Food Review: Dandelion Cafe

But we’re a resourceful lot — and these days, a hungry lot too, ever searching for new foodie haunts and gorgeously twee places for a spot of leisurely afternoon tea.

The new Dandelion Cafe has been on my to-do list since it opened, making perfect use of the Newlands Park pavilion with a modern-yet-kitsch tearoom and offering promises of sandwiches and cakes worth braving the rain for.

I escaped Extra Towers for a midweek lunch and settled into a little booth on my lonesome, magazine in hand and an empty stomach. Which helped, certainly — because I had more than my share of Dandelion’s offerings.

You can’t beat a soup and sandwich combo when the weather turns. And, dedicated reviewer that I am, it seemed only right to try as much of the breakfast-meets-lunch menu as possible, for a table of one.

I opted for a half of the New Yorker; a seeded bagel crammed with salt beef, dill pickle and mustard mayo, as well as a mountain of crisp lettuce and tomato. It was sandwich heaven; popping seeds and soft bread giving way to savoury slabs of meat and crunchy pickle.

The soup of the day was butternut squash and rosemary; the herb providing a subtle but punchy after-kick to sweet, earthy veg. It’s a little trick I’ll be copying at home, now that soup season is upon us — thanks for the tip, Dandelion.

Lunch plate sides are often overlooked — a limp leaf here, a drizzle of balsamic there. But miniature servings of creamy potato salad and delicate bean salad were a revelation at Dandelion Cafe — although, staying polite with the knife and fork went out the window while trying to keep hold of those tiny serving plates.

It’s a minor complaint, but I was chasing beans around the sandwich board. Lady who lunches politely? Not so much.

Savoury eats and a decent flat white down, I was lured over to Dandelion’s ever-changing cake display. Shortcake, cereal bars, gluten-free sponge and a Victoria sponge that apparently has regulars coming back daily were all on offer, but my eyes were firmly on either a chocolate brownie or a deep, dark rocky road.

A slab of each soon in front of me (greedy, me?), I demolished the soft, chewy brownie then discovered the fruit-and-nut-crammed wedge of rocky road was even better; sweet and juicy cherries shining like little jewels frozen in moreish chocolate.

It’s not the cheapest lunch in the southside, I’ll grant you — but for those who like nothing better than a hot cuppa, a packed sandwich and a naughty wee treat to get you through the rest of the day, Dandelion Cafe is up there with some of the best in Glasgow.

Heading back to work after? Now, that’s the hard part...

THE BILL:

Flat white coffee - £2.20

Soup and half sandwich - £6

Cake (prices vary)

Total: (approx) £9.20

DANDELION CAFE

26 Lubnaig Road

Newlands

Glasgow

G43