If you’re looking for a quick bite and a pint while wandering around Glasgow city centre, The Ark is a good example of a “get what you pay for” establishment.

Being practically on George Square, The Ark is a well-known bar among students and mid-to-late 20’s folk. It has that modern look going for it, similar to nearby pubs – Bar Home and Maggie Mays. A convenient stop for Strathclyde students and shoppers in the city alike, the bar is never too quiet and on the weekends can actually get pretty busy.

I’m a big fan of going to The Ark for drinks, as it’s a lively place and has a great beer garden too, but I find the food doesn’t quite cut it.

The menu is surprisingly extensive, given that it’s first and foremost a bar. Covering an entire A3 page, it boasts many items from burgers and hotdogs to fish n chips. I had the “Dirty Burger” – an unconventional construction consisting of 2 patties, a slice of grilled chicken breast, pulled pork, BBQ sauce, gherkins, and finished off with a “creamy macaroni cheese bite”. While I appreciate the creativity required to think up such a novel dish, it didn’t really leave me with a desire for more. The patties didn’t have much flavour to them and the chicken had that rubbery texture you’ve no doubt experienced in dodgey takeaways (I’m looking at you, Chicken Choice). I entertained the idea of the macaroni cheese bite but ultimately decided it didn’t belong in a burger. The dish came with fries and also a bowl of Boston BBQ beans – you get a lot on your plate.

Kevin went for the classic hotdog, while Elspeth had the Asian chicken salad, which has lettuce, tomato, red onion, cucumber, peas, and chicken breast. Both said their meals were enjoyable.

The extraordinarily average quality is obvious in the sharing platter we also bought: dry chicken wings, soggy breaded mushrooms, and nachos without cheese (what?). This is what defined “Tray No 2”. All three of us agreed that the platter was sub-standard, but at three quid each it’s hard to complain. For £9.95 you get chicken wings, garlic bread, breaded mushrooms, wedges, southern-fried chicken, and “nachos”. The garlic bread wasn’t so bad.

I feel like this is a typical symptom of a problem The Ark has with its food. You get a lot for the price you pay, however I’d much rather pay more and receive a higher quality meal. This ties into the huge variety in their menu. If they stripped down their menu to maybe a few core items then (I would hope) in theory they could put more love and warmth into each dish.

I recently visited Handmade Burger Company for the first time. While it was definitely overpriced – the fantastic burger I enjoyed more than made up for it. And that’s what I remember when I think of them now – the food, not the price.

This is what The Ark doesn’t understand.