Recess

We ate here for supper a few times during our stay at the Hilton Garden Inn. We had breakfast at the hotel daily as well. The service was great every time we were here for supper. We were greeted warmly, seated quickly, and check ins happened at appropriate intervals during the meal. We did have to ask for drink menus on a couple different days but it was no problem to get them when asked. We tried a few different drinks and they were all good. I liked the drumstick ice cream inspired cocktail in particular. The menu isn't huge but there's a good variety. We particularly enjoyed nachos as a starter (fresh made nacho chips and a variety of tasty toppings), the burgers (tried 3 different ones, all good), and the pizzas. Our surprise favorite pizza was the hot pepperoni which has a bit of honey drizzle. We weren't sure about honey on pizza but it was sooooo good. Really nicely balanced sweet taste against the savory pepperoni. We asked them to go light on the chili flakes and that was a light to moderate amount of heat for a Canadian! We didn't end up doing dessert any day, so I can't comment on that. The atmosphere is great. The restaurant is really nicely decorated, sophisticated modern vibes with lots of comfortable seating either at tables or bench seats. Almost everyone gets a river view. We never ate outside but the seating out there looked really nice. Comfy seats with umbrellas in case of rain and and looks like some blankets and heaters for chilly days. The view is beautiful. The breakfast buffet was good. The service staff were all very efficient and good at their jobs, but there were days they were clearly understaffed. One day the manager pitched in to help - well done. Despite being understaffed they worked very hard to keep up and did a great job. We had only a few misses - such as watery scrambled eggs and one day my husband had a ton of eggshells in one of his sunny side up eggs. Other than that the consistent hits were the haggis, sausages, beans, eggs, pastries, toast (nice bread that seemed homemade), and fruit/yogurt station. They also had a daily smoothie and a waffle station that we didn't try. The granola was good too. They had 2 espresso machines. The tea selection was pretty reasonable, and the Earl Gray was very good. This next part gets its own paragraph. I love porridge (as you will see) and was surprised there was no porridge in the breakfast buffet, so I asked and was brought THE BEST PORRIDGE EVER IN LIFE. I had it all 4 mornings I was there and this cook knows their stuff. It was the perfect consistency with some creaminess yet a bit of chewiness, salted just the right amount, and using good quality oats for sure. It was so good I added nothing to it. No need for cinnamon, fruit, yogurt, anything. Even better than my Granny's porridge and that's saying something. Definitely did Scotland proud in the porridge department. It was so good I have a picture to remember it by, haha. Yes, I'm a bit crazy. Would recommend Recess for breakfast or supper. Definitely hope to get back there some day, especially for more porridge!

Food was delightful. Wine was good too albeit a bit pricey. Service was good but later on after our gig at OVO we were faced with staff unable to make cocktails off their own menu, so disappointed. Breakfast was lovely and full of fresh and abundant choices.

First time eating at Recess. It was a cold and dreary day. The restaurant was full of activity and although it was busy the staff was very patient and accommodating to all who were there. The food was breakfast fare and a great selection. It was clean and well kept. There was also a patio on the Clyde that would be a great place when the weather cooperates.

Today was the hottest day of the year in Glasgow and after returning from dinner we decided to have a drink on the terrace and it was such a lovely place to sit by the river, we expected to have a breeze from the river Clyde and it wasn’t really there but it was just so lovely to see the river shimmering in the sunshine while enjoying our drinks. Would definitely recommend and will return.

We had Breakfast here after an overnight stay. Food was lovely and the choice was fantastic.

Had a prosecco afternoon tea here. Really nice and good value. Great views over the Clyde

Excellent food in relaxing surroundings with attentive staff. Breakfast also very good.

Pretty good food and very reasonable price. Great location in summer.

Lovely place staff very friendly great location what more could you want handy for the hydro and armadillo too

This place has the biggest Riverside seating in Glasgow. On a nice day its lovely sitting by the water. Service is to the table via an app. Nice selection of tea.

Once again had afternoon tea with a friend. Lovely and the views over the River Clyde and the Squinty Bridge are amazing, love the place and the setting. Friendly staff had a really nice day.

Daughter took me for a little afternoon tea for two, staff were helpful and friendly, atmosphere was good, had a lovely day

Excellent breakfast, great place to stay, staff very attentive, had dinner last night & I had the Recess Burger, wife had Steak Frites both were excellent, will definitely be back.

The staff here are fantastic. The food really enjoyable. Reasonably priced for food and drink. Will definitely be back.

Really nice, good wee afternoon tea for me and my wife, don't get the chance to go out by ourselves very often so when our niece got us this a a gift it was great, good value and tasty, sandwiches were nice but like most guys would prefer more sandwiches and less cakes but hey ho, anyway, staff lovely, food nice, lovely ambience, especially once the big lights were dimmed, would recommend

Nice and chilled atmosphere, food was tasty too!

Had afternoon tea last week. We were early and the waiter sat us quickly. The staff were friendly and professional. The cakes were ok but the sandwiches weren't very good, could do with some cheese or cold meat and more pastries. All in it was a lovely lunch.

Gluten free choices were good, and the food was very tasty. However, we'd been moved into a side room as there was a private function on, and it was literally 4 conference tables & conference chairs. It felt like it was the waitress' first day, and she was overwhelmed with 4 tables and the bar to manage.

Actually pretty surprised. After reading reviews my expectations were low but the food was really good! Service was Glasgow standard but reasonably quiet restaurant at 5pm even with shows on at hydro and armadillo

All four stars go to George and his fellow bar staff who made a super friendly and comfortable environment to enjoy a rare pint on the Clyde. Only deducting one star due to the evenings bar manager who was unfortunately far less great than his comrades. But keep on going George et al, we’ll be back for you!! 5 stars to George and the team!! Minus one star for the grumpy shift manager, poor service from him on the closing shift of 18 July 2022.

Great for afternoon tea. Maybe stingy on the cakes but not bad at all for the price. Would be excellent in the summer to sit outside on the Clyde and watch the shopping trolleys and bodies float past.

Lovely bar / restaurant. Decor is lovely and makes the whole place feel cosy. There are lovely views over the Clyde. The afternoon tea is great!

Nice place, great views of the Clyde and friendly staff. A wee bit slow at the bar and Giinness expensive at £6.75 a pint but town prices!

Nice welcoming place and quality of food was good, however for a veggie burger that was actually a bun with lettuce, tomato, mushroom and sauce the price was steep. I expected a veggie patte in the bun at that price. The nacho starter was tasty but the nachos a little charred. Brownie dessert was lovely except that the ice cream they served with it was crystally as it had clearly melted and re-frozen.

Sat outside, booked drinks via app, waited and waited, after 20mins went to the bar, was asked did I definitely use app, said yes, when they checked they apologised and said app not worked for some reason, then pressed a button on machine and suddenly my drinks order appeared. Place and atmosphere was fine.

Great place to sit out and have a drink if the weather's good but the food is under whelming.

Great staff, good range of drinks. Too cold to sit outside for long and very few places to sit inside. Breakfast was great

Great remote spot by Clyde River. Bottle craft beer served warmer than tap beer 🙁. Left to find real cold beer.

Food is decent however under staffed, queue at bar out the door, but great being riverside in the sun!

Supposed to have been open. Went in at 5 to 12. 2 employees there cleaning. No one said hello, or enquired about us and if we wanted to eat. Left after 5 minutes of complete ignorance by the team. For the restaurant of a big expensive hotel it's pretty low service in my opinion. Won't go there again.

Expensive, very slow service and food that wasn't worth the money or the wait. Paid £15 for fish and chips and after over an hour of waiting in a quiet restaurant, received a minuscule portion of fish served with what I strongly suspect were cheap frozen chips out of Iceland. Felt ripped off by a tourist trap that doesn't care about repeat business. Unless you're only going for overpriced drinks in a nice surrounding - avoid.

Disappointing - went here with a friend before heading to matinée panto over at SECC. Ordered at bar and got out drinks, no problem. Table of seven manoeuvred noisily into space beside us, all good. Then they started to receive food while we still sat with nothing - we'd ordered dirty fries and nachos so nothing complicated. Spoke with bar staff who highlighted to manager, promised food would be with us soon. 15mins later still nothing (by now we'd been there 45mins and needed to get moving to see start of show). Requested a refund of order which we did get, along with manager telling us issue caused by shift change in kitchen(?) - big table next to us got all their food fine so looked more likely that our order got lost somewhere. Just as we were being refunded a plate of dirty fries arrived in a small tapas style dish - I would not have considered it worth £12 so glad it was refunded. There are other options now around hydro and SECC, so would go elsewhere in future.

Food was excellent and was served promptly and the servers were polite and friendly. However the table service from the young waiter was poor. We were given different menus between us. When we asked, no apology or explanation, just swapped. Website gave no indication that the regular a la carte or fixed price menu were unavailable. Instead we had a small "festival" menu and was told "thats all we offer" so there were limited options. We never got given a drinks menu, and when I asked, the waiter rattled them off so quick we had to ask him to repeat. No alcohol-free beer. Had to ask for jug of water. No apology.. just "we're busy". Almost felt like "if you don't like it go somewhere else cos I don't care". Attitude was pretty dismal. Not rude, but very lacking in niceties, and as if he didn't really care. Although the food was great, I felt as if I was not really welcomed and, as such, I would not recommend and would take my business elsewhere. Only things going for it is that there was a nice comfortable and relaxing bar area outside by the river, which thr staff were great at clearing up, and it was convenient for going to the OVO or SEC. I also found it odd that the ground floor restrooms had no soap dispensers. Instead it was hand lotion!

The burger had so much salt it was almost inedible. Prices much higher than viewed online.

We ordered food and 40 mins later had to ask why it had not arrived, it came 10 mins after, was ok but we had to rush to get go a concert so couldn't really enjoy.

Very expensive and a 20p “admin fee” when ordering table service via the app, waited 25 minutes for a Guinness and a gin and tonic. Nice venue though on the river but very much taking advantage of people heading to the hydro for a show

Booked a table for a meal was not advised they had a reduced menu for ‘concerts’. This was not advised on booking and the menu was not inclusive to those that had food intolerances. Menu was not inclusive, staff were not polite advised they ‘should have advised when the table was booked a week in advance’ but they didn’t! After. 5 hour drive we are now left without any food for our evening. Not impressed at all.

Service was objectively poor. No drinks menu offered, no after service, couldn't find server, basically abandoned and ignored after food dropped off. Had to basically walk out the restaurant before they had the bill prepared. Poor service bordering on discriminatory. Restaurant was not even busy. Food was less than mediocre given the price and reputation. Underseasoned and underwhelmed. Could not recommend.

The guy at the bar is unbelievably rude. Not even basic manners. Customer service sucks. Avoid this place!

Received no food after 70 minutes of waiting, had to chase the manager several times and eventually got a refund with no sign of the food. Avoid if getting food on the way to a show if you want to make it on time!