Mini Bar

244 Bath Street

Glasgow

G2 4JW

www.minibarglasgow.co.uk

Good place to take a date:

9/10

You might easily walk past Mini Bar if you didn’t know it was there; nestled in the basements of cosmopolitan Bath Street, it’s one of Glasgow’s worst kept secrets. An inviting bar and restaurant, Mini Bar strikes the perfect balance between a touch of sparkle and a more casual, friendly atmosphere that makes it suitable for all kinds of dates. Whether catching a pre-theatre meal before moving on to a show, or warming up for a night exploring Glasgow’s nightlife, the irresistible cocktail menu and big, tasty meals make it a favourite amongst locals. Your only issue might be getting a table in this cosy wee place! Oh, and don’t miss out on one of their infamous jammy dodger shots…

 

Good place to meet for a first date:

10/10

Mini Bar comes to life at the weekend with live entertainment that makes it a fab place to meet someone or bring a first date. It’s impossible to get to know someone in a club, whilst walking up to someone in bar can be a little daunting… Mini Bar has a chilled out vibe for Glasgow dates, with a great atmosphere where mingling is the norm and everyone comes together to let their hair down. It’s a hotspot for post-work drinks, with boutique beers and bar snacks drawing people in to unwind with friends and meet new people. Its location on buzzing Bath Street also makes it the perfect starting point for a night on the town. Where better to bump into a potential date?

Mini Bar

Mini Bar

 

Average age:

Its diverse offerings as a venue, restaurant and bar ensure an eclectic mix of ages and backgrounds to the Mini Bar, giving it a welcoming ambience of ‘anything goes’. At any one time you might find co-workers enjoying a pint, a gaggle of girls sharing cocktails, or a lucky-in-love-couple tucked away in the corner feasting on a romantic meal. Customers tend to be aged 18-50 as a general rule.

 

Time of review:

Whilst Friday and Saturday nights are the pinnacle of the week’s excitement at Mini Bar as its doors are graced by some fantastic talent, events are held throughout the week. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, Mini Bar welcomes winers and diners for any occasion.

 

Average cost of a meal and a drink:

Mini Bar offers exceptional value if you don’t want to break the bank to have a brilliant evening on your first date in Glasgow. Mains range between £8-12, with cocktails starting at about £6. Have a look at their website for pre-theatre promotions and special offers.

 

Type of cuisine:

The Mini Bar menu plucks a selection of international favourites from the air to create a collection of intriguing pizzas such as the Evil Scotsman, some delicious (and big!) burgers, and a few classics such as pulled pork and Thai green curry. As such, there really is something for everyone here, and at such good value you won’t feel the pinch on the purse if you and your date go for a 3 course extravaganza!

 

Final word:

A fantastic location for a first date or that ever-anticipated second meeting, Mini Bar has a versatile ambience for both the hopeless romantics and the casual romeos. Offering great value without compromising on great food, drinks, service and atmosphere, it really a great spot for Glasgow dating.

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The FreeAndSingle Sydney Team

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How was your Valentine’s Day?

Did your secret crush send you roses? Did the girl next door give you a wave and an invite to dinner? Or did your cards get lost in the post and your date went awry?

 

Whatever happened, if you find yourself still looking for love post the big V-day, don’t sweat it. It’s not the be all and end all, I promise.

 

Don’t believe me? Then take five minutes out of your busy schedule and cast an eye over our list of dream dates gone wrong. Have a chuckle, make some quick resolutions that nothing like that will ever happen to you and then have at it! Get combing the site for someone you fancy and send them a quick message – after all, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain!

 

I organised a date with a girl I’d had a crush on for ever. I thought it would be really romantic to post letters with the time, date and details written on them in a kind of scrapbook layout over the week beforehand. What I didn’t realise was that her ex had stalked her and on receiving the letters, which looked a little bit like newspaper-cutting ransom notes, she freaked out and called the police. Needless to say, we never got to go on our date.

 

James sounded like the ideal man on his profile – tall, handsome, sweet, generous and with a romantic streak. We messaged back and forth for weeks before finally agreeing to meet up. Once the date was set, I found myself waiting in the bar for the tall guy with the red rose in his lapel. However, he never showed up. I stormed back home to demand why he’d stood me up via message only to find a slapdash email from his girlfriend. Thank goodness we never got together!

 

I met a great guy online and was all set to meet up, but then I found out he had been on one date with my friend which had gone horribly wrong and she wanted me to cancel. I was still into him, so I decided to go ahead with the date, but my friend felt so guilty about vetoing things that she overcompensated and wanted to know all about the ‘new’ guy I was supposedly going to meet. I had to make up an entirely different person to tell her about so she wouldn’t get suspicious and then when I had a great date I felt I couldn’t tell her at all in case she realised I’d lied about the guy!

 

I’d have signed up sooner! Jon was online for a month before I was – imagine if someone else had snapped him up before I got there!

What’s on in the world this month that can provide you with a spectacularly original, traditional or romantic date night?

 

Original

  • Head to your favorite watering hole and have the barman create a cocktail specifically for the two of you.
  • Book into a culinary taster class and learn how to cook your special meal together, then chow down on the fantastic results.
  • Don your waterproofs and head to a muddy quad bike circuit to spend some quality time in direct competition with each other. Once done, brush yourself off and head to the pub!

Traditional Ideas

  • Take your date to that special hole-in-the-wall restaurant you reserve for these occasions and splash out on a fancy bottle of wine to share.
  • Dinner and a movie is about as traditional as it gets – why not mix it up and do the movie first, then dinner, thus ensuring any awkward silences can be filled in with discussion about the movie!
  • Head to a fairground or a big wheel and indulge in candy floss, winning teddy bears and jumping into each others arms in the haunted house.

 

Romantic

  • Try a boat trip down the river – add in fairy lights, a three-course meal and a serenade by violinists and you’re in danger of your date falling completely head-over-heels for you right then and there.
  • Turn your living room into a zen space clear of clutter and transform into a forest, snowslope or fairyland complete with picnic blanket and homemade repast.
  • Create a treasure hunt around your favorite city for your date and document the whole thing on camera as a memento of your time together.

 

Sometimes it seems as if all those people in happy relationships are a tad envious of the singleton’s freedom.

 

Other times, it feels like being single is possibly the worst thing in the world. Conflicting, huh?

 

So, we at Free and Single have done a quick round up of the pros and cons of relationships – to enthuse you and motivate you into continuing your dating adventures to find ‘The One’, or else to make you appreciate your single-ness until fate sees fit to intervene!

 

Pros!

  • It’s cold, it’s raining and you’re snuggled up together on the sofa under a blanket, with a good movie and a cup of tea. Bliss.
  • Support on tap! Come home from a hard day, have a bit of a moan, enjoy dispensing advice, maybe get a shoulder massage…
  • Feeling frisky? Get down to business with all the love and trust you could want.
  • Want to travel? Hate walking into new places by yourself? Insta-travel companion!
  • Someone to bring you soup and blankets when you’re feeling poorly.
  • A shoulder to cry on when things go topsy turvy.
  • ‘Darling, do I look good in this?’ Answer: ‘Ravishing.’

 

Cons!

  • Being with someone means involving them in your life. They’ll worry if they don’t know where you are or if you are proving incontactable.
  • Mess/Tidiness. One of you will prefer things slightly tidier than the other. That’s life, folks.
  • When your other half goes about ordering salads or saying they aren’t hungry, only to start nicking your chips.
  • The inevitable urge to start changing them, or yourself, to fit.
  • Jealousy – nobody likes the green headed monster to emerge snarling, but sometimes you just can’t help yourself.

 

One of the hardest things to do when starting to internet date is writing your profile.

 

I’ve written about how to make your online dating profile stand out from the crowd; first in these Five Top Tips for Online Dating and then again in Avoiding the Dating Profile Pitfalls

 

I was scanning through the profiles popping up on the main page of Free and Single and a few things really caught my eye – not in the least because I was thinking about this article from the BBC…

 

Are you guilty of bringing these cliches and empty sayings into your dating profile? Are you actually making yourself sound boring by trying to hard to sound exciting?

 

Tips for Sprucing Up your Dating Profile in 2014

  • Be specific – don’t sit on the fence and declare how you ‘listen to all sorts of music, everything really.’ No-one loves all types of music. No-one! Hate folk songs? Say so – there is no need to be aggressive about it, just focus on what you do like instead.
  • Have you seen those awkward, generic sentences that start off with things like; ‘Well, here we go. Not sure how this works…’ Can it. That type of introduction says you are nervous, intimidated and filled with trepidation. It also says you aren’t sure of what you want and from my point of view, if you aren’t completely sure that you would like to meet new people, have fun and go on dates or start a relationship, then what are you doing on a dating website?
  • Try really really hard to let your profile speak about the real you. Don’t use it as a soapbox to vent about ‘stupid soap opera’s’ or ‘the damned bureaucracy’. No-one wants to date an angry, intolerant person.
  • It seems blindingly obvious but here’s a good’un: Don’t lie. Not about your age, your height, your weight, your salary (why are you discussing your salary on a dating profile anyway? Romantic much?) Stick to the truth and you’ll have much better, genuine success.

 

 

Christmas can be a tricky time. It can seem like everyone is smooching under that damn mistletoe when you’re the only one stood alone in the corner with your fourth glass of eggnog.

 

However, Christmas is over for another year and we’re now stuck in the month of payback – presents, parties and party food all take their toll!

 

This time can be used for more than weepy recriminations about that second box of chocolates you scoffed next to the Christmas tree. Instead, use the time to reinvent yourself. Forget resolutions – those are for pansies. Instead, you can make yourself into the best possible version of you, ready for a year of love, laughter and lighter thoughts.

 

Chuck the chocolate, pop on a coat and go for a walk – seriously, it’ll bring a rosy glow to your features! Get a friends to take a picture of you in the evening sunshine (super flattering) and update your profile image. You could even treat yourself to a new haircut first if you fancy.

 

Think about what to write in your profile – what needs updating, what you want to write instead. Plan it out and then set aside an hour or so to actually write it, make the changes and start benefiting from them!

 

Enjoy the new year and enjoy your dates this January!

Usually, the first blog post of the month here at Free and Single gives you some really specific, country focused date ideas. Not this month. Nope, this January 2014, I’m putting forwards three great, all purpose date plans you can do anywhere, one for each country Free and Single is based in.

 

United Kingdom

The constant gales and blustery torrential rain can’t get you down if you purposefully set out to beat it! Wrap up warm and swathe yourself in waterproofs – now is the time to dig out your wellies and sou’ wester!

Once you and your date are fully water repellent, head into the great outdoors for a whirlwind adventure through some of the beautiful countryside – try a nature trail, an English Heritage tour or a garden exploration.

Don’t forget, once you’re done outside, you have most definitely earned a long, lavish teatime treat in a local cafe or pub to warm you up and discuss all your madcap new anecdotes!

 

United States of America

Beat the wintry chill with a cosy indoor picnic! Make sure the room you choose is clean and tidy, then stun your date with a thoughtfully prepared picnic feast and drinks, all laid out on your freshly washed picnic rug.

Lay out on the floor once you’re down eating, pop a rustic sounds track or some folk music on your phone and look up at the wide expanse of, eh, sky? Ceiling?

Use your imagination and have a great time chatting. Often sharing a meal outside the confines of a table and chairs can really help you to relax and be yourself – which is just what you need on a date!

 

Australia

The heat is high in Oz right now and I reckon nothing could be better for a hot date than, well, air con.

Whizz your date over to a public ice rink, pull on some super thick socks and spend an hour or two holding hands and practising your backwards skate moves.

After you’re done skating, sit-in at a cosy diner and chow down on burgers and milkshakes. Bonus points if there’s a jukebox you can sing along to, 50s style!