Record Factory - Glasgow

I've been here twice and both times my friends and I have had the whole pub to ourselves. My most recent stop here was for a catch up with Sophie K before she headed for the great state of Texas! We popped in for a drink and the whole place was empty. I've never been in here when it's had more people, so I'm not even sure how this place manages to stay open. I'm definitely missing something, I'm sure. Anyhoo, we went up to the bar and ordered cider per usual and had a chat with the nice bar guy. He asked us if we minded that he was playing old time country music. It just so happened that Sophie K was going to Texas and I had just been to the Johnny Cash Road Show with my guy, so it was perfect that he was playing country music. We were really impressed that he asked, as many places play what they want and who cares if you like it or not. There was one other person who kept popping in and out of the pub and he came up to us to chat about Johnny Cash. For the rest of our stay, Johnny Cash was playing overhead. There seems to be some pool tables through the back and there are loads of cushy couches and big tables to fill should you be with a group of people. There's loads on offer as far as drinks and I even saw a tap that was labled pims and lemonade. Could be tasty! Just before we left, the bar guy changed the music but made sure we were ok with it. Ha! Nice guy! We'll maybe have to come back when there are more people, but really, it's a great place for a chat and some drinks during the day if you're ever looking for a private place to yourself.

I've always found The Record Factory to be a bit hit and miss. I've now visited three times relatively recently, here's how each visit went. Visit 1: Weekday lunchtime. Two of us bundled in to order burgers which we paired with a pint. The place was empty, service was friendly and pretty quick and they were running some kind of deal (I forget exactly what) so our order was pretty inexpensive. The food was ok for a lunch deal but nothing extraordinary. Some of the items that weren't in the deal sounded really good, but would have been too much for lunch. Visit 2: Friday night drinks. I booked a space for 10 people to enjoy drinks here after work. It was really great and a lot of fun, most of us ordered food which took a little longer to arrive this time, but not too long. Most people reported that they were really happy with their food. However, at ~9pm, a shutter came down to reveal a DJ booth and the music went up to above the point where we could comfortably chat. Weird because there was almost no one else in the place. We all left. Visit 3: Early evening on Saturday during a subcrawl. My partner and I elected to break off from the main subcrawl group to sit in the sunshine in the beer garden, which is really more of a yard. The atmosphere was great and I could easily have stayed there all afternoon if the weather had stayed good. We ordered burgers from the BBQ they had set up, which were £5 each and came with free salad and potato salad (weirdly, fries would have cost an extra £2). The food was fine for the price and I'd order it again if I were back in the beer garden. So, A-OK just about sums it up for this place for me. It usually seems to be fine but occasionally some odd choices are made about how to run the place. Beer garden space is sadly lacking in the West End, so I'll probably be back just for that.

With Hettie Puppy in tow and rugby to be watched, our first trip to The Record Factory a few weeks ago (new management had only just stepped in) was chalked up as a win: reserved table bang in front of the screen for The Pup and water and dog treats for Little Miss before we even had menus (a good thing, trust me). With the Glasgow sun brightly shining this week (I was starting to worry those words would never again pass my lips), tummies groaning from a skipped a lunch general sunny afternoon pint pining, we hightailed it back down to the newly re opened beer garden. It 's the sun without doubt that makes this place. With festive festoon lighting overhead (heaters are on the way) and elevated picnic tables at the rear of the garden, we milked every last second of the glorious Glasgow spring sunshine and then some. Burgers and pints were well in order and devoured in mere moments. Lisa and I and our pal Pat#1 all opted for beef burgers with various toppings/extras in some kind of hypoglycaemic state I asked for a friend egg, jalapeños and chilli slaw (actually **** delicious) though Lisa much more cleverly went for onion rings (a whopping great stack skewered inside the burger). Our friend Pat#2 opted for the chicken burger with bacon and, by the look on her face, made one hell of a decision indeed. Being a fat squishy chips lover, I 'd have seen them cooked just 5mins less (no one else seemed phased) and the side salad was good too. Hettie was fussed over from beginning to end water bowls, visits from the staff and dog treats aplenty. Once the sun was tucked away, we filed inside for another pint where the venue was filling ahead of an evening gig. Yes, it 's quite student ish and generally windowless ish but not a bad space really. If the sun ever shines again we 'll be back!

If you 've only been here when it was called Faktory then take a wee wander down again now that it 's rebranded. First of all, get something to eat here, for the mighty MEATHAMMER inhabit the kitchen, and they have burgers of immense goodness and size. For my money, Meathammer consistently produce the best and most imaginative burgers that Glasgow has to offer, and at a decent price too. The staff in here are a lot more helpful and cheery and just downright nice than I remember from the last time I was in here. Not one person I spoke too seemed to be put out by any of my daft questions about the food, or the seating outside, or the football on the telly. The space itself is pretty amazing. It 's a lot bigger than you would expect upon entering down the fairy light laden hallway and there 's a huge beer garden at the back with several big comfy leather couches would be ideal for watching the football on, if it hadn 't been raining earlier. The beers on tap are nice and cold; I had a pint (or 3) or Innis and Gunn and really enjoyed it. Side note that may be totally World Cup related during the half time break in the football, they turned the sound of the TV off and put on music. A nice relief from having to listen to the pundits do their thing and bore you to tears. On the whole, The Record Factory seems to be a nice change to the other bars in this part of town, and I 'd definitely return again. Especially for the food. Oh, the glorious food...

I paid a brief visit to Faktory one Saturday and left with a not too bad impression. We were there to see a band so spent most of the time in the band room which isn't a bad space there's some seats and it's a pretty decent size room. It is hard to find though if they have the shutter down on the room (they apparently open up this shutter to the main room but if it's closed you need to walk through a pool room and past the toilets to find it). The main room didn't seem overly busy for a Saturday night but maybe it picks up later on. It really has a cheap student vibe to it which isn't necessarily a bad thing it's just not my thing. I didn't visit the toilets or go to the bar so I can't comment on these aspects. I would return here in future if I had a reason otherwise, I can't this being a place I'd visit for a drink when there are other places nearby that are much nicer.