The Glad Cafe

The Glad Cafe is a fully licensed cafe and venue space in the Southside of Glasgow. The venue regularly hosts gigs of local Southside and international artists, but also film screenings, poetry readings, drama, performances and talks. 

The cafe offers all meals from breakfast to dinner and turns into a popular bar in the evenings. The kitchen is run by chef Justin Valmossoi of Pepper Pepper & Bayleaf, trading as 'Something', serving a variety of breakfast and lunch options, and an evening menu under the name 'NANIKO'.

After hearing a lot of positive praise about the food at the Glad Cafe, we came here for brunch during the weekend and were surprised that it was really easy to get a table. I ordered the vegan breakfast and my partner had the coconut and tamarind stew. The breakfast was definitely one of the biggest and most creative ones I had been served in Glasgow so far. My favourite ingredients were the mushroom and barley ragout, the black beans and the avocado puree, which was wonderfully limey. The spinach was a bit too salty and oily for my taste, and they use black salt to make the tofu scramble taste more like egg - which is not really my thing. Great though, if you want that eggy taste! The stew was super salty and a crazy mix of sweet and sour - as you'd imagine, I guess, ordering a tamarind dish. It came with a generous portion of rice and a chapati.

Despite our great plans, we were too stuffed for cakes after our main meal, but had a wee look around the counter anyways. There were vegan donuts, but they were not labelled, so it's best to ask the staff if any of the cakes of the day are vegan.

Vegan Options:

The breakfast menu at the Glad is huge - at least if you eat eggs... However, there are a few vegan options and adaptable dishes for breakfast, lunch or brunch.

• Vegan Special: Full vegan breakfast with tofu scramble, avocado puree, mushroom & barley ragout, black beans, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, home fried and grilled sourdough.
• Tofu scramble on grilled sourdough
• Maple cinnamon porridge ordered with soy milk
• Lentil breakfast bowl ordered without the feta cheese
• Coconut and Tamarind Stew
• Adana bulgur salad with pomegranate and mint
• Sandwiches: Whittlesey (beetroot and avocado), Old Seoul (pulled jackfruit and hoisin BBQ sauce), Left Coast (hummus, lentils, roast vegetables)

The Asian inspired dinner menu by NANIKO is mostly noodles and buns, and you'll find all options on the blackboards, as they change regularly. Vegan dishes are clearly labelled, but I'm sure the staff will be able to help you too.

Labelling: 

Unfortunately, vegan options are not clearly labelled on the menu (except for the vegan breakfast), so it's best to double check with staff about ingredients.

Budget: Vegan mains are between £6.50 and £9.50, while the vegan breakfast is £11. This is fairly expensive in comparison to other cafes with vegan cooked breakfast, but your plate is really filled to the brim and a lot of love and thought goes into the very unique breakfast items that make up this breakfast.