CAFES
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GLASGOW
CAFES This year’s café selection is as diverse as ever, with some interesting trends. While enthusiasm for cupcakes continues apparently unabated, artisan baking is widespread, so if you fancy a salted caramel brownie or a malted pumpkin seed loaf you won’t have far to go. Carefully sourced food is also increasingly available, with numerous outlets using top-quality ingredients, local suppliers, seasonal produce and ethical trade. Social values are at work too – many cafés host community events, while outlets such as the Glad Café, a funky Southside social enterprise combining café with creative arts venue, are showing that worthy doesn’t need to mean mung beans and sandals. From greasy spoon to deli-café, urbane coffee bar to couthy tearoom – Glasgow’s cafés offer a vast array of culinary experiences. Reviewers: Jane Allan, Kat Borrowdale, Malcolm Jack, Suzy Mercer, Laura Muetzelfeldt, Andrea Mullaney
Alba 481 Great Western Road, West End, G12 8HL (Map 9A: F2, 68) 0141 237 7902, albacafe.wordpress.com | Tue–Sat 9am–5pm. Closed Sun/Mon. Veg; BYOB; Kids; T/A. £6.25 (set lunch)
The couple who run this small café seem to know most of their customers and like to share a joke or two with them, which makes for a nice neighbourhood feel. The inclusion of halal chicken, vegan food and gluten-free dishes among more typical café fare is down to that interaction after regulars made requests, while many ingredients come from the artisan shops a couple of yards away. As well as doing a busy breakfast trade, they serve soups – several varieties changing daily – Àlling sandwiches, quiches, baked potatoes, toasties and cake, the latter
KEY Veg = 25% of main courses are vegetarian. Pre = Pre-theatre menu. Post = Post-theatre menu. BYOB = Bring your own bottle (corkage charge in brackets). HW = House wine cost per bottle. Kids = Children’s portions served and other facilities available. Wh = Wheelchair access and disabled toilet. T/A = Takeaway food. D = Delivery. Price in bold = Average cost of a two-course evening meal for one. The price of a set lunch is shown; otherwise we show the average cost of a two-course lunch for one. For full explanations see page 4.
128 The List Eating & Drinking Guide
made on the premises. While the small tables downstairs are a little cramped, upstairs there’s a more spacious feel with couches and a Àne view of bustling Great Western Road. + Cheery service - Tiny tables
All That is Coffee South Block, 60 Osborne Street, City Centre, G1 5QH See Arts Venues & Attractions
4 An Clachan Off La Belle Place, West End, G3 7LH (Map 9B: E1, 42) 07846 463614, kelvingroveparkcafe.co.uk | Mon–Fri 8am–5pm; Sat 9am–5pm; Sun 10am– 5pm. Kids; Wh; T/A; D. £8 (lunch)
A genuinely inspired eatery. From the delicately displayed cupcakes to the welllit, nicely designed interior, it projects a contemporary, taste-driven approach. Its ethical stance is no less impressive, with locally sourced veg, ethically Àshed tuna and the recycling of all materials. It clearly beneÀts from being in the playpark at the edge of Kelvingrove Park, with families Áocking to sample such tempting offerings as pasta salads, ciabatta pizzas, gourmet sausage rolls, veggie burgers and an all-day breakfast with Stornoway black pudding and Ramsay sausages. The vegan and veggie burgers are a particular highlight, made from a chilli which varies enough to get regulars returning weekly – full of tomato and paprika Áavours, they go well with the soft, Áoury bun in the style of a ciabatta. Seasonal salads are also a sure bet, such as freshly made pesto and orzo pasta. A delight of great food and cooking in an idyllic setting. + Consistently excellent food - Prices can be prohibitive
[Another] Piece 387 Great Western Road, West End, G4 9HY See Cafés: Wee Places
Veg; BYOB (Nothing); Kids; Wh; T/A. £9 (lunch) / £9 (dinner)
With Byres Road not exactly lacking trendy cafés, it’s an enterprising newcomer that thrives there, and Avenue G has proven itself just that since 2011. Bringing a little New York coffee chic to the West End’s main artery, it’s the kind of place where they treat coffee-making like an art form, and want you to know your barista by name. They’re just as serious about food too – the sandwiches (which you can get whole or halved with fresh soup) are all made fresh to order, optionally on gluten-free bread, in variants from wild roast venison to Loch Duart hot-smoked salmon. Breakfasts include continental favourites plus eggs en cocotte – French baked eggs with a toasted mufÀn and your choice of cheese, ham, bacon or salmon. For something sweet see the cabinet of temptation – full of freshly baked tarts, pies, mufÀns and brownies which taste as good as they look. + Table service as standard - Where’s the cream with the brownie?
Bagel Mania 338 Sauchiehall St, City Centre, G2 3JD See Cafés: Wee Places
The Balcony Café Upstairs @ The Glasgow Climbing Centre, 534 Paisley Road West, Southside, G51 1RN See Arts Venues & Attractions
The Bay Tree Café 403 Great Western Road, West End, G4 9HY (Map 9A: G2, 83) 0141 334 5898, baytreecafe.com | Mon–Sat 9am– 10.30pm; Sun 9am–9.30pm. Veg; Pre; BYOB (No charge; One bottle limit per couple, no spirits); Kids; T/A. £7.95 (set lunch) / £15 (dinner)
This Bay Tree can count a good few rings in its trunk; it’s been around for over 50 years and was one of the Àrst Arabian restaurants in Scotland. With
large portion sizes, and generous servings of salad and creamy hummus served with almost everything, this warm and inviting café is an easy place to relax with friends, or to have a laid-back but substantial evening meal. The Turkish potato chap is a mildly-spiced meatball encased in potato shell, while the aubergines are cooked beautifully, without a hint of bitterness and with a deeply infused garlicky Áavour. Soya ice-cream for dessert can also be served as a milkshake, and the giant mufÀns are moist and rich. Look out for specials like the aubergine bake, which is a tomato-based dish laden with tangy notes and soft, melting aubergine. Service is unobtrusive yet effortlessly friendly. + Well-honed, healthy dishes served with heaps of salad - Perhaps a little too relaxed for diners in a hurry
Big Mouth Coffee Bar and Café 167 Dumbarton Road, West End, G11 6AA (Map 9A: B3, 9) 0141 337 7023, bigmouthcoffeecompany.co.uk | Mon–Fri 8am–6pm; Sat 9am–6pm; Sun 10am–6pm. Veg; BYOB (£2, 50p beer); Kids; Wh; T/A. £4.95 (set lunch)
With mismatched chairs, comfy sofas and rotating art exhibitions, this space has the relaxed cool of a café in one of Brooklyn’s more popular neighbourhoods. There’s enough elbow room to read in peace, or bring little ones without feeling self-conscious, and helpful staff give this place a homely feel. A selection of traybakes, like caramel shortcake and tifÀn, sit alongside an array of tempting cakes while more substantial offerings should contain something to prompt a return visit. The chicken fajita is freshly made, with tender chicken and creamy guacamole, and the spicy tomato soup packs quite a punch. Children are well catered for (even milkshakes can be ordered in half-
Arcaffe 7 North Claremont Street, West End, G3 7NR See Italian
4 Artisan Roast 15–17 Gibson Street, West End, G12 8NU (Map 9A: F3, 78) 07776 428409, artisanroast.co.uk | Mon–Fri 8am–6pm; Sat 9am–6pm; Sun 9am–6.30pm. Veg; Wh; T/A. £6 (lunch)
Sneer as you might at Artisan Roast as a haven where West End hipsters gather to get their caffeine Àx while tapping a Macbook, but this boho haunt has substance to match the style. The coffee – all roasted in-house twice-weekly – is as good a cup as you’ll Ànd in the city. But manager Megan Barker wants Artisan Roast to be known as much for its victuals as its java, and there’s a slim but high-quality selection of vegetarian and vegan sweet and savoury food options – while stocks last. Doorstepthick sandwiches carved from a fresh loaf of locally baked bread are loaded with Àllings, and can be accompanied with a cup or bowl of soup. Other days there might be a quiche or veggie rolls on, while sweets can range from banana and blackberry loaf to chocolate vegan cake. Everything’s made fresh in-house daily and they hate waste, so once it’s gone it’s gone. + Fantastic black stuff - Why no Wi-Fi?
Avenue G 291 Byres Road, West End, G12 8TL (Map 9A: C1, 47) 0141 339 5336, avenue-g.com | Mon–Sun 8.30am–7pm.
Piece (page 134): gourmet sandwiches at this Finnieston favourite