I had been craving a big old piece of cow on a plate for a while so I decided to ‘steak out’ this joint called Mahony’s.

The restaurant, situated in Bishopbriggs town centre, was bustling for a Saturday night with a musician belting out everything from Ed Sheeran to my old favourite Buddy Holly.

Toots was in fine form too, humming along to every song while we both perused the menu.

“Dollface,” I whispered. “What?” she replied giving me a raised eyebrow.

“I suddenly don’t feel like a steak,” I replied. She rolled her eyes and ranted as I looked at everything else in the menu but steak.

You see, I was seated on a cow pattern booth so suddenly the idea of steak wasn’t appealing as it was when I first chose to dine at a steakhouse.

My fussiness aside, the menu was bustling with other options so I had lots to chose from.

To start, I picked the grilled halloumi salad while her ladyship opted for the garlic king prawns. The starters arrived and the first thing that jumped out at me was that they both had iceberg lettuce. I am a bit of a lettuce snob and I felt that this was the cheaper option for a side salad. It instantly put me off my starter especially when there is so many lettuce options on the market. I, however, dug in and the halloumi tasted okay, it wasn’t anything special though. Toots tucked into her king krawns with the same feeling about the lettuce.

Our mains arrived soon after. I decided on a classic margherita pizza with some onions. I also asked for onion rings on the side to satisfy my hunger. Toots went for the penne parmagiano and complained about how we should have gone to an Italian instead of a steakhouse, especially when I did not order any meat off the menu.

The pizza was a bit bland and cheesy to be honest. I was looking forward to it with the stone-baked description on the menu grabbing my attention but it was nothing to shout home about. The onion rings also appeared to be coated in potato and were more soft than crispy. It was a meal which sat heavy on my stomach once I took my last bite, maybe I should have had the steak after all.

Toots raved about her pasta and excitedly said it was a dish she would order again. A good sign if her ladyship approves.

Mahony’s has a feel of community about and I am sure it serves its purpose in Bishopbriggs by offering casual dining and a superb atmosphere.

But this ole gumshoe sets the steaks high when it comes to food, and Mahony’s didn’t meet the mark.

Mahony’s Steakhouse

181-183 Kirkintilloch Road, Bishopbriggs, Glasgow, G64 2LS

Telephone: 0141 772 4455

Food: **

Atmosphere: ****

Service: *

Starters:

Grilled halloumi salad £5

Garlic king prawns £7

Mains:

Margherita pizza £9

Onions £1.50

Penne parmagiano £9

Onion rings £3

Drinks:

Diet Coke £3.50 x 2 £7

Soda water and lime £2

Total:

£43.50