My Glasgow hosts are flying to New York this morning, so we decided to have a night out before they go. J had suggested Paesano for lunch – with the caveat ‘it’s always heaving, we might not get in’ – but in the end we opted for noodles, so when D suggested it for dinner, I took it as a sign it was a place I had to try out.

We went for drinks on Great Western Road first, to a pub that is new to me, The Belle. I liked it (though couldn’t help wondering what lay behind the notice about changing the dogs policy to no longer allow dogs after 7 – wha’ happened?)

Paesano was, as advertised, heaving, but it managed to get us in quite quickly (though we did, later, have to share a table) and the service was fast and friendly. Their pizzas are Neapolitan style – so quite ‘wet’ in the toppings, which I generally don’t love – but very good. Quality dough and a decent choice of vegetarian options combined to make a very tasty (and not particularly pricy) meal. It’s not a place to linger leisurely over a bottle of wine – there’s definitely a ‘get you in, get you out’ vibe – but it’s easy to see why it’s so popular. It’s a great space used well (it used to be a bank, and, weirdly, I lived right next door for a while), a buzzy atmosphere and good food. What’s not to like?