Bar Dani

The grill was built into the room before the room opened, and it burns coals for Galician blonde beef, the old dairy cattle whose yellow fat is the point of an asador.

Why go

Alec Dyson runs the Kelvingrove Cafe as general manager, and in June 2026 he opened his own room across Argyle Street with the cafe's owners, Kirsty and Barry Oates, backing him. His reason for the format is family: "Having very strong links to the Basque Country, I've always wanted to open something that nods to that extremely social (and sometimes hectic) way of drinking" (Glasgow Live). An asador is a grill house, and the custom-built one here sits behind the bar where you can watch it, with Stephen Crawford in the kitchen. Beef comes from Galicia and the fish and shellfish come from Scotland. Just over 40 covers, plus standing.

Order this / avoid

• Order: the gilda at GBP 4, since it is the original pintxo and the fastest read on a Basque bar's sourcing: anchovy, olive and a pickled guindilla pepper on one skewer, and the anchovy has nowhere to hide. Then clams and txistorra at GBP 14, txistorra being the thin, fast-cured Basque sausage that renders paprika fat straight into the shellfish liquor. The bavette with frites and Dani sauce is GBP 18, and the burnt Basque cheesecake is GBP 7 (Bar Dani).
• Avoid: planning a long sit-down. Every table is high seating by the venue's own house rules, and under-18s are not admitted after 6pm.

What locals & experts say

• No critic has reviewed it yet. The List, Scotsman Food and Drink, The Glasgow Bell, Glasgowist and The Skinny were searched by name on 29 July 2026 and none has published on Bar Dani. The room is roughly a month old, and that absence is the honest state of the record.
• Glasgow Live (Sean Murphy, 4 June 2026), quoting Dyson on what the room is meant to feel like: "We want plenty of energy. We're going for lights down, music up." On the kitchen, Dyson says "The food will be ingredient-led, focusing on cooking over coals." ref
• Foodie Explorers (Emma Mykytyn, 7 June 2026), on the drinks range at the counter: "There are over 20 wines by the glass available, as well as Basque cider, cocktails. Vermouth and beer." ref

Good to know

• Where: 1126 Argyle Street, on the Finnieston strip, opposite the Kelvingrove Cafe.
• Timing: hours are not published on the venue's site and no reachable source carries them. Check before travelling.
• Booking: tables are bookable online; the counter and the standing room absorb walk-ins.
• Drinks: Spanish list with sherry and vermouth, bottles from about GBP 30, plus Basque cider and a freezer martini.
• Hygiene: the Food Hygiene Information Scheme lists the premises as awaiting its first inspection, recorded 25 June 2026. New site, no rating yet. ref
• Provenance: added by curation, not from Jeff's own list.

Verdict (Chef Jeff ladder)

could-visit — A 40-cover Basque wine bar and asador that opened on the Finnieston strip in June 2026, built around a coal grill behind the bar and a Spain-only wine list with more than 20 by the glass. Alec Dyson runs it with the couple who own the Kelvingrove Cafe across the road, and the food is priced to graze: gilda at GBP 4, bavette and frites at GBP 18. The Galician blonde beef and the live-fire setup are the interesting part for anyone who cooks. It sits at could-visit rather than higher because nobody outside the ownership has assessed a plate of it yet.