Firebird

Firebird has been on my list for some time, as I'd heard they do gluten free pizza. Well, that's true, and they do gluten free pasta as well. We popped in for lunch last weekend and shared polenta chips as a starter and a gluten free mushroom pizza.

The polenta chips were nice, but much improved after we requested some parmesan cheese and a side of pizza sauce for dipping. The pizza was thin, but quite tasty for gluten free. The toppings were nicely done but as always, this American thinks they should put twice as much sauce on the pizza.

The service was great and the restaurant's atmosphere is really nice. I look forward to trying out more of their menu!

I swithered with a 3 just because I felt a bit swizzed with the pricing, but the three staff members who served us were really smiley and pleasant and attentive so I felt the experience deserved to be rounded up.

Firebird are taking part in the Yelp Pizza Week and as those with some dietary requirements aren't able to participate in the judging competition next week it was great that Tracy W arranged a Freefrom UYE here. There was no vegan option listed so I asked for the classic (with two toppings - sundried tomatoes and a cheese) and subbed the cheese for butternut squash and spinach. All pizzas are £6.50 with this week's Yelp check in offer - and I believe they are £6.50 every Tuesday if the board outside quoting this is accurate.

When the bill came I had been charged £6.50 plus an additional 75p for the spinach. I do wonder had I chosen one of the more expensive, meaty, pizzas (which would still have been £6.50? Right?) with a default 3 options, if I would still have been charged this extra 75p. I could have quibbled but I wasn't in the mood for it and I *was* still getting a discount, but be warned!

The pizza itself was alright, the base was crispier that I usually like. I ordered a side of chips, and confirmed they were fried in a vegetable oil, and they were really nice. There looks to be a few vegan/vegan-friendly options on the menu I'd like to try another time, including the falafel and quinoa sandwich (only available up til 5pm). The chickpea fries sound good, if they have a vegan dip they could sub for the yogurt.

The food menu is slightly different to the one I found on their website, and we were told the drinks menus on the tables are now out-of-date. For (vegan) beers, they definitely have on draught Staropramen and West's St Mungos and their white beer. Overall, a lovely night, thanks to Tracy for organising. :)

I really really want to love Firebird, I really do. Unfortunately I just don't.

Good points:

The staff are very pleasant and friendly.
They allow dogs and I do appreciate a dug in a pub.
The surroundings are nice - lots of natural light and open spaces.
They understand what vegans eat. Their pizza bases are vegan and they can easily leave off cheese etc without any incredulous questioning or hassle.

Not so good points:

The staff sometimes seem a wee bit clueless. Not in a major way, just in a kind of lack of finesse on the small points. For example, if I'm given a pint that I have watched being poured wrongly resulting in the entire outside of the glass having had beer spilled down it, my hand will get wet every time I pick it up. Plus there's a high risk of me dropping the slippy glass. If you're not going to sort it yourself, at least bring me a serviette! It's just wee things like that that make you think 'eh?'

I just don't love their pizzas. They are very thin and crispy and some people love that, but I don't like it when something is so crispy it hurts me to eat it! My teeth were sore! I also find the pizzas are just not very tasty. I'm so sorry! The base tastes of nothing, which really surprises me as it's a sourdough base apparently, so should be delicious, and the tomato sauce doesn't taste of much either. Their topping combos are very imaginative, and I was really salivating over the thought of the one I had ordered, but was so disappointed when I was eating it - it just didn't taste of much at all.

Finally, their pizza prices are far too steep. £12 for a pizza - really? And some of their other food items also seem far too expensive for what they are eg £6.50 for a dessert.

I'd pop in for a drink again, as they have some lovely beers in, such as the West Heferweizen, but there's other places that offer better and cheaper pizzas.

We went do the Yelp pizza week £6.50 for any pizza! Which is almost half price!

We had the burrata mozzarella with beetroot and chilli jam and the mushroom and truffle oil pizzas. I also had an aprerol spritz ;) The pizzas were delicious and all fresh ingredients, I'm not sure if the mozzarella was REALLY burrata but none the less it was delightful. We also ordered the polenta fries which have not to be missed. I'll definitely be back for those.

There also happened to be a pub quiz on that night. We we succeeded in avoiding last place, by 1 point *fist pump*

I also ADORE the painting in the back of the albino gorilla. Check it out.



It's local, it's lively, it's beautiful

This was my first visit to Firebird after hearing so many amazing things about it.

Parking wise, there is parking on the street but it's for 30mins only...just watch out for traffic wardens!

The space it quite funky, very open plan warehouse feel. It's decorated with bright artwork and the windows spanning two walls really adds to the bright and airy-ness.

The staff were lovely and accommodating. Plus I was super excited to try their Gluten Free pizza base.

I ordered the Gluten free mozzarella and salami pizza, as did my friend but she got the Non-Gluten Free...or regular pizza.

We also got some bowls of salt and paprika triple cooked chips.

The chips came out first before the pizzas were ready by accident, but I didn't mind as we were Starving!

Finally the pizzas arrived and they looked amazing :D

But...it didn't taste amazing. Unfortunately the gluten free base was quite...cardboard like. And just over all there was very little flavour to the pizza. I tried my friends regular version just to taste the difference, and yes the base was nicer but overall still not great.

The chips were very yum and gave us red paprika fingers :) They were demolished.

Then their card machine wasn't working so we had to go to the ATM, which isn't exactly the end of the world, but still.

Overall, not bad, but I'll be dubious about going back for pizza!

Firebird was one of the first places I ever visited when I came to Glasgow and its remained a firm favourite.

It's a cool little bar and always has plenty of good beers on tap and delicious wines avilable to serve by the bottle or the glass. They have TVs and occasionally show sport, although usually not football (they're far from the only bar in Glasgow to make this choice) aand the TVs don't get in the way of the generall babble of chatter. There's a fun pub quiz on Tuesday night and occasionally they run other events too.

They also do good food. It's not all pizza but it is mostly all about the pizza here. Sure, the rest of the menu is cool as well, but the pizza is what they pride themselve on and rightly so. The bases are perfect and the tomato sauce is great - don't be afrad to choose something with more adventurous toppings, the chef knows how to make it work.

Keep an eye on the daily specials board for unusual treats too - they're usually worth snapping up.

What is better than pizza? £6.50 pizza, that's what!

I headed along to Firebird with the prospect of a delicious, cheap pizza and I wasn't disappointed. Situated on the fringes of Finnieston, I have to admit that I tended to walk straight past. But, the first time I ate here, I realised what I had been missing.

Given that the pizza week offer was so good (£6.50 for all pizzas. Make it so!), I ended up getting cocky and totally over-ordered. Classic. We ordered the Italian Sausage pizza and the Burratta Mozzarella. The pizza bases were nice and crispy and the ingredients were excellent, which is always half the battle. Further to this, we had the delicious Polenta Fritters and a portion of Triple Cooked Chips, which were a step too far and didn't get eaten.

The waiting staff were attentive without badgering us and the surroundings are very warm and welcoming. One thing I would say is that I can't really see myself coming and drinking in Firebird. It doesn't feel like a bar. The food has always been great whenever I have been in the past, and for that reason I will always keep it in mind when pals are in town, but pop in for a quiet pint? Nah.

Firebird is the perfect neighbourhood bar - it's warm, welcoming, serves tasty food and has a relaxed vibe to it.

It's up there with my favourite bars in Glasgow and I visit pretty frequently. I like the layout of the place - there's a large bar area with booth seating, as well as restaurant section if you're in for a meal. In summer, you can sit out the front and they can open up the windows so it feels really Mediterranean.

There's changing drink specials and I recently had the Belsazar (vermouth and tonic) which was a really nice refreshing summer drink (and just £3.95). The food is pretty epic - I normally get the gluten free pizza as it's super delicious - you'd never know it was GF. I like that they have interesting/unusual toppings like nduja, pork meatballs, morcilla, kale & almond pesto which makes for a nice change from the standard options. I also tried the polenta fries recently and they are just amazing - nicely topped with Parmesan and rosemary and absolutely heavenly. I noticed they have poutine on the menu so that's next on my to-try list.

So yup, it's safe to say I'm pretty in love with Firebird. Oh - they're also dog friendly which is a massive win for me as I get to pat lots of cute dogs. Yay!

What a great place, great owner, great food, great pizza, cool place to hang out. "Yinz guys"
Hooray come on down and enjoy a great. From a guy from the "Burgh" Go Steelers!

Nope.

Watermelon salad was a mix of a tiny bit of watermelon and no taste cheese.

The fennel and mushroom pizza was not good to say the least. Maybe 7 pieces of mushroom. The cheese and sauce barely covered half of the pizza.

There were many gnats flying around our table. And a hair in 2 of the 3 plates.