore noodles, the food delivered had the texture of "mush" colour of "dog meat" and was swimming in oil the "crunchy vegs" that were described in the menu were soft and slimy. We did say that it wasn't great when asked and were offered to remake it but we did not have high hopes if the original plate standard was to go by so refused. Honestly probably one of the worst meals out I've had!

I love Bar Soba usually, however our most recent experience was very disappointing. Arrived at 5.30, ordered food around 5.45. By 7pm we still hadn't received our food. Then it began to arrive in drips and drabs, not good for a party of 4, eating separately because of this. Some food was returned because it arrived stone cold. A very bad night at the office for Bar Soba

Kayla was a great host and made the experience very enjoyable

The food was wonderful but the service was pretty horrible. Took 40 minutes for us to get our drinks (three waters and a Pepsi) and the waitress didn’t really want to bother with us for most of the night. But when the food arrived it was very very good! It wasn’t the worse experience but the service could have been much better!

The drinks took 20 minutes and the food 40 minutes The restaurant has a nice decor but the music is so loud that you can't converse with the people next to you

We arrived 45mins and we could get seated which was fab, but it went down hill from there. It took us over 40mins from ordering drinks for them to be arrived. Infact the food arrived before the drinks. The food itself was mediocre and one of the group had prawns that’s they said tasted frozen and horrible The beo buns were dry and chips were soggy The chicken in the katsu curries were dry

Been a few time and always really delicious, flavourful food. I’ve tried so many katsu curries and this one is definitely my favourite katsu sauce and the portion you get is huge!!! Only slight issue was the quality of chicken in the katsu curry wasn’t the best, it was a bit chewy but wasn’t inedible. Overall, would definitely go back :)

Server was really lovely so friendly and was there when glasses emptied

Very poor food, Yakisob prawn and chicken noodles were tasteless, Salt and Pepper chips were extremely salty to the point that it drowned out all other flavours. Won't be back

When we arrived for our pre-booked table there were no staff at the front point to talk to. We were taken to a table upstairs as far away as possible. The drinks took a while and the food took even longer. When it arrived, the food was very good. But the ambiance of the place and the staff that couldnt care less about their customers made it a place that I wont return to, I have been to Bar Soba on previous occasions and always enjoyed it but not sure what has changed, if it was down to low staff numbers that Saturday evening. Not sure if DJ is really required, it looks like its trying to be a bar with some food on the side. In the past Bar Soba was really more about the great Thai food on offer.

Booked a table for drinks but when we arrived felt like they weren’t expecting us. Sat at a table and told nobody serving in that area so to use the app. Not the best experience

Our waiter was actually fabulous and very accommodating. Unfortunately there was not enough bar staff as cocktails were taking ages to arrive, so we ended up ordering 2 each at a time. I had Terayki noodles which were very nice, some friends had the bao buns, their fillings were cold and the buns were all soggy and stuck to the plate. We waited just under an hour for our meal, so they mustn’t have had enough kitchen staff either. It was our first visit there and very disappointing😔

Rude staff who ignore the fact that you have not been served yet .Waited more than 25mins then we ordered at the bar ourselves ,still No drinks another 30mins later so we left and won't be back

Very lovely staff. Fantastic food at fabulous prices!

Josh was an amazing host! Thank you!

Lovely meal with friendly staff before a gig at the old fruitmarket. 🥰

Staff were so rude, aggressive, unprofessional, and judgmental when we visited for my birthday dinner on Saturday evening. I arrived first before my partner and was shown to a table upstairs right next to the door. It looked as though I may block the door when sitting down. My partner is almost 7 feet tall and definitely wouldn’t be able to sit comfortably without blocking the door, nor could he sit on the other side of the table as it was pushed up against the neighbouring table. I called a passing waitress and told her about my partner’s height and how I didn’t think we’d be able to sit there. She looked at me angrily and said “we don’t have any other tables”, to which I replied okay, I’m sure it’ll be fine- I just don’t want to block the door. The server then huffed at me and walked back down the stairs to which I could see her talking with another server and pointing to me up the stairs. It felt very uncomfortable, like I was being judged and laughed at. When my partner arrived he attempted to sit down and could only just squeeze into the seat. My partner called another server over, a different one this time, who was just as rude. This time they seem confused as to what it was we wanted/what the problem was, even though my partner was clearly having trouble sitting at/getting into the chair due to his height. The waiter angrily showed us to another table. We then heard the table next to us who had clearly been waiting for a long time if they could order their food. My partner and I decided that we didn’t want to stay and so we left the restaurant. We’ve been regular customers of Bar Soba, but after this experience, we definitely won’t be back. I’ve checked the other reviews and this isn’t the first time something like this has happened. AVOID this restaurant!

Staff were so rude when we visited for my birthday dinner on Saturday evening. I arrived first before my partner and was shown to a table upstairs right next to the door. It looked as though I may block the door when sitting down. My partner is almost 7 feet tall and definitely wouldn’t be able to sit comfortably without blocking the door, nor could he sit on the other side of the table as it was pushed up against the neighbouring table. I called a passing waitress and told her about my partner and how i didn’t think we’d be able to sit there. She looked at me angrily and said “we don’t have any other tables”, to which I replied “okay, I’m sure it’ll be fine- I just don’t want to block the door”. The server then huffed at me and walked back down the stairs to which I could see her talking with another server and pointing to me up the stairs. It felt very uncomfortable, like I was being judged and laughed at. When my partner arrived he attempted to sit down and could only just squeeze into the seat. My partner called another server over, a different one this time, who was just as rude. This time they seem confused as to what it was we wanted/what the problem was, even though my partner was clearly having trouble sitting at/getting into the chair due to his height. The waiter angrily showed us to another table. We then heard the table next to us who had clearly been waiting for a long time if they could order their food. My partner and I decided that we’d been treated badly and didn’t want to stay, so we left the restaurant. We’ve been regular customers of Bar Soba, but after this experience, we definitely won’t be back.

We were blown away with the quality and flavour of the food at Bar Soba, we were there for lunch and the variety of dishes was super impressive. Wait times for food were minimal, food was absolutely delicious and staff was super friendly and extremely helpful. We cannot wait to come back.

Large pub with great seating, open aspect into Merchant Square. Was actually there for speedating upstairs, changed my mind, sat downstairs with a nice pint of Madri

Amazing food and friendly staff. Really cool designs over the walls and would recommend cheeseburger spring rolls

Brilliant little place in merchant square. Visited with some colleagues for lunch. It’s a nice atmosphere with very cool art work on the walls. We arrived just after opening time and unfortunately the food took a while. Eventually everyone in the restaurants food came at once which makes me think maybe the chef was late, or kitchen wasn’t set up. Either way, they gave us a really generous discount on the bill, something like £15 which more than made up for it. Everything on lunch menu is £8. I had the drunken thai noodles which were superb. Think it would be a good atmosphere in the evening with a few drinks.

Pretty fine, but only dirty toilets. 🤨

Came here for a friends birthday and the food was amazing and the staff even better Brooke and Caitlin gave us great service and was so attentive

Went in a big group and service was still quick and lovely! Was served by Brooke who was absolutely amazing to our table. Totally recommend for cocktails and dinner!

Lovely food, great atmosphere and staff were amazing for our mates birthday. Brooke and Caitlin were amazing servers and took brilliant care of us.

I hold SOBA as a destination/occasion venue. We were here in a large group for my friends birthday which was met with smiles and equal speed. ( I arrived late ... Traffic, but was quickly accommodated with drinks and a menu). Brooke and Caitlin looked after us from begining to end. I will return on future occasions... Because it's wednesday 🧡

It's almost embarrassing to admit we ate there.

Waitress attentive helpful and lovely. Food tasty and great atmosphere this lunch time thanks - we’ll definitely be back! 😊

Very relaxing and warm welcome for a sole diner. Thanks for that!

Service was really good. Only item I didn’t enjoy was the Korean cauliflower bites.

Been here lots of times but today was a let down. The satay was freezing cold, I mean as if it was just out the fridge. The member of staff refunded us but the rest of the food was definitely not up to previous quality. Disappointed 😞

Awesome service and Caitlin was a star. Aga gave great recommendations for food. Will be back

Tofu katsu curry was amazing so was the veg noodle dish, great service and a big variety of cocktails .

Great night. Arrived early and they happily accommodated us with a seat by the bar til our table was ready. Food and drinks were both amazing

Popped in for a quick drink after work before dinner. Cocktails were great and 40% off most weekdays - bonus.

Really nice food on a good Thursday evening deal. Waitress was attentive and friendly. 1 of 3 drunk idiots at the next table got dramatic and sweary when his replacement burger top didn't arrive (we think he knocked it off in the first place). Rather than politely remind, he went straight to dramatic and rude. If he complains, I can vouch for you. Service at 4 stars for long desert delay, but not a major problem. Nice meal. Thanks! Will be back.

Such a good night! Staff were so attentive and personable, fantastic service and amazing food and drinks. What a great place.

Great afternoon. We were a large party and everything went really smoothly. Highly recommend, for a visit. Great value too.

Caitlin and aga were fantastic, amazing service - drinks amazing!

Had such a laugh with Caitlin and Aga tonight. Me and the girls had such a good time and the cocktails were flowing. Will definitely be back - such a nice friendly atmosphere. ❤️❤️❤️

So salty I all but died of dehydration…

Lovely atmosphere with absolutely amazing and unique cocktails !! Love coming here

Lovely cocktails, didn't have food but everything looked really good too!

The food was superb and Caitlin was fantastic. Highly enjoyable. I would definitely recommend the satay chicken.

My friend and I were in for some food & ordered loads of appetizers …… Andrew was looking after us & he made sure we were well looked after & had everything we needed . Will definitely be back again . Sandi & Jane

Good atmosphere... was there a long time to take it in as took well more than an hour to get food!! When it arrived it was just warm... must have been sitting waiting like us! Only starters... not much prep involved. Ate anyway... starving. Poor showing. Won't be back. Don't go if you're in a hurry! Watched other couple leave. Wait staff very apologetic... too little too late!

Great setting in merchant city. Food is absolutely delicious, portion size is perfect and staff are super friendly. Would highly recommend.

A calm and relaxed environment for lunch. A lot of value for money. Polite staff and would recommend.

Food was good when it eventually came, shame it took over 1 hour. Vibe was good, but service let it down unfortunetly.

A great place to visit in the heart of Glasgow

Food was good value but nothing special. Waited 50 minutes for food to finally arrive. Won't be back.

My friend and I came for lunch. Second time and we'd come again. Food was delicious and staff were so helpful and friendly.

Very responsible deals, lovely atmosphere & amazing food.

Service was first class and very quick. The food has amazing taste, You can taste the fresh ingredients used. Got the large sharing cocktail was beautiful.

Waited an hour and 15 minutes for food for a table. Had three rounds of drinks by the time our food arrived never even got an apology when asked where our food was. Disappointing to say the least, however food was lovely and so was the cocktails just the wait let it down.

Excellent food and cocktails, slightly slow getting food

We waited an hour & half for our food, and had to ask a member of staff how long our food would be, to be told it would be with us in 5 minutes. 20 mins later we had to ask again and had said it it wasn't with us in the next 5 minutes we would be leaving. However our food arrived very very soon after & the same member of staff told us our bill had been cleared as the food was getting placed on the table, this also included our drinks. Obviously we were delighted with that & the food was absolutely amazing & the staff were lovely & it won't stop us going back again as the food was 10/10 Brilliant customer service & not many places would clear the bill. We will be back!

Change of menu was a surprise as it no longer had my favourite dish. Food ordered was excellent but had a long wait for it to arrive

Lovely staff, lovely food fantastic location. Really enjoyed it.

Such a great place to eat. The staff are lovely, very attentive and sweet. The cocktails were amazing, the food was even better. Couldn't recommend this place enough.

Amazing service by Brooke and 10/10 cocktails🥸

Brookes amazing , foods amazing drinks amazing

Brooke was a fabulous server...attentive and polite. Food great too

Lovely evening celebrating with my family. Friendly attentive staff.

Booked early 545 thought we would miss some of the crazy people ! Family dinner kids of 7&12 both were getting a little hungry after 1hr wait for food ! Bar seemed more interested in selling cocktails beer etc than getting food to you . Looking around we were not the only table waiting and getting a bit frustrated

The food was great, the service very friendly and the surroundings had a nice vibe. Would definitely recommend

Great food, especially the small plates! Fabulous, friendly service.

Waited 30 minutes to be discriminated against and told I wasn’t allowed to enter

Extortionate prices for cocktails - which were not that great

Cocktails, food and staff were all really good! Couldn't fault it, and I will definitely be coming back for more. The service was friendly and great, cocktail list ticked the boxes and the food was super tasty without being too expensive.

Ate here on Mother’s Day for the launch of their new Sunday Roast menu. Food was so nice, I had the beef my husband had the pork and both were delicious. Really big portion sizes. They also have a really great selection of alcohol free cocktails for the non drinkers. Definitely be back.

Food was exceptional. Lovely selection Server....rude and ignorant. Spilt beer over me as he was reaching.....couldn't care less. Food took 50 mi ures and he got stroppy when I asked if everything was OK with order as we were in a hurry now as we were running late. Even trying to pay was a challenge.

Food was amazing and really big portions. Tried loads of katsu curries and Bar Soba’s is always the best! Such a nice area to sit for dinner and a drink. Really good service as well :)

Great place, amazing food and even better signature cocktails, highly recommend this place if you're into having all of your senses dazzled!

Great night food and drinks are amazing ! Staff are all very lovely and attentive

Lovely food, but service was very slow. I appreciate it was busy, but waiting almost an hour for the main course was just too long.

I went there along with my Husband and two of his friends. It was a starlit place very beautiful for a date night or a wee nice evening out there with your friends. We ordered Red Thai curry with rice 10/10 Pad Thai Veg 9.5/10 Nasi goreng 10/10 Must Try Tofu Katsu Curry 10/10 The sauce in this was 🤌🏾 Cauliflower Bao 7/10 Duck Gyoza 7/10

Food was lovely and tasted good but was Luke warm. Don't understand why as the restaurant was very quiet.

Chicken was dry and overdone. One dish was not delivered and was then charged which unfortunately was the Asian greens - they would have helped cut through the heaviness of the other dishes we had. We perhaps didn’t order well but missing a dish was poor (we wondered whether we had forgotten to order). There were also a few ‘crashes’ when we were there and there was broken glass in the disabled toilet! Don’t know what was going on but definitely needs a shake up. In summary - waitress we had was pleasant enough and food was ‘ok’ - some tasty some just heavy handed. We did enjoy the vibe

Love it, great food with plenty of choice for everyone & excellent attentive service even for large tables. Great for groups and very flexible for those with dietary needs as the menu accommodates for all, including vegans or vegetarians. Highly recommend for a meal out with friends!

We were sat outside with the street side door into merchant city . It was freezing cold . Food great as usual but very dissatisfied with the ambiance of the restaurant. I don’t think we will be back

The most disgusting food I have had in a while and it took them 1 hour to serve it to us. I would not recommend this place and I would definitely call the health inspector as everything tastes old or preheated.

Was here for Hogmanay, had a great time - food was very nice & drinks fine. Our seating arrangements were spot on. Staff all nice and friendly, very helpful - any issues dealt with promptly. Only downside was that the toilets were not well maintained at all - it was of course busy but still could’ve maybe done with a permanent attendant working there for the night.

Booked for hogmanay, very badly organised the main event in Merchant Square was shockingly bad, dance show was not professionally done, the lady on the saxophone played out of sink completely and sounded awful, live band you could say were just about was ok, despite perseverance not a enjoyable night left early , chaotic lacked proper planning , they had cleaners going around main floor space with mops and buckets, overall a very poor standard for Merchant square. If we could have we definitely would have complained on the night and insisted on a refund, but that wasn't possible, it was impossible to know how to do that other than speak to bar staff & we felt that was a environment to do so. Bar soba was unclean, toilets shocking , no festive atmosphere at all in the bar itself , music was exsessively loud, selection of songs badly chosen , on a positive bar staff were very nice all except 1 who was not very welcoming staff appeared over run & disorganised.