Glasgow food stories: Kelvingrove Cafe

National World - LocalTV

We visit Kelvingrove Cafe in Finnieston to find out more about how they established as a Glasgow institution.

Transcript

00:00I'm Alec Dyson, I'm the general manager here at Kelvin Grove Cafe.

00:04Kelvin Grove Cafe is a morning to night time, all day cafe.

00:12It morphs what it is during the day, so we open at 10 o'clock, so over at 10 o'clock

00:15in the morning we have coffees, we have croissants, we have breakfast, we have eggs, and throughout

00:20the day it changes.

00:21It's afternoon drinks, it's evening snacks, cocktails, and then right through until 1 o'clock

00:26in the morning every day.

00:27So it's something for everyone.

00:30We have regulars that come every day, but they never meet, because some of them come at night

00:34and some of them come in the morning, so they never meet, which is a nice thing, so it means

00:38a lot to a lot of different people in a lot of different ways.

00:40Kelvin Grove Cafe was its original name, late in the 1800s, late 1800s, so it was almost

00:45like a soda fountain, an American-style soda fountain, where you would come from the park

00:48and you'd have your ice creams and your sodas and things like that.

00:51It's been a Chinese restaurant, it lay dormant for a long time, and then 12, nearly 13 years

00:57ago Barry opened it as the Kelvin Grove Cafe.

01:02It went back to its roots as an all-day kind of venue, and it's gone from strength to strength,

01:06and I think it's probably safe to say it's a Glasgow institution, done its bit in putting

01:11Glasgow on the map in terms of cocktails and bar culture and cafe culture, and I think that's

01:16something to be very proud of.

01:18It's always been very strong in its cocktails, that's always been what it's really been known

01:21for.

01:22Over the last four or five years, we've really focused on streamlining that into just offering

01:28the really simple things really, really well.

01:30So our cocktail list is all classic drinks, so your gin martinis, your gronis, your whisky

01:35sours, your old fashions.

01:36Making it as good as it can be, using really premium ingredients, making sure it's consistent

01:41that every time you get exactly the same drink, of course it's great to go and have experimental

01:46cocktails and things like that, but sometimes you just want a martini or a groni, or a pint

01:50of tenants, or whatever that is, and we just aim to do that as well as anyone can do it.

01:56And the food is a kind of similar thing, you know, we do brunch, and nothing complicated,

02:00nothing fancy, your eggs benedicts, your full Scottish breakfast, your French toast, things

02:07that are really, everyone knows and everyone loves, but just doing them in an elevated way,

02:11but nothing too fancy, nothing too formal, just in a really relaxed style, and I think

02:17that's what we aim to be, is this kind of like, everyone knows you, but you know, it's

02:23not boring, it's just consistent, and it's, it's like, it's just like getting a wee hug.

02:28I think there's something for everyone in this, in this area, you know, and the places

02:33that you see that are successful, that do really well, are the ones that have been so

02:38consistent, you know, ourselves, our friends at Crab Shack next door, the Gannet, Ox and

02:44Finch around the corner, you know, these places, they're all kind of fiercely independent,

02:49but they're all so consistent, you know, you know what you're getting, so you go back time

02:52and time and time again, and in a world where everything is getting, you know, more expensive,

02:57and we all notice it, we go out for dinner, or we go out for drinks, and everything's

03:00more expensive, so people are more cautious with how they spend the money, they want to

03:05know that when they go out, it's going to be good, so the places that have consistently

03:09performed over the last decade, or longer, are the ones that have stood the test of time,

03:16and that's great.

03:17Good.

03:18Good.

03:19Good.

03:20Good.

03:21Good.

03:22Good.

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