Now for the second leg of the Scottish trip: Glasgow. The edgier, some say cooler Scottish city, saw huge improvements in the wake of The Commonwealth Games. It's fair to say, with a thriving creative community who are dedicated to making the city the best it can be, Glasgow will just keep on getting better.
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| Glasgow Commonwealth Mural |
I was visiting my best friend from uni, Lisa. She's a lady who loves her food and cares about her coffee so we ate and drank our way through her favourite spots.
1. Pena
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| Me photographing my favourite sign |
A lovely cup of coffee and a toastie for £4? Yes please. Pena is fairly new on the Glasgow scene, but it's chipboard interior and faux grass exterior give it a fun makeshift feel. The owner lives in Japan, and brought back the paper lanterns that hang from the ceiling, giving the place the air of a cafe you might stumble upon whilst travelling. The designer in me couldn't get enough of the wooden sign and menu, with its laser cut black letters and shapes.
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| Pena's incredible sign |
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| Japanese lanterns give the space a travelling feel |
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Lisa and Ollie
2. Ashton Lane
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We walked off the toastie through Merchant City: a cobbled pretty street lined with black beamed white cottagey style buildings. Come dark, it's lit with hundreds of fairy lights.
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| Ashton Lane |
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| A lovely traditional looking cinema, Ashton Lane |
On past Hanoi bike shop, a nice little cafe that was the subject of Beyonce's Instagram pic when she last visited.
Cafe Zique
We stopped for a mid morning snack and coffee in Cafe Zique. It's lined in beautiful wooden panels, making it feel cosy and the science room stools and metal zinc long tables keep it contemporary and cool.
While we watched the chefs and bakers gear up for lunch through the open plan kitchen, our creamy coffee and Portugese custard cake was brought on a wooden slab. Ollie had a salmon 'piece' (the Scottish word for sandwich), which was sliced from a giant one meter wide one, made daily.
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| custard cake and coffee |
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| The salmon piece |
Drygate
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| Drygate's sunny deck |
Situated in a former box factory in Glasgow's east end we were lucky enough to spend a rare sunny afternoons sampling Drygate's craft beer on the sun-trap terrace outside. Glasgow based design studio, D8 branded the space and I love the Glasgow School of Art student's illustrations on the beer labels.
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| Drygate's patterned staircase |
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| Chalk board tables and menu |
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| The best beers - Beavertown |
After a few beers, the hunger pangs kicked in and we ordered perfectly crispy, beer battered cod and chips. The dinky copper pots of homemade mushy peas and tartare sauce were a lovely little touch.
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| Perfect Fish & Chips |
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| Mandatory trendy bikes line the railings |
drygate.com
Ox and Finch
For our last night, we dined in one of Glasgow's newest eateries: Ox and Finch. Trendy small plates and a low lit cosy boothes, with a strong industrial stamp on the interior side - we chatted and ate for hours. Food hightlights were the barrata mozzerella and onglet steak. Book in advance for this popular place.
oxandfinch.com
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| Born & Bred city maps - Lisa Henderson |
Have a look at Lisa's lovely design website here. I love her Born & Bred screen printed city maps(pictured above), which typographically show the best of what her favourite cities have to offer.
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