Beanscene
This fantastic company has just, unfortunately, gone into administration. We don't know what this will mean for the future of its six 'coffee and music houses' spread across central Glasgow, but we hope they'll stay! They're still open, and we'll keep you posted. Beanscene's comfortable sofas, laid-back
atmosphere, often tolerant staff and thoughtful music and lighting can create the perfect break. Serves kids' snacks, kids' meals and babycinos. All branches have
toy boxes, with varying amounts of open space in which to play.
Beanscene locations opposite the Kelvingrove Museum, and in Clarkston, Woodlands, Battlefield, Cresswell Lane and Shawlands.
Beanscene website.
Coppucino
Several former police signal boxes have been turned into these handy
take-away coffee kiosks. They are good sources for coffee and tea, but
limited for snacks. One sits conveniently on Buchanan Street outside
Borders, and another in front of the entrance to the Botanic Gardens.
John Lewis
The coffee shop on the 2nd floor of
the John Lewis department store provides a great, child-friendly
atmosphere in which to unwind while downtown. Enjoy a light lunch or
coffee with a pastry while watching other shoppers below, through the
child-safe, see-through walls. The Place to Eat restaurant on the 1st
floor has lots of high chairs and a well-stocked kids' meal bar. John
Lewis also has the best baby-changing rooms downtown, on the 1st floor
(by the Hats) and the 2nd floor (next to Audio). These clean,
well-equipped rooms even have family toilets, bottle warmers, and
breastfeeding areas.
See John Lewis website for more details.
Kelvingrove Museum
The
coffee cart in the Kelvingrove Museum's spacious centre hall on the
ground floor provides tea, coffee, simple sandwiches and snacks.
There are many small tables spread across a large area. If you don't
have time to visit the lovely Cafe and Restaurant on the lower ground
floor (see restaurant review), this is a good place for a quick
caffeine hit. Be aware that food and drinks must be finished at your
table.
See Kelvingrove Museum review for more details.
Oscar & Holly's
This wonderful neighbourhood coffee shop has reopened! It's not as child-friendly as before, though. The playspace is gone, and so are all the toys, and the menu has fewer options for kids. Still, it's a lovely, bright space to relax and the smoothies and toasties are very good.
Address: Crow Road at Marlborough Avenue, Broomhill
Queen's Park Glasshouse
The glasshouse at the south end of Queen's Park contains a fish pond stocked with koi carp, a tiny reptile zoo and a café with a large soft play area. The café has many tables where mums and dads can sit happily with their coffee and basic snack, within full view of their playing babies and toddlers. Just outside the glasshouse there's a climbing frame and slide (and the rest of the park, of course), to enjoy on sunny days.
See Queen's Park website for more details.
Starbucks
You will have no doubt visited (or walked past) one of the eight branches of Starbucks in Glasgow. If you are downtown, there is always a Starbucks nearby. For us, however, the best Starbucks in town is the one at courtyard level in Princes Square. It's right next to the circular mosaic floor where kids can run wild. (See review of Princes Square.) Grab a take-away coffee, release your child into the amphitheatre, sit on the steps, and breathe.
See Starbucks website for other locations.
Theo's Coffee and Play
This wonderfully child-friendly venue unfortunately closed down at the start of 2008. It's a great loss for us and for Great Western Road.
See Theo's website for more details.
Tinderbox
There are two Tinderbox cafés in town. This review is for the popular Tinderbox on Byres Road, not the hip Tinderbox in the Merchant City. Tinderbox serves amazing coffee, very quickly. The café is always busy with students, local residents and mums and dads. Its wide selection of fresh cakes, sandwiches and smoothies allows you to introduce many delicious new foods to your toddler. The booths in the back and the seats by the window at the front are especially popular with parents and young kids.
Address: 189 Byres Road (the intersection of Byres Road and University Avenue), Hyndland