,%2066%20Hyndland%20Street,%20Glasgow.jpg)
Soup
WHERE TO FIND GOOD SOUP IN GLASGOW
CAFEZIQUE, 66 HYNDLAND STREET (WEST END)
A very attractive modern interior has been built into this old corner shop. The exterior still bears some of the original shop's painted decoration, including the wording, 'HARGAN'S DAIRY'. The fact that the cafe owners have seen fit to leave this link with Glasgow's past still in place is a very good sign. Inside, the soup is good. As well as the Scottish soup, 'Cullen Skink', there is one other on each day. The soup is made two doors along at Delizique, a wonderful delicatessen whose various ingredients provide a rich source for the soup heaven.
A very attractive modern interior has been built into this old corner shop. The exterior still bears some of the original shop's painted decoration, including the wording, 'HARGAN'S DAIRY'. The fact that the cafe owners have seen fit to leave this link with Glasgow's past still in place is a very good sign. Inside, the soup is good. As well as the Scottish soup, 'Cullen Skink', there is one other on each day. The soup is made two doors along at Delizique, a wonderful delicatessen whose various ingredients provide a rich source for the soup heaven.
COTTIER'S, 93-95 HYNDLAND STREET (WEST END)
This old church keeps cropping up, and rightly so, for it is a magnificent source of all things good in the city of Glasgow. They have one soup on each day, ranging from the humble and undoubtedly tasty 'Cream of Mushroom' to some very interesting varieties like, 'Tomato with Cumin, Red Pepper & Chickpea', and 'Butternut Squash with Chilli & Ginger.' That's all I'm going to say because I'm now salivating so much that I fear I may drown my keyboard.
This old church keeps cropping up, and rightly so, for it is a magnificent source of all things good in the city of Glasgow. They have one soup on each day, ranging from the humble and undoubtedly tasty 'Cream of Mushroom' to some very interesting varieties like, 'Tomato with Cumin, Red Pepper & Chickpea', and 'Butternut Squash with Chilli & Ginger.' That's all I'm going to say because I'm now salivating so much that I fear I may drown my keyboard.
NAKED SOUP, 6 KERSLAND STREET (WEST END)
A small and unassuming cafe that probably serves the most comprehensive range of soup in Glasgow. From a vast and hugely impressive repertoire of something like 40 soups, they generally make and serve four each day. 'Lentil with Sweet Potato and Coconut' is on every day. The other three could be anything from 'Broccoli and Cauliflower' to 'Italian Pea and Basil' or 'Potato and Sweetcorn Chowder'. There are no preservatives or colourings or artificial flavourings or genetically modified things in their soup, and they do their utmost to utilise organic and free-range ingredients wherever possible. To cap it all, each bowl of soup is served with good bread and some fresh fruit. This is a cafe you could so easily pass by, but it is in fact a cafe that you simply cannot afford to miss.
A small and unassuming cafe that probably serves the most comprehensive range of soup in Glasgow. From a vast and hugely impressive repertoire of something like 40 soups, they generally make and serve four each day. 'Lentil with Sweet Potato and Coconut' is on every day. The other three could be anything from 'Broccoli and Cauliflower' to 'Italian Pea and Basil' or 'Potato and Sweetcorn Chowder'. There are no preservatives or colourings or artificial flavourings or genetically modified things in their soup, and they do their utmost to utilise organic and free-range ingredients wherever possible. To cap it all, each bowl of soup is served with good bread and some fresh fruit. This is a cafe you could so easily pass by, but it is in fact a cafe that you simply cannot afford to miss.
THE 78, KELVINHAUGH STREET, FINNIESTON
Isn't it funny how it's the same places cropping up time and time again. Well, there is a good reason for that. For any owner who cares enough to have a real fire and a good range of ales and ciders is also going to care about soup. The food served in this fine pub is vegan, which means they have to have all the ingredients specially flown in from outer space... em, Vegan's in our galaxy... isn't it? It also means there is no animal produce at all. Full stop. So how do they manage to serve such tasty soup, I ask myself, as I sit in front of their roaring fire, a warming bowl at hand, my mind drifting off to a place of utter contentment.
Isn't it funny how it's the same places cropping up time and time again. Well, there is a good reason for that. For any owner who cares enough to have a real fire and a good range of ales and ciders is also going to care about soup. The food served in this fine pub is vegan, which means they have to have all the ingredients specially flown in from outer space... em, Vegan's in our galaxy... isn't it? It also means there is no animal produce at all. Full stop. So how do they manage to serve such tasty soup, I ask myself, as I sit in front of their roaring fire, a warming bowl at hand, my mind drifting off to a place of utter contentment.
PIECE, 1056 ARGYLE STREET, FINNIESTON
This small coffee house sits amidst a load of wee shops on Glasgow's busy Argyle Street, and could be easily missed. I only noticed it because of a wonderful smell on passing by. I stopped, saw the word 'soup' on a pavement sign, and slithered inside. It was not a wasted slither. They have a good range of soups which can be slurped either at a couple of small shooglie tables or on benches along one wall. I had 'Broccoli' soup, which desperately cried out for some Stilton or something to gee it up, but it was only while pondering all of this that I woke from a gastronomic frenzy to find my large bowl completely empty. As no one stole my soup, I must have slurped it all by myself, and on the whole, it was delicious.
This small coffee house sits amidst a load of wee shops on Glasgow's busy Argyle Street, and could be easily missed. I only noticed it because of a wonderful smell on passing by. I stopped, saw the word 'soup' on a pavement sign, and slithered inside. It was not a wasted slither. They have a good range of soups which can be slurped either at a couple of small shooglie tables or on benches along one wall. I had 'Broccoli' soup, which desperately cried out for some Stilton or something to gee it up, but it was only while pondering all of this that I woke from a gastronomic frenzy to find my large bowl completely empty. As no one stole my soup, I must have slurped it all by myself, and on the whole, it was delicious.
CRITERION, 568 DUMBARTON ROAD, PARTICK
This is a 'Grand Cafe and Saloon,' and it is an absolute gem. The bowl of 'Cauliflower and Fennel' soup I had in here was probably the finest soup I have ever tasted. That first slurp offered a limey tang that smacked you in the mouth, to be followed by a flavour to die for. Magnificent. But it's much more than that. The owners have transformed an old shop into a stunning architectural feast. They have used lots of old wood from other places, and created a small space with intimate wooden booths. A number of bits and pieces - the carved wooden booths and a Victorian soda fountain - came from Moscardinis cafe in Falkirk, whose architectural heart was ripped out a while back. While it is clearly very sad that Moscardinis was allowed to be so destroyed, at least some of it lives on in Criterion. This is a first-rate establishment. I cannot rate it highly enough. [See Dec 2010 News for interior photo.]
This is a 'Grand Cafe and Saloon,' and it is an absolute gem. The bowl of 'Cauliflower and Fennel' soup I had in here was probably the finest soup I have ever tasted. That first slurp offered a limey tang that smacked you in the mouth, to be followed by a flavour to die for. Magnificent. But it's much more than that. The owners have transformed an old shop into a stunning architectural feast. They have used lots of old wood from other places, and created a small space with intimate wooden booths. A number of bits and pieces - the carved wooden booths and a Victorian soda fountain - came from Moscardinis cafe in Falkirk, whose architectural heart was ripped out a while back. While it is clearly very sad that Moscardinis was allowed to be so destroyed, at least some of it lives on in Criterion. This is a first-rate establishment. I cannot rate it highly enough. [See Dec 2010 News for interior photo.]
FRESSH, 51 COCHRANE STREET (CITY CENTRE)
This is a cafe and coffee house near George Square. It's bright and airy inside, with a seriously fine range of soups. On the day of my visit the soup was 'Cajun Cauliflower and Tomato'. It was spicy and creamy and so good it was almost a lick-the-bowl job.
This is a cafe and coffee house near George Square. It's bright and airy inside, with a seriously fine range of soups. On the day of my visit the soup was 'Cajun Cauliflower and Tomato'. It was spicy and creamy and so good it was almost a lick-the-bowl job.
EPICURES OF HYNDLAND (WEST END)
'Epicure', according to my Chambers Dictionary, means, 'a person of refined and fastidious taste, especially in food, wine, etc.' 'Fastidious', according to that same dictionary, means, amongst other things, 'exacting in taste'. 'Exacting', according to... anyway, you get the picture: Epicures of Hyndland is a bit special. It sits at 159 Hyndland Road, occupying a big old corner shop in a tenement. Of course at the end of the day you can call yourself anything you please; words are meaningless without substance to back them up. Does Epicures have substance? Yup, buckets of it. It boasts a plethora (check your dictionary) of friendly and attentive staff, feels warm and inviting, yet for all its big words and hints at grandness it still feels like a coffee shop, a big and very very luxurious coffee shop. You can slurp soups like 'Broccoli and Blue Cheese' either at one of the large windows facing Hyndland Road, outside at some seating, or upstairs in an atmospheric mezzanine area. Epicures of Hyndland's full title is 'Food Emporium, Cafe, Restaurant.' Here at The Good Soup Guide we like emporiums. 'Emporium', according to my Chambers Dictionary, means, 'a big shop.' Where big shops are concerned, they don't come much better than this.
'Epicure', according to my Chambers Dictionary, means, 'a person of refined and fastidious taste, especially in food, wine, etc.' 'Fastidious', according to that same dictionary, means, amongst other things, 'exacting in taste'. 'Exacting', according to... anyway, you get the picture: Epicures of Hyndland is a bit special. It sits at 159 Hyndland Road, occupying a big old corner shop in a tenement. Of course at the end of the day you can call yourself anything you please; words are meaningless without substance to back them up. Does Epicures have substance? Yup, buckets of it. It boasts a plethora (check your dictionary) of friendly and attentive staff, feels warm and inviting, yet for all its big words and hints at grandness it still feels like a coffee shop, a big and very very luxurious coffee shop. You can slurp soups like 'Broccoli and Blue Cheese' either at one of the large windows facing Hyndland Road, outside at some seating, or upstairs in an atmospheric mezzanine area. Epicures of Hyndland's full title is 'Food Emporium, Cafe, Restaurant.' Here at The Good Soup Guide we like emporiums. 'Emporium', according to my Chambers Dictionary, means, 'a big shop.' Where big shops are concerned, they don't come much better than this.
RATING
Advertisements
.jpg)
