We recoil at the ox heart tartare posted as one of tonight's specials on the chalk board.

"It's a valve," says Bobby, meaning the heart of course, and I agree, while trying to picture what raw heart is going to look like on the plate. I am never entirely sure whether offal is eaten nowadays because people genuinely like it or simply because food snobs see it as an opportunity to distance themselves from the rest of us.

Anyway, we are unfamiliar with the kitchen here so we lose our bottle and plump instead for something slightly less extreme: crubeen. Pig's trotter to you and me and a once-great staple of the Irish, who ate them wrapped in newspaper from the back of fast-food vans. Crubeen is uber fashionable and Irish chef Richard Corrigan's version recently featured not only on that never-ever-ending yawnfest The Great British Menu, but in his Mayfair restaurant too. No pressure then on the chefs at The Grumpy Goat, who are nothing if not bold in the rebirth of this pub, which was once famous to a whole generation as The Stirling Castle.

There is also pressed Ayrshire pig's head on the menu and pigs' ears. I have had both of these before and the latter tasted like rubber bands. And don't get me started on Italian tendon salad which, thankfully, is not on offer here. Is there a market for all this head-to-toe gorefest, we ask ourselves as we crunch through a refreshing vegetarian dish of Clyde Valley cauliflower fritters dipped in what tastes like a lime pickle-infused mayonnaise. They sell burgers and steaks too in what, I think as we look around the place, is a nice, almost chintzy, distinctly uncarnivorish decor with table lamps and wing chairs and meek but pretty pastels.

Incidentally, the staff are so enthusiastic about the food it is like being served by a cross between Tigger and the Andrex puppy. I feel awful when I give one an honest answer to the crubeen question. What did we think of it? Erm … it tasted kind of oily from the too-cool frier, was accompanied by the blandest slice of beetroot and the crubeen itself was, um, tasteless. Corrigan puts ham hough in the mix for a good reason: it adds flavour. Worse, although this crubeen is coated in crispy fried oatmeal, what should have been unctuous soft meat inside was punctuated by moments of gristle and sinew and chewy skin.

We turn in desperation to a lovely looking dish of pickled beef hash with a fried egg atop. But it turns out to be so startlingly, appallingly salty and dry that we poke at it in bewilderment and ask: what's happening in here tonight? I know it is a Monday but isn't anybody tasting the food? At least there is a lovely moist piece of cod loin fried in salt-and-peppered flour, served with cod cheek pakora. And lentils. The cheeks are firm and full flavoured and the batter is just on the right side of heavy. But should the pakora and the cod loin be on the same plate? In these large portions? Isn't there perhaps the making of two great separate dishes here? And that is before we even get to the unnecessary spiced lentil broth beneath it all.

Best, too, to draw a veil over the Tarporley goat leg, which comes in pressed discs of disappointing meat with damp but nonetheless tasty sweetcorn pancakes. Thank goodness I ordered a side dish of crisp, crunchy, floury chips out of curiosity.

There is some very limited success with a gooey coffee and Bailey's Irish cream dessert served with freshly cooked doughnuts. But it has not been a great night for The Grumpy Goat. Or for the grumpy reviewer. The dangers of being bold are that if you get it wrong it turns into carnage - of the wrong kind. There are strengths in here, but they would benefit from a more focused and less ambitious menu.

The Grumpy Goat

90 Old Dumbarton Road, Glasgow (thegrumpygoat glasgow.co.uk, 0141 237 4730)

Menu

Ox heart tartare, crubeen, cod cheek pakora and even pressed pig's head. It's the shock end of the market. 3/5

Atmosphere

Chintzy, very comfortable pub with pastels and a relaxed ambience that belies the gorefest on the menu. 4/5

Service

Staff could talk the hind legs off a donkey if the kitchen staff hadn't already eyed it up for a pate. Kidding. Pleasant but way keen. 4/5

Price

Good value. Main courses about £12 and starters at £5. We paid £9 for the crubeen but had no idea what course it was supposed to be. 4/5

Food

Bit of a car crash when we were in, with disappointing crubeen and grim goat's leg interspersed with great cod cheek pakora. Menu needs rethink. 5/10

TOTAL 20/30

If you know a restaurant Ron should review, email ronmackenna@fastmail.fm.