Amore Ristorante e Pizzeria offers a cozy, welcoming atmosphere for enjoying classic Italian cuisine and freshly baked pizzas. Located in Glasgow's Merchant City, this restaurant is a favorite for families and friends seeking hearty meals, from pasta dishes to specialty pizzas. The friendly staff and inviting ambiance make it a go-to spot for casual dining and celebrations, with a focus on fresh ingredients and traditional recipes.
It's an absolute shame.
Please note, I’m not a huge Italian food lover. I visited this place once many years ago (around 2017) and returned yesterday as I had a gift card from a friend to use. Unfortunately, nothing has changed my mind about this restaurant.
The interior is lovely,very cosy with a nice atmosphere but that’s where the positives end. You don’t go to a restaurant just for the vibe.
We decided to mix the lunch menu with the à la carte options. The starters were a mix of good and bad. We ordered Bruschetta Marie Rose, Tortino di Patate, and Spicy Chicken Wings as an extra.
The Tortino di Patate was absolutely lovely and highly recommend it.I would happily order this as a main if it were available.The chicken wings were edible,just okay: four pieces, very saucy and tasty, but nothing special.
Unfortunately,the Bruschetta Marie Rose (with a £2.50 supplement for the prawn cocktail topping) was tasteless, lacking garlic, very soggy, and served on cold bread. There was also no balsamic vinegar, and the prawn portion was inadequate to the price.
For mains,we have ordered Penne Dell’Amore and Fish and Chips (as I’m not a fan of pasta or pizza). The penne was just okay, which is quite embarrassing for an Italian restaurant.The ingredients seemed fresh but lacked flavour and seasoning.
The fish and “chips” were the worst I’ve ever had, and the £3 supplement felt like a complete robbery.The fish was very thin and overpowered by thick, tasteless breadcrumbs with a horrible bitter aftertaste.The fries were extremely hard, so much so you could damage your teeth. The tartare sauce was smooth with no texture and tasted awful.I left nearly the whole dish untouched, and no one asked if anything was wrong.
We only ordered one dessert,a lemon tart,which was served warm like an apple cake.Again,completely tasteless. At the very least,some sugar could have helped.A lemon dessert should be sharp and refreshing, but this had only a faint, artificial lemon flavour.
The atmosphere was lovely and very cosy with a true Italian feel. The staff and service were good overall, except for the fact that no one checked on the food despite a full plate being left.When we asked for the bill, we waited ages to pay and this was on a Thursday evening.I can’t imagine how long it would take on a very busy weekend.
Btw service charge should not be added automatically and it should be left up to me to leave you tips.
I wouldn’t recommend this place for food unless you’re looking for low quality dining. There are plenty of great restaurants to choose from in Glasgow’s Merchant City.
It’s such a shame,as this place has huge potential. I honestly don’t understand why it’s so busy here at weekends.
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Rene Hughes
via Google
· 8 months ago
This pizza shop is absolutely amazing! From the moment you walk in, the staff is welcoming, friendly, and attentive. The pizzas are always fresh, hot, and loaded with delicious toppings. The crust is perfectly baked, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. The menu offers a great variety of flavors, from classic favorites to creative specialty options. The ambiance is cozy and inviting, making it a perfect place for families, friends, and casual dining. I will definitely come back again!
C
Claire Anderson
via Google
· 9 months ago
Went here tonight with my family and was wonderful! The atmosphere of the restaurant is very nice and is very welcoming and I’ve came here multiple times and never had a bad meal. The meals are always fresh and hot, Our favourite place to eat when in Glasgow! ⭐️
C
Carla
via Google
· 11 months ago
Staff were super friendly and the service was great! Sadly, the food wasn’t probably the worst lasagna I’ve ever had.
K
Karen Gardiner
via Google
· 1 year ago
Birthday Dinner at Amore – A Mixed Experience
We recently visited Amore to celebrate my mum’s birthday, a detail I had informed the restaurant about when making the reservation 3 weeks prior. Upon arrival, the venue was extremely busy, but we were pleasantly surprised to be seated 15 minutes early.
Ambience & Seating
The restaurant was quite compact, with tables placed very close together. This made seating rather cramped and navigating around other diners and staff difficult. There was minimal room on the tables for plates and glasses, and we had to plthe drinks menus on the floor behind us just to make space. The restaurant also felt overwhelmingly warm, which added to the discomfort as all windows were closed. At the entrance, guests are required to squeeze past others in the queue just to exit — a dedicated entrance and exit would be a more practical solution as would opening windows.
Service
Our server was likely Alba, as that was the name listed on our receipt. She took our drinks order promptly and was friendly and helpful throughout. She gave us time to review the menu, was great about substitutions, and offered helpful recommendations for dishes.
That said, the pacing of the meal was problematic. There was very little time between courses, and our main courses were brought out while we were still eating our starters. Rather than returning the mains to the kitchen, we had to quickly finish a few mouthfuls of starters and hand our plates over to make room. This disrupted the meal and left us too full to enjoy our mains properly. We mentioned it to Alba, who apologised and explained there had been a mix-up in the kitchen, but the issue still impacted our experience.
We also felt rushed during the main course — we were asked if we had finished less than 10 minutes after being served, which made it feel as though we were being hurried through the meal and out the door.
Food
The food itself was a mix of highs and lows. The starters were served hot and fresh and were generally very enjoyable. Among the mains, the Chicken Parmo and Pollo Amore stood out as the highlights — both were flavourful and well-cooked. I ordered the Pollo Amore with the chorizo sauce on the side; although the sauce tasted more like a cheese sauce than chorizo, it was still tasty.
Unfortunately, the Penne Amore didn’t hit the mark. My mum found the pasta too al dente for her liking and ended up swapping with my partner, who had ordered the Cajun Chicken Pasta. While she preferred the Cajun dish, the chicken in it was not great either — lacking flavour and overall not very enjoyable.
Dessert & Final Impressions
Due to the rushed service and the early arrival of the mains while we were still finishing our starters, we felt uncomfortably full and unable to properly enjoy the rest of the meal. As a result, we didn’t stay for dessert and instead had to take the remaining food away. This was disappointing, especially on a special occasion, as we had hoped to enjoy a full, relaxed meal.
Missed Opportunities
As this was a birthday booking, we were disappointed that there was no acknowledgment or gesture to mark the occasion, especially since it had been mentioned at the time of booking. A simple recognition would have gone a long way in making the evening feel more special.
Overall
While there were some positives — particularly the service from Alba and a few standout dishes — the overall experience felt rushed and uncomfortable. The cramped layout, poor course timing, and missed opportunity to make a birthday celebration memorable detracted from what could have been a much more enjoyable evening. With a few operational improvements, Amore has the potential to offer a far better dining experience.
