Glasgow | 02: coffee (and burgers) in the city

After my June trip, I'll always associate Glasgow with three things: Springsteen, sunsets, and coffee. OK, so Springsteen shows may be a rare occasion for the city, but I hear Scotland often enjoys a good sunset, and the coffee in Glasgow is definitely worth shouting about.

Our call for post-Bruce brunch was answered by Spitfire Espresso, glowing on a street corner in central Glasgow. We sat under a cloudless late morning sky at a table on a heat-soaked pavement, with strong dark coffee and poached eggs. While this perfect summer weather was temporary, the independent coffee scene in Glasgow is permanent, and impressive. 

After roaming the West End, we caught the subway back to the city centre and eventually wound up at Bread Meats Bread. What a place, what a burger. I've been vegetarian for a while, but a good burger joint always tests all of my reserve: unless it's so good it actually does a decent vegetarian burger.

I've had three exceptionally good vegetarian burgers in my life: the 'Thom Yorke' at Berlin's Let It Be; the veggie burger at Copenhagen's Tommi's Burger Joint (now also in London!); and the falafel burger at Bread Meats Bread. This burger was so tall I doubt even Andy Murray'd be able to get his jaw around it. Served with a generous basket of sweet potato fries. I swore I'd never be hungry again. 

It's normally the west side of the city that gets recommended, photographed, instagrammed. But the east of Glasgow, home to the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow Cathedral, and the Glasgow Necropolis, is worth a potter too. Papercup Coffee Company, a West End favourite, has another branch in the east; we had sourdough toast and coffee here on our final morning. (I was sat in the window in a Springsteen shirt when a man in a Roy Orbison shirt walked past outside, and we gave each other a smile and a thumbs up, like we were part of a secret club.) 

And of course, a coffee from the legendary Gordon St Coffee at Glasgow Central to accompany the train ride back to London.

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Places mentioned:
Spitfire Espresso
Bread Meats Bread
Let It Be (Berlin)
Tommi's Burger Joint (Copenhagen)
Papercup Coffee Company
Gordon St Coffee

(And yes. I'm still unable to blog without making at least one Springsteen reference. You'll just have to live with it.)