It can be hard finding a last minute table in Finnieston on a Saturday night; however, with burger cravings setting in, we decided to head there in a taxi and do the impossible.
Walking through the door at Porter & Rye, my hopes appeared to be dashed as the restaurant was, understandably, completely packed. I decided to ask if there was anything available and even prefaced it with “I know this is probably a stupid question, but.”. As I had guessed, there were no tables available; however, there was a free spot at the narrow bar table in the middle of the restaurant. Hunger pangs a plenty, we took our jackets off and pulled up a couple of seats. Please note that because of how dark it was, it was difficult to capture great photos.
First of all, I absolutely love the vibe here. As it’s small, there’s a real sense of hustle and bustle around you as you enjoy your meal. There’s people sitting enjoying drinks at the bar, lots of chatter and lively conversation around you. It’s a real New York steakhouse kinda vibe right in the middle of Glasgow. Plus, it looks lovely too. I love the small, two-floor setting, the dark wood and the hanging cabinet in the corner. It just reeks of that cool factor that Finnieston is known for.
When you’re in a steakhouse on a freezing cold November night and are getting ready to order a burger, there’s only one way to start things off and that’s with an old fashioned. Yes, beer can be absolutely fantastic with a burger but a steakhouse old fashioned with your meal is pretty much perfection. The old fashioned at Porter & Rye is indeed very special and the perfect warming, sipping drink for this kind of awful weather. Even though we were at a fairly cramped spot in the middle of the bar area, at that moment I couldn’t have been happier.
On to the burger. There’s just one on the menu here and that’s all that’s necessary. It’s made with rib-eye steak and comes served with your choice of sauce and a side for £11.95. There are plenty of sides to choose from including fries, mac and cheese, buttered broccoli and more. Sauces include peppercorn, port and blue cheese as well as aged meat BBQ. I opted for the skinny fries and the aged meat BBQ sauce as well as an extra side of mac & cheese because, well.I love mac and cheese.
But how did it all taste? In a nutshell, fantastic. Rib-eye is highly marbled with fat and it really works here, producing a burger that is rich, beefy and tender. I added cheddar to mine, but to be honest it really wasn’t needed. The aged meat BBQ sauce was so incredibly delicious that I ended up slathering it all over the burger and dipping it in the leftovers. Imagine a really indulgent beefy bolognese sauce with a smokey barbecue kick and that’s what you have here. It’s truly exceptional and I wanted even more to dip my fries in. On top of the burger, it resulted in an indulgent, classic steakhouse burger flavour that was simple, but very moreish.
This was a big patty, but the bun did a good job of holding everything together. My only one slight complaint; however, was that the bottom half of the bun was charred a little too much with some bites leaving a taste of burned bread. It wasn’t a huge issue and the sauce and flavour of the patty more than made up for it.
The sides here aren’t a mere afterthought either. The mac & cheese is creamy, rich and beefy and the skinny fries are perfectly seasoned. I particularly enjoyed the amuse-bouches that came from the kitchen while we waited. The mackerel pate was particularly great!
It’s good to see brilliant burgers being produced at bars and steakhouses as well as our speciality burger joints. Get yourself along to Porter & Rye, even if you need to sit at the bar!
Price: £11.95 (includes your choice of sauce and a side dish)
THE JUICY BITS
+ Rich flavour
+ Really good bun
+ Amazing side sauce and fries
THE NOT SO JUICY BITS
– Bun was great, but a little too charred on the bottom for my liking.
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Porter & Rye
1131 Argyle Street
Glasgow
G3 8ND
Tel: 0141 572 1212
Website: http://www.porterandrye.com/
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James vs. Burger 