Added on Friday 5 Oct 2012

After all the trauma at Tennent's Bar in Byres Road - which many anxious regulars feared was about to become a "gastro pub" - it seemed the area's surviving "good" traditional bars would be safe for a while ... but this time around the battlefront centres on a well-regarded outlet on Woodlands Road.

Readers who followed the Tennent's story may recall that an epic behind-the-scenes tug-of-war between regular customers and owners Mitchell and Butler ended, after months of angst, in a no score draw.

Tennent's owning company brought in a significantly dearer, but not overly "expensive", new menu - and also spent a fortune installing a new blond wood floor.

However that was far, far short of the radical transformation originally planned, and the essence of the pub's original trading format remains exactly the same (and, most would agree, with just the right amount of cosmetic change).

Over at The Halt bar in Woodlands Road, however, a large sign over the door advertising the place as a leasing opportunity has sparked consternation and fury among hundreds of regulars.

As with all pub stories involving leases the actual facts of the case are far from straightforward, but what really incensed the largely young clientele at the bar was a sales prospectus which suggested it would be a great idea to strip out the pub's signature horseshoe bar and turn the place into a restaurant.

The problem seems to be that The Halt, which has hit trading problems in years past, had been enjoying something of a boom as a music venue, with elaborate and ambitious festivals staged in the annexe next door.

Unfortunately a neighbour, perhaps inevitably, complained, and since the new Licensing Act makes it much easier for people's objections - even one objection - to be taken more seriously, the lively and vibrant scene at the pub came to a shuddering stop virtually overnight ... the night the music died, so to speak.

Unsurprisingly legions of erstwhile loyal young customers simply disappeared to pastures new. Diehard music fans still congregate at the pub, particularly at weekends, and the weekly open mic night keeps something of the former glory alive.

But a frenetic online protest campaign - with more than 400 signatures last time I looked - has been accompanied by shoals of angry blogs and tweets from people who clearly feel they're being robbed of their favourite pub.

Not all of the comments can be printed on a family website, but the thrust of the complaints is that what's seen as a "real" bar could be destroyed to make way for a dull and possibly instantly-redundant restaurant - and that there are too many of these "licensed hairdressing salons" on the go already.

In fact, however, I understand meaningful discussions have recently taken place between the owners and some of the protesters, and I'm also told it's unlikely the place will be transformed in the near future - but to anyone aware of the possible "threat" to the bar's traditional fabric that lease sign over the door is still the proverbial Sword of Damocles, waiting to fall at any moment.

Let's suppose the restaurant plan did go ahead, and the pub was changed out of all recognition - could it work?

Knowing the local licensed trade scene there very well, I'd suggest that a new restaurant would have great difficulty generating steady trade in an area dominated by students and rootsy folk who don't typically frequent upper mid-market restaurants.

It is no secret that every restaurateur in the city is working twice as hard to survive the recession, with a bleak story in The Herald this week predicting many more pubs and restaurants are set to close - so it would be a brave and supremely confident operator that would invest in a new food-led proposition in Woodlands now, particularly in an area with a great deal of established competition.

But at the same time the status quo - really a sort of "half life" for the pub - cannot be sustained indefinitely, and it's clear there's no chance of music coming back in anything like the format it enjoyed before.

This leaves open the prospect of a still bleaker option, if some scheme cannot be found to turn the place around - that it might shut down altogether.

We could talk merrily about brilliant plans to turn it into, say, a specialist cask ale bar, or to bring in comedy nights and other entertainment, but only a very experienced operator with reasonably elastic pockets could really hope to make a winning difference.

That The Halt saga has become a pub talking point is beyond dispute - its future is the subject of a heartfelt rant in that esteemed toper's journal The Glasgow Guzzler - but while everyone seems to know how they'd like the place to stay, none has a sure fire solution to offer that would keep it profitable.

It's been suggested to me that the interior, or at least the pub's horseshoe bar, may be listed and protected in some way, but I'd be very surprised if that were the case - in fact you can count on the fingers of one hand the number of bars in the west of Scotland that have any kind of protection at all.

Dozens of pubs were "vandalised" in the 80's and 90's without let or hindrance, as owners sought to cash in on the fad for "upwardly mobile" style salons - few of which however ultimately stayed the pace.

Stained glass windows, feature fireplaces, historic pub mirrors and - inevitably - original bars and bar fittings - all disappeared, to be replaced by a welter of chrome and formica.

On a mid-afternoon visit to The Halt last week the staff on duty were friendly, helpful, and clearly committed to retaining the esprit of a place which has fallen victim to the pubs malaise afflicting Britain, never mind Glasgow - and while the two draught cask beers were off were able to offer a bottle of Brewdog's esteemed Punk IPA from the fridge.

But they're unable to shed any light on how the future may pan out for a bar that was once mobbed on most nights of the week.

Curiously for a pub whose interior suggests "old man's bar" The Halt's clientele has always been young-leaning, and in recent years - thanks to the music events - the typical customer was probably about 25, fairly skint, artistic and addicted to nights out in good company and characterful, original surroundings.

Near pub neighbours include Maclay Inns' successful Dram! (former Uisge Beatha), the cavernous superpub The Primary, the tiny but jumping Arlington Bar, and - elder statesman and most revered of Woodlands bars - the immortal Doublet Bar in Park Road, so there is no shortage of competition for The Halt as it tries to fathom a way forward for the future.

Restaurant-wise there are some of the best-known Indian restaurants in the city within five minutes' walk, a plethora of other dining options in nearby Gibson Street, and on Great Western Road, and very many more to choose from across the great divide at Charing Cross - so any reprised or new venture will have a fight on its hands.

Rather than offer glib "solutions" for this much-loved pub it's probably wiser just to wish its owners and staff the best of luck for the future, and to urge its customers to keep up their support - because it would be nothing less than a tragedy if this onetime bedrock pub outlet were to one day close its doors for good.

Meanwhile, and arguably surprisingly, the old Caernarvon Bar in St George's Road - which appeared shut down and gone for good, has reopened.

It's another Victorian-Edwardian local that had fallen on hard times, but it could be operators reckon there's a potentially strong base of regulars to be won in the immediate local area, which isn't otherwise served by a traditional bar.

More on these and other pub stories as they happen ...

Restaurant Awards time

Thanks to well-known West End restaurateur Ryan James, owner of Two Fat Ladies, for reminding me that the second annual Glasgow Restaurant Awards are at the nominations stage - meaning it's time to think long and hard about which is your favourite Scottish, Italian, Indian, Chinese (etc) restaurant and cast a vote to give it the recognition it deserves.

In the section above I've outlined the challenge facing the whole trade, but the considerable plus side of the equation is that our restaurants scene has literally never been better, with amazingly talented operators pulling out all the stops to offer diners a quality experience - and very often at a shopper-friendly price.

Whether it's high end restaurants (which have their own "posh nosh" award category) or a small, family-run bistro offering the sort of home-cooked fare most of us enjoy, there's a voting option to suit all tastes.

The awards themselves aren't until December 10, and will be staged in the Citizens Theatre, but the drum has started beating to bring in the votes that will decide the winners in each category - and literally every vote will make a difference.

As Ryan points out, Glasgow is widely acknowledged to be the best dining scene in the UK outside of London - and the Lonely Planet guide gave the city the accolade of the Best Dining Destination in the UK.

He said: "It doesn't seem like two years since we started planning The Glasgow Restaurant Awards that were held in 2010 at The Citizens Theatre.

"It was such a fantastic night celebrating the top bananas in the Restaurant Scene. Not resting on our laurels the 2012 Awards are going to be even bigger and better than 2010.

"The only thing that remains the same is the venue. It is really the Glasgow Restaurant Oscars and that is exactly what we have been planning or the past two years."

The awards are designed to celebrate in our home city your favourite and hardy annual restaurants, which have been around for years and give the newcomers a real chance to make their mark.

Categories cover the whole spectrum, from "non European" - obviously anything from Indian and Chinese to Turkish, Persian, Korean, etc - to "best maitre d' award" and the special Spirit of Glasgow award.

You'll find full details about the 2012 Glasgow Restaurant Awards and how to vote at www.glasgowrestaurantsawards.com

Dram Fine Idea

Licensed trade editor Susan Young - whose busy stable of titles operates from a base at the Hidden Lane off Argyle Street - has been in touch to tell me about a very interesting new online video site that's certain to attract anyone interested in how the world of pubs and restaurants really works.

It's primarily intended as a resource for licensees, but contains masses of video-download excerpts which contain something for everyone who enjoys pubs - especially if they live in the West End.

The video "articles" on the site cover the whole of Scotland, but as The Dram is a West End business it's natural the early running contains plenty of material about venues such as Oran Mor - whose owner Colin Beattie talks frankly about the struggle to gain that venue's hard-won pole position in the local licensed trade.

There's also a video tour of pubs in the Finnieston area which Susan and her team know so well, including "The Finnieston" - winner of a Dram trade award - Lebowski's and the Ben Nevis.

Susan founded the Dram magazine 20 years ago and it now runs the annual Scottish Licensed Trade Awards, which includes the Pub of the Year award sponsored by the Sunday Mail.

Currently the magazine is also promoting Pub Month along with the Media Scotland, and this is the subject of one of the current videos. Other titles in the group include Repertoire, Critics Choice and Scotland's Top Bars.

Susan said: "We don't have an in-house technical resource but we wanted an internet TV station because video is now a vital part of any media business.

"Much as we love YouTube we didn't want to lose our content in YouTube or have our features on our industry overtaken by videos or comments inappropriate for us."

"We really wanted a walled garden so to speak - an internet TV offering that we could control ourselves, and I believe that we are one of the first publishers in the world to have this facility."

You can access the site at barandpub.tv

Another Mystery solved

Cafe Mancini on Great Western Road, near St George's Cross, has been boarded up and for sale for quite some time - amid quiet speculation about what might happen to the site of the once well-regarded former Italian restaurant.

We can exclusively reveal - following hard on the heels of our scoop about the Hanoi Bike Shop - that it's about to become a second venture from the team responsible for the hugely popular and highly-rated Avenue G cafe in Byres Road.

I don't have any details of when it's likely to open, although I'd be surprised if it wasn't up and running in good time for the festive season, but now the word is out I guarantee it will enjoy steady trade from the word go. It's the latest in a series of good news stories for the bar, restaurant and cafe scene in the stretch between Kelvinbridge and St George's Cross, which now boasts some of the West End's best outlets - and a very lively weekend scene. More on this very interesting new arrival as and when it opens.

Hyde-away venue

Another new venue is shortly to pop up on the site of the former Memory bar just off Partick Cross, with what the early publicity makes clear will be a very ambitious offer.

It promises a stylish bar and grill, private mezzanine area and a south facing roof terrace - as well as an adjoining restaurant, serving food using "the freshest seasonal ingredients".

To be called Hyde, I presume a pun on its hideaway location, it should also be open in time to enjoy some Christmas trade.

Brilliant Vietnam bike shop

There's little in the way of inner tubes or cycle frames to be purchased at the newly-opened Hanoi Bike Shop in Ruthven Lane - but the food is awfully good.

Pat Byrne and I were offered a sneak preview of the Vietnamese restaurant's fare immediately before the place opened, and were soon enjoying a culinary tour through the intricacies of a cuisine of which I know next to nothing.

The staff politely pointed out, incidentally, that while our sensational revelation in the last column about its imminent opening was substantially correct, we'd inflated the number of Aussie chefs involved by 100 per cent - there is one Aussie chef, it turns out, and not two.

But there seemed to be enough activity in the place to accommodate half a dozen, because as we were leaving the restaurant's very first bookings were starting to arrive, and I doubt if the pace has slackened since. The signature dish of Hanoi Bike Shop is the "pho", which comes in several styles, a rich broth-like bowl replete with fascinating flavours and (in my case, a beef pho), generous slices of extremely tasty meat.

But before getting that far we were treated to a blizzared of exotic starters, all inspired by Vietnamese street food - including one involving fried tofu parcels made from the restaurant's own home-produced tofu.

It's not a substance I've found very interesting until now, but having tasted what can be done with I'm treating it with a new regard.

There is plenty to choose from in an extremely varied menu, from Bo Xot Vang, which is a slow-cooked beef stew with lemongrass, ginger, chilli and spring onion, to Banh Mi filled baguettes (until 5pm ) - inspired by that former French colonial influence I was blathering about in the last column.

The decor is studiedly "back street" in inspiration, and intensely attractive by evening with its flickering candles, avoiding the twin traps of modern corporate and, difficult to do well, baroque oriental - although larger diners may not fancy some of the tiny little plastic "bucket" stools which serve as seats at some of the tables (although don't worry - there are plenty of normal seats too).

If there's one thing I learned from the whole experience (apart from discovering that peanut ice cream is good) it's that Vietnamese folk like their food super-spicy - there's a bottle of hot sauce on the table if you want it even spicier, and even a green side salad had fiery chopped red chillies in it.

However in the country of the bland the restaurant with one hot proposition is king - and I'll definitely be paying return visits to explore the menu options in more detail.

Partick bike cafe

Meanwhile an actual bicycle shop - and cafe, and takeaway - has opened immediately beside what one blog described as "worn down and weary Kelvinhall subway station" ... or as we over 25's call it, "characterful and redolent of authentic Partick street culture Kelvinhall subway station".

All right, fair enough, Kelvinhall tube station is a midden - almost a guilty secret - but it's also the point d'appui (as they say in G12) for a host of eclectic dining, drinking and niche retail treats ... for example The Lismore, The Three Judges, La Riviera (and, soon, Hyde, and also Tony Macaroni offshoot Assaggini).

So Siempre bicycle shop and cafe - making a straight pitch for people into cycling culture - is in good company, and, promising "an alternative range of tasty food and drinks from local sellers served by knowledgeable staff", could be on to a winner.