Black Sparrow

I came here for an engagement party for my good friend Josh. We were downstairs in the private party room. Great place for a party, my only issue being it gets hot very quickly. They need air conditioning!
Bar staff are friendly both downstairs and upstairs and the know how to make a decent cocktail.
We had party food nibbles and they were ok. Nothing to remember but the little mini burgers were pretty good. Upstairs is much nicer as not so dark and they have booths and service is good. This place is not cheap though for spirits or wine. For beer it is reasonable. They have a good selection of vodka, whisky and tequila. All in all a good place for drink but I wouldn’t stay all night. Live DJ which was good but nowhere to dance. Starts to get busy around 11 ish.

I’ve loved ‘The Sparra’ for years. So much so I had my 30^th birthday party in the function suite in the basement.
On a lovely sunny day it’s always worth the walk up to the top of Sauchiehall St to find a spot in the hidden beer garden & grab some 2 for 1 (weekdays) burgers. The Black Sparrow burger is always a winner for me… I can’t resist a caramelised onion!
Great value. Good selection of booze (rums & Addlestones cloudy cider… yes!). Nice simple menu. Lovely service. Brilliant artwork on the walls. And if the sun is out you can get a wee tan out the back.

I really like Black Sparrow!
The food is so good, and they have cocktails for 4.25 (I think that’s how much it cost?) mon-​fri.
They also had a range of drinks for £3 which is good too, but hey. It’s sunny and cocktails are to sun what onesies are to winter.
I love the booth seating, and upstairs looked like there are some cool tables.
The woman who served me was brilliant. I’ve had a run of people getting annoyed when you don’t know what you want straight away, but she recognised that I wasn’t psychic and let me look at the menu first. OKay, that should be normal, but like I say — a bad run recently. Anyway, she was really friendly, and my little lunch break was probably the best part of my day (which is saying something seeing as the sun is out, and I haven’t had to work) :)
They have the 2 for 1 burger thing going on, but I think their tapas menu of 3 small dishes for £10 looks even better :)

Only popped in here for a drink but definitely one to revisit.
Love the décor and the small booths, perfect for a cosy drink or two, the bar has a good range of beers and spirits and from what I saw of the food as it passed by it could definitely be a good option if you are ever in the neck of the woods (handy if you are at the ‘far end’ of Sauciehall Street and don’t fancy O’Neills perhaps?).

This is a great pub, though I would make an argument that while squarely within the ‘pub’ designation, there is a distinctive waft of ‘bar’ running through the downstairs area of this drinkery-​eatery. Though I’d wager Black Sparrow would be a great spot for some social drinkin, I always plan to eat my main meal of day whenever I visit. With a menu of tapas options and an array of burgers for almost every food culture preference (French, American, Cajun, and so on), it makes a great choice for a meal and warm-​up drinks.
Whenever the Hubs and I visit, we almost always go for the burgers. I keep meaning to try the French Sparrow — with bacon and brie — but I seem to be incapable of ordering anything but the Black Sparrow, possibly because I have no self-​control when it comes to menu items that include jalapeños. Also featuring caramelised onions and smoked cheddar, it’s my dream team of burger toppings! The Hubs normally gets the Blue Sparrow as he is plagued with a similar compulsion for blue cheese. He seems to enjoy it but I’ll have to take his word for it.
The atmosphere and décor — dominated by palm trees and paintings of horses — makes me imagine I’m in a private club located at some tropical colonial British outpost circa 1867. Seating at the ground level is mostly made up of cubby booths — great for couples or small groups — with more space upstairs in the mezzanine. I will say, though, in summer the mezzanine can get pretty toasty. A chilly cocktail from their well-​stocked bar, however, makes the heat more amenable, more tropical getaway and less sweaty canteen.
They’re decently stocked for beer-​only foodies (they seem to always offer at least one WEST brew on draft) but I would say the spirit-​drinker in the group will be the happiest at Black Sparrow.
Happy eating! and if you try the French Sparrow you’ll have to tell me how it is!

Lovely chilled bar, but wont be back due to bad service. had a very pleasant night with a friend, good dinner, and a few drinks brought by table service. But felt very insulted by the bar maid when paying. She asked if I wanted to add a tip the the card bill, I said no, and the girl went on a big rant about having had table service all night and was terrible we didn’t want to add a tip, which was very cheeky, I actually had a hand full of coins I was ready to give as a just tip for other wise great service. I did hand the generous tip over after her rant, but felt very insulted and will never be back.

Me and my friend went here for some lunch before heading to the cinema. On entering I would say it felt quite welcoming and we plonked down at a booth next to the bar. an impressive array of spirits adorning the wall behind it.
One girl seemed to be covering the bar and the floor on a relatively busy Monday afternoon but she seemed to be handling it quite well and was very pleasant. My friend ordered us a couple of unexpectedly reassuringly expensive beers and after we noticed the cheaper options on the special deals board at the end of the bar, mental note for next time.
We both went for the Black Sparrow burger, smoked cheese, caramelised onions and jalapenos on top of a 6oz beef burger. It also came with hand cut chips. We both fairly enjoyed the meal. My burger was pinker in the middle than my friends which was good for me but no complaints from him either. Best of all 2 for 1 on the burgers so £9.95 for the two.
Any complaints? hmm, the leather seats in the booths. Try slouching at all and you’ll likely end up under the table and having to hold down the taps in the toilet always bugs me but that one might just be me.
Would be happy to return and try some of the other menu options

Have only been to Black Sparrow for drinks and the odd night out before. As it is round the corner from my work and it is a damp miserable Friday, we thought we would perk ourselves up with a pub lunch.
Black Sparrow is beautiful inside with its almost hidden upstairs tables, beer garden and shelves of all the premium spirits you could ever want. They also have TV’s so we could enjoy some Wimbledon with our lunch.
We all opted for the burgers due to the 2 for 1 special (which runs Sunday until 5pm Friday). I had the Classic Sparrow burger with mozzarella, which came with a sour dough bun, salad and chips.
The beef burger was obviously handmade and very juicy and flavoursome. The bun was very light and along with the salad and beef patty made a very tasty burger that I would happily have paid full price for. The chips were the one down side of this. They weren’t very crispy and I would say were almost like disappointing oven chips, which needed to be coated in mayonnaise or ketchup.
When we were looking through the menu we had all noticed a very interesting sounding dessert, which we couldn’t help ourselves but to try. We had spotted the Vanilla Ice-​Cream with battered mini Mars Bars & toffee sauce. 3 of us had never tried this Scottish delicacy before so decided to give it a go. It is almost the weekend after all! The plate had 2 scoops of ice cream and 3 battered balls of Mars Bar. It was weirdly delicious and tastes almost like chocolate doughnuts. I was very pleased that we had decided to share as it was all very sickly but as a team effort we managed to clear the plate.
Overall it was a lovely lunch venue with very friendly and attentive staff and a place with a very relaxed atmosphere. I would definitely go again for the 2 for 1 burger offer, but maybe leave the chips next time. I think it would be a great place to take visitors to the city for the decently priced food and the battered Mars Bar dessert.

Popped in here for a team lunch a couple of weeks back, enticed by their two for one burger offer. Have been in for burgers before and remembered them being pretty damn good… This time they weren’t so great.
There was a lot of us, so I’m guessing things may have been a little hectic in the kitchen due to this and the fact there were several other folk in for lunch. We did book that morning though, perhaps we should have pre-​ordered.
I asked for fries instead of home-​cut chips and they happily obliged. Result! (I’m a total chip weirdo). The fries were lovely and I was told that the home-​cut chips were also really nice. The burger patty was just so dry and overcooked, it was actually a bit of a chore eating it towards the end, so I just got stuck in to my generous portion of skinny fries. A couple of the guys got a veggie burger and said it was pretty average too.
Really like the décor in this place, pretty cool view when you’re up on the mezzanine level looking down onto the bar area.
Really hoping this was just an off day for this place, because I really like it and think their burgers could be tremendous if cooked better. The dude who served us was pleasant and accomodating, no complaints with the staff.
Sort the burgers out, guys!

On my first weekend as a west end lovie I popped into Black Sparrow in Charring Cross, being only about a 3 minute walk from my flat I was hoping for big things, unfortunately however I wasn’t really very impressed. I had a burger (naturally) and it was like chewing sawdust it was so dry and the staff were way too cool for skool! Surly over grown teenagers would be the best way to describe them. I decided however that yesterday I would give them a second chance… and I am glad I did.
The Black Sparrow is a cool little bar, inside reminds me very much of a cool New York bar with dark leather booths for two downstairs and larger tables upstairs, the art work on the walls is eclectic and interesting, the bar was even laid out in quite a cool way making it easy to see the spirits they offer, there was also quite a bit of foliage as you can see from my picture… you can’t actually tell from this picture but this plant and I had a battle of wills all lunch!
The staff honestly weren’t spectacular, there was a girl on shift who was pleasant enough and was lovely when I spoke to her about her earrings but the guys on shift was miserable at best. Now I know guys like this (my 19 year old nephew being one) and I am prepared to accept this may just been his general demeanour, but still I was put off a little. Also, it kind of annoyed me that when I went to the bar to pay the pair of them stopped to look at an email on their phone for a good length of time before taking my card payment!
Niggles out the way — let’s talk food.
As with all food establishments they did have the obligatory December festive menu, I decided to avoid this because I wanted to be able to review their normal menu. It consisted of mainly burgers and pizzas with a few other mains thrown in for good measure but truth be told I had already decided what I was going to have for my main before I took my jacket off.
To kick things off I opted for the Stornoway Stack — a plate brimming with black & white Stornoway pudding topped with a perfect runny poached egg, beautiful buttery hollindaise sauce and a piece of crispy streaked bacon. It was delicious and a real treat to get proper white pudding in the west! I did find myself craving more texture in the dish tho… other than the small piece of bacon it was all very soft. I actually really wanted a piece of potato scone with it — you can take the girl out of Dundee and all that!
For my main there was only one option — the pork fillets on a bed of mash potato mixed with black pudding topped with a caramelised onion jam. It was amazing, there was a huge portion of mash topped with loads of perfectly cooked pork fillets and the jam really had an delicious sweet taste which really added something to the dish. This dish should totally be on their normal menu with out question.
Unusually for me at lunch time I even managed a dessert, which could only be the Bailey Cheesecake served with raspberry ice cream and caramel sauce. It was pretty good, the base was crumbly and buttery so it got two thumbs up. The filling however had a really odd taste to me, I couldn’t taste baileys which I absolutely love all I could taste was yoghurt (weird I know cause I’m sure no chef would use yoghurt in a cheesecake). The texture was also strange too it was like a panacotta, quite jelly like — I would suspect a lot of gelatin has been used to set the filling. Like I said nice enough and I finished the whole dish just a little odd in places.
For me the Black Sparrow did redeem it’s self today with 3 pretty decent courses & a mega tasty Passion fruit Cocktail. I would definitely go back to the Black Sparrow for either food or drinks, who knows one day I may even be brave enough to try the burger again :-)

As there is much choice in Glasgow to go for a burger it took us a while to make us a decision on where to go on Saturday night! We booked through 5pm on the 2 for 1 burger deal. So glad we decided to go to Black Sparrow! When we arrived the bar was really busy but not overcrowded like a lot of places on a Saturday evening! There was a really nice buzz about the place. We were seated at one of the leather booths in the middle of the restaurant but we still felt like we had privacy. Started off with a fabulous French martini while we looked at the varied burger menu. I had the Blue Sparrow (blue cheese, bacon, caramelised onion) and my other half had the Italian Sparrow (Parma ham and Parmesan) Served with the softest brioche bun and i opted for the cajun fries which had quite a kick to them! The burger itself was full of flavour and tender. Tried the haggis fritters as well, which is the most amazing haggis ive ever tried! Service was attentive, making sure we were ok for drinks etc and very pleasant. Cant wait to go back and try the Scottish Sparrow! Definetly the best burgers in Glasgow!

Decent boozer. Great food, staff absolutely brilliant, will be back!!!

Lovely surroundings, can’t fault them on that. But the burgers disappointed. Brioche bun, thumbs up, but there was only the tiniest amount of blue cheese on my Blue Sparrow burger, which was concentrated on one corner of the burger, and the bacon and caramalised onions overpowered any other flavour — a great shame as I love blue cheese. Chips were slightly undercooked too. Plus, whilst somewhat welcome on a cold spring night, the mezzanine was stiflingly hot, almost uncomfortably so. House white was nice, and whilst I didn’t try the cocktails they are cheap (2 for 1 burgers too). I’ll probably come back at some point, but for now it’s 3 stars due to the heat and blue cheese disappointment.

Great Gang-​hideout, or to start your night off! Just the right distance away from the mayhem of the city centre. Easy to flag a cab, or even jump the train at Charing Cross if your going to adventure to Merchant City (High Street Station) or the West End (Partick).
Excellent smoking patio out back, outdoor dinning is good in the summer when your maybe coming back from Kelvingrove Park (West End in general).
Food is top notch Gastro. The 2 for 1 burger deal is for 2 very excellent burgers. Great ingredients, served very well.
HUGE selection of Whiskys to compliment a full bar.

I’m not sure quite how I’ve missed this place all these merry years of social inebriation… Tis a magical place full of wonder, and a fantastic selection of spirits and liqueurs spanning the wall behind the bar all the way to the ceiling! And that baby is a high ceiling. ^^
The space is great with lots of nooks and crannies to cozy up in, and the bar staff will make you about any cocktail you ask for (though I couldn’t find a set cocktail menu — not to say there isn’t one).
I wish I could have stayed longer, but my colleagues are a fair bit older and less up for party time and all left after a few hours. Next time I go, I’ll need to see how the atmosphere fares as the evening goes on, and also want to sample the food! From what I’ve heard, it is tasty, tasty stuff!
Definitely worth a look-​in. I’m sure there will be a nice update in my future!

Reminiscent of a traditional Victorian ale house; dark wood, big pot plants, leather booths, warm welcome and handsome well-​stocked bar, The Black Sparrow was the perfect place to seek shelter on a dreich Glasgow afternoon.
We’d just enjoyed a visit to the Mitchell Library and didn’t fancy braving the rain walking into town for lunch, so we decided to take our chances with this local pub instead.
The two-​for-​one burger deal seemed just too good to pass up, especially as there were a couple of vegetarian options included; well done on that score! The chips were excellent and the burgers decent. To acompany lunch we had three cokes and a couple of hot lattes to warm us up. The scottish tablet that accompanied the coffees was delicious, and thats coming from a person that doesn’t usually like the stuff. Pleasantly surprised to have change from £18 for two lunches and drinks!
Service was quick and friendly, and there was a nice wee beer garden at the back for those hot summer days we get. We wanted a reasonably priced lunch in relaxed surroundings where we could linger for an hour or so after eating. Black Sparrow fit the bill perfectly. Would recommend.
PS: The ladies facilities could do with some attention.

Oh my, what a cave of wonders this place is!
The atmosphere is lovely, well thought out, well utilised and rather cool.
My friend recommended this place for a good few months to me — almost to the point of it becoming annoying… so I finally decided to shut him up and make the trip. I’d also heard great things about their burgers, and being a fan of a good quality burger, I now had several reasons to pop in and see what all the fuss was about.
And it was well worth it. As I mentioned, the atmosphere is really nice — trendy, but not overly so, stylish, but not contrived, and well set out.
They have a wide range of drinks on offer, lots of bottled stuff, as well as good draft and an excellent selections of spirits.
I decided to order food, and went for the Spanish Sparrow burger. It came in at £9.25 and when it arrived the portion was more than generous, and the burger looked — and thankfully — tasted delicious. With the Spanish Sparrow, you get two toppings — slized chorizo and a garlic and red pepper mayo. Yum!
The Black Sparrow is stylish, cosy and has a lovely ambience. Given than it sits only a stones throw from the Bön Accord, North Street is now home to two of Glasgow’s finest establishments to whet your whistle and sort out your appetite.
A gem of a place!

Just back from Lunch at Black Sparrow, won’t be back there any time soon (unless your heavily into sushi when its not ordered).
Menu wasn’t exactly extensive but I ordered the tuna steak, surely you can’t go too far wrong with that. Absolutely starving so when it arrived it looked ok, the first mouthful however would be lucky if it was luke warm. Against my better judgement I delved a fraction further to find the thing was completely raw and by raw iI mean… RAW! I called the barman/​waiter (may I add was one of those sad individuals who appear to find it cool to have his Y-​fronts over the top of his jeans which were hanging precariously below his butt … seriously not hip mate!) He took my plate with a well pronounced GRUNT and returned it to the kitchen. It arrived back reheated 5 minutes later and placed in front of me without even an apology unless the GRUNT was his excuse for one (obviously a man of few words). Seriously not impressed.
Poor show! Come on mate, pull your jeans up and get it together!

The Black Sparra, as we call it here, a little hard to find if you don’t know where you’re going. Of course it helps that they finally put up a sign announcing its existence, rather than just the picture of a bird.
I like this place, it’s got a good vibe to it. The drinks aren’t the cheapest I’ve seen, but I suppose you’re also paying for service, too, right? Right. Service was great. Table service in a pub?! YASSS!
The food in the Sparrow is good for a pub; and it makes me wonder if they’re in that grey area between pub and restaurant.
Outdoor seating when it’s nice out, and a cozy little mezzanine inside means you don’t get stuck in traffic.
Definitely go; it’s a nice cross between a club and a place to have a blether.

Anything less than a 5 star rating for this place would be a travesty on the same level as botox, small ‘new and improved’ monster munch and the Star Wars Prequels… just wrong.
OK shall we set the scene? Right oh. It’s flippin’ cold, wet raining and myself and my fine lady have just exited the cinema having watched the New Sherlock Holmes romp (imagine Lethal Weapon with English accents and tea). Off down Sauchiehall Street we did venture on the hunt for some decent budget friendly grub… Local? nah, just been there… Sleazies?, nah, too many trendy haircuts… Yates? ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha… sorry, just kidding… Black Sparrow? where? you know where that grubby wee pub used to be, next to Chinaski’s…they do 2 for 1 burgers or pizza’s…done!
Well well fellow Unilocalers, having read all the previous reviews on this joint i was quite prepared for what i found, but still suitably impressed to rave about it. With a perfectly manicured interior resplendent with cutesy wee leather bound booths (some for 4 peep holes, some slightly bigger) and a mezzanine area that utilises every inch of space without at any point giving a claustrophobic feel to the joint. The Sparrow is warm, welcoming and ambient in its feel.
So the grub then. Well all i can say is yum. Burgers are homemade, beefy, succulent and come with a variety of interesting and beautiful toppings. Service is top notch too, we had our grub in minutes and the staff were all extremely friendly in what felt like a genuine way.
Oh god, i think i could mutter all day about this joint however i shall just shut up now. The Black Sparrow, amazing pub grub, great service, more than welcoming interior and fantastic value for money… my new favourite pub for grub and a cheeky wee pint… yay.