"Popped in for a late lunch on a dreary afternoon, I 'd seen that they had a Vegan pizza on the menu, so I was looking forward to trying out this new addition to Byres Road. First impressions were that the place is huge, like the tardis or layers of an onion it just keeps on going! Sadly due to the lack of customers at around 3pm, it almost felt like watching the maiden voyage of the titanic, having already read the script. The staff the manager in particular looked bored a little disheartened. Anyway, having been sat down in a wee corner booth, I took a moment to look around. As you 'd expect the restaurant looks brand new, they 've gone for a much cleaner, brighter whiter look than their branch on Sauchiehall St. The white tiles and metallic trims on the bar and kitchen give it an industrial look albeit one that 's been done to death . The faux-vintage wall decoration just seemed odd didn 't really fit together. On the kitchen counter, they had two bags with today 's dough preparing written on them, which felt like a bit of a cheap gimmick you wouldn 't want to leave dough to prove in the middle of a restaurant.. I ordered the Classic Pianta, with Artichoke, Mushroom, Spinach and chilli flakes. The pizza was OK, sadly nothing memorable, it was heaped with rocket and lacked pine kernels and garlic oil, so it tasted a bit like most people 's impression of Vegan food: lacking in flavour and covered in grass. It took a longer than expected to get the bill, possibly cause the rest of the staff were on the other side of the restaurant /Byres road , but thankfully the waiter didn 't disappear while the bill was settled. Sadly this first visit didn 't really give a great impression of the latest addition to Byres Road. I 'm sure when the restaurant is full it 'll actually be quite vibrant. The lighter decor gives the impression that it 's been designed to be a social space rather than subdued/intimate. My only concern is that business will never be sufficient to sustain this large space given the number of great pizza options available in the West End and Glasgow as a whole . Maybe Pizza Express on Byres Road is a bit of a slow burner, but for now I 'm not convinced it 'll remain a long term fixture in the heart of the West End."
Diavolo
