Clerk’s Bar

July 21, 2014 Burger, pub grub, Southside 3 Comments

Exterior

I’d been hearing good things about Clerk’s Bar since it opened a couple of months back, so was keen to visit. Previously the Dragon Way Chinese restaurant, it had been sitting vacant for a little while before Clerk’s took it over.

They’ve delivered a complete transformation both in terms of the place’s focus, which embraces craft beer and slow cooked meats, and its interior, which is stylishly rustic and wood-laden.

Burger

Considering there are a lot of places ploughing this furrow at the moment, they’ve made a good job in giving the interior an on-trend but not too try-hard feel, so that’s very much to their credit.

I was joined today by Rachel, who looks after things with considerable style at the excellent Field. I’d run into her at Savour, a few weeks previously, and we’d agreed to have a long-overdue catch-up over lunch as soon as diaries would allow.

Burrito

The menu is heavy on the slow cooked meats, as advertised, with a wide selection of items. The friendly waiter/barman pointed us in the direction of the special of the week, which was a BBQ burger, so I was happy to go with that. I added a portion of onion rings on his recommendation, too. Rachel opted for bean burrito accompanied by pickled slaw.

Dishes arrived promptly with my burger drenched in a profusion of BBQ sauce. It rendered the possibility of shoving the burger faceward moot, so I grasped a knife and fork and tucked in.

Espresso

It proved decently good, with a good balance between meat and bun. The burger itself packed reasonably good flavour, but the BBQ sauce lacked punch. The onion rings were nice and crisp. I had a try of Rachel’s slaw and I wasn’t particularly convinced by it.

So overall, Clerk’s Bar was slightly in the territory of “did the job” rather than being overwhelmingly impressive. I like what they’re trying to do, think they’ve made a very good job of the décor and feel of the place. I was impressed with the warm and helpful service, too. I think their food has a little way to go to really hit the spot, though. I look forward to popping back for another visit to try something else from their selection.