Photo of
March 4, 2020

Opened at the end of January, the popular bar sits in the New Street premises which once housed Café Borgia.

Sometimes called the most Scottish town in Italy, Barga in Tuscany has close links with Scotland thanks to generations of emigration and immigration going back nearly two centuries.

In its own, rather in-your-face way, Paisley's Barga celebrates those links with a menu which, among many other things, goes big on pizza cooked in a wood-fired oven.

'Good beer. Dirty cocktails. Decent banter. Better vibes' is one of its more printable logos and we could add 'solid beats and eclectic DJs' to the mix of attractions. Main pic is from Barga Facebook.

Wood-fired pizza

Hand-stretching the pizza.

Hand-stretching the pizza. Pic: Facebook.

As is traditional, Barga has had some fun with their pizza names. We're fine with Meat is murder for one of the veggie options but it was the Pig trouble in Little China that had us snorting our morning gin over the keyboard.

If you are not in the mood for pizza, Barga also offers Turkey's take on the topped flatbread and serves pide with roast peppers, grated halloumi, onion, pomegranate and a garlic dressing.

Moving right away from the flatbreads, the menu is not afraid to do a fair bit of globe-trotting. A Vietnamese pork salad, Singapore noodles, a chicken katsu curry and lamb shawarma all pop up among the main courses while nacho soup, prawn tacos and buffalo wings line up with other starters such as the corn fritters and halloumi fries.

Looking a little closer to home there are main course options such as mac 'n' cheese, classic fish 'n' chips and the Barga! Barga! Burger!

Churros with chilli chocolate

Dessert might be waffles, a cheesecake or churros with a chilli chocolate dip - a selection that pretty much covers most of the major food groups.

Alongside a Margarita, Bramble and a Cosmo, there are cocktails that nod to Barga's Italian roots.

Say Buongiorno to a Negroni or an Aperol Spritz.