Where to Brunch in Glasgow's Southside

I love to treat myself to brunch in a wee café. I used to work from home pre-Covid, and would take myself out once a week with my laptop for a nice coffee and a bite to eat. That all stopped obviously during the pandemic, and I'm slowing getting back out there again! It's been a while since I've worked from a coffee shop, but I've been enjoying brunch with the kids every so often. 

This weekend we visited The Brunch Club in Giffnock for the first time (used to be BRGR), along with Dawn and her daughter. They don't take bookings, and so we did have a little bit of a wait (understandable as we needed a table for 5). I wasn't blown away by my choice of smashed avo (avocado, red onion, garlic, fresh cherry tomatoes, balsamic glaze, poached egg & sourdough toast; £9) although I did enjoy the halloumi that I added (£2.50). My son felt his waffles were a bit dry (waffles with Nutella and fruit; £9.50) but Dawn loved her plate (Alba which was veggie haggis, poached eggs, truffle hollandaise, crispy kale and sourdough toast; £9.50) and the girls enjoyed their pancakes and Nutella. I'll try something else next time... tacos perhaps! Dawn had a virgin Bloody Mary, and it looked ace (I sadly didn't photograph it!). 

It's been a while since I've written a review of a restaurant or café... when the kids were little they tended to love most things and a lot of the restaurants got 5 stars when they were asked to rate them!! Whereas now, my son at nearly 13 years old and my daughter at 11 have opinions! Their favourite meal is steak & chips (we had a fab dinner in York at the start of the summer holidays at Cut & Craft, I'd recommend it if you're in the area... as would they!!), and when we're brunching they're all about pancakes and Nutella.

Anyway, back to brunch...

Our hands down favourite is Bramble, opposite Queens Park at 924 Pollokshaws Road. Similar to The Brunch Club, they are walk in only. So if we're headed here of a weekend I try and go for them opening (Sat 9am, Sun 9.30am). When Bramble was in Giffnock we queued for an hour once to get a table, and that wasn't fun with two hungry kids in tow! Most items on the menu I love, the vegan flatbread (sweetcorn fritters, salsa, pineapple chutney and mayo on a soft flatbread; £9.50) is a favourite as well as the pulled pork tacos (which isn't on the menu anymore *sad face*). The kids tend to order pancakes with Nutella and strawberries (£9.50, or £6.50 for a small portion).

Last on my list, for now, is Café Strange Brew. Again, as with the others, this café is walk in only. I was here with Evie (they're dog friendly) for breakfast a few months ago and didn't have to wait too long for a table. I love the presentation of the dishes here, my yoghurt and granola came with little edible flowers... so pretty! 

If it's just coffee that I'm headed out for, then I do love Grain & Grind. (My son is obsessed with their sausage rolls and brownies!) I love their coffee, and even have a bag in Verity for my Moka Pot.

What's your favourite spot for brunch?

Eating Out - Food Story, Aberdeen

I drove up to Aberdeen on Friday to visit my gran as she had been feeling a bit poorly. She's 92 years old (and most certainly doesn't look her age) and I do wish I was a bit closer so that I could visit more often than I do. Anyway, I was staying with my sister for the night and on Saturday morning she took me along to The Foodstory Cafe on Thistle Street for breakfast; despite it being open since 2013 I was yet to visit. 

It was amazing and I will most certainly be back!!!

Firstly I love the concept of the cafe and the ethos behind the brand. The cafe itself has been built using recycled materials - the interior is right up my street; lots of fairy lights, reclaimed wood, concrete and grey paint. 

All the tables and chairs are quirky; I especially like the bench... oh and the fairy lights!

Did I tell you how much I love fairy lights!?

And then there's the food. It has to be said that it was the best breakfast I've had in a while. I chose the rye toast with avocado and it was served with fresh tomato salsa and basil leaves. I let Ali have a bite and she had proper food envy! She had chosen the House Porridge (although I don't think she realised it was served with raisins, which she doesn't like, so these were promptly removed - after I had taken a photo of course!).

My rye toast with avocado

Alison's House Porridge

There were plenty gluten free options available too and the raw vegan blueberry cheesecake which was gluten, dairy and sugar free looked delish!

Yummy!!

Next time I'm up, this is where I'll be headed for lunch as Ali tells me the salads are to die for.

{#ShareAdvent - Christmas breakfast}

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

It's the final instalment of #ShareAdvent, with the prompt 'Christmas breakfast'.

Right now, the pain au chocolat will be baking in the oven and the Buck's Fizz will be chilling all ready for our festive breakfast!!

Last year we had nutella pancakes, and this year I'm sticking with the chocolate theme!!

{image source}

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Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed my posts, I've certainly enjoyed taking part. If you missed some of them, you can find all my #ShareAdvent posts here. From Joy to the World, to childhood memories... favourite recipes to gardening... it's all been covered! Thank you to Anna from Skin and Blister blog for taking the time to host #ShareAdvent - the prompts have been really enjoyable.

Enjoy your Christmas Day, and I hope you all have a lovely time whatever you may be doing :-)

{Groove on}

I'm linking up again this week with Kate on Thin Ice for her Getting Your Groove Back Blog Hop.  Week #3 already!!

So, what have I done this week to get into the groove...?

I had my most enjoyable breakfast of smoked salmon, scrambled eggs & toasted pitta bread on Wednesday last week and thoroughly loved every bite, despite having to make it myself! I actually had it for brunch rather than breakfast - hope that still counts!? By the time I had been to the supermarket to get the salmon and eggs it was too late for breakfast! I also went to Aberdeen for the weekend to stay with my sister and her boyfriend, and get this - I was made smoked salmon, poached eggs & toast for brunch on Saturday... so I've had my special breakfast twice this week!!

Whilst I was in Aberdeen, my sister took my photograph in her home studio. So, here I am in my size 10, yep you read correctly...size 10 jeans! I can't believe that I was a size 16 just three months ago. I'm uber chuffed with myself. Excuse the pose...I'm not good in front of a camera and didn't know where to look etc!!

I've not been great with the healthy eating this week... I indulged in a bag of Jelly Belly's whilst watching X Factor (they were good!! - the jelly beans, not the X Factor contestants!!). I also had a banoffee pie... oops!! Oh I'm forgetting, I also had a few bits of dark chocolate, on a number of occasions!! I'm dreading my weigh in today (it's at lunchtime!).

I continued with my running though. I didn't make it to running club on Sunday as I was in Aberdeen but my sister and I did a 4.67 mile run on Friday night (I know this because I track my runs using a fancy app on my phone!). I did however get poked in the bum (!!) by a drunk teenager as I ran past him. I suppose that's going to happen when you go running at 9pm on a Friday night! I've also been to Pilates this week and I'm really enjoying it. 

My friend Becky has also kindly booked me onto a flower arranging course. As far as I'm aware it's a one-off 2 hour course at a local florist. I thoroughly enjoyed the cupcake course I went on and due to other commitments these days I can't really attend regular night classes so a one-off course suits me perfectly. So I'm looking forward to learning some much needed flower arranging skills. I'm rubbish when it comes to flowers and end up just plonking them in a vase and they are typically left there until they wither and die!

Another course I would love to do is the Jane Means gift wrapping course...however at £110 it's a bit pricey for a day workshop.

I do really enjoy being creative and so this week I took some time to indulge in my hobby and I made my first free printable to share with my blog readers. It's a Halloween design that could be used for stickers, cupcake toppers or gift tags. I could have spent hours playing about with Illustrator and Photoshop. I wish I had the time to do a digital design course but unfortunately I don't think it's viable.

I'm looking forward to the week ahead...

Let's get grooving ladies :-)