I visited Shawlands: The friendliest neighbourhood in Glasgow - here's why it's a great place to live and work
Shawlands is the friendliest neighbourhood in Glasgow according to our readers - here’s why locals think it is a great place to live and work with a strong sense of community.
Our readers recently told us that Shawlands is the friendliest neighbourhood in Glasgow so I headed over to the Southside of the city to find out what makes it a welcoming place known for ‘People Make Glasgow’ and ‘Glasgow’s Miles Better’ slogans. You can read the list of friendliest neighbourhoods in Glasgow here.
Having been brought up in Maryhill, crossing over the River Clyde to the Southside never really appealed to me growing up as I would usually head into town or to the West End if I was going out for dinner or drinks.
I, like many Glaswegians, have been pulled in by the variety of independent shops, restaurants and bars in and around Shawlands which I have been checking out over the past few years. That meant that when this opportunity arose to head into the heart of the area, I just couldn’t resist finding out the reasons why Glaswegians rate it so much.
Shawlands is easily reachable from the city centre with regular trains leaving from Glasgow Central station, so I hopped on one to take the journey over with it taking just over ten minutes before you reach Pollokshaws Road.
I started off my Shawlands wander at Starter Culture and The Indian on Skirving Street who told me about the relationships they have built up with customers and why there is such a great eclectic mix of businesses in the area.
Rachna Dheer is the owner and general manager of Starter Culture, an artisan cheese, wine and deli shop that offers charcuterie, baked goods, craft beers, hampers and delicacies from speciality producers.
The shop on Pollokshaws Road transforms into a cosy wine bar from 6pm to midnight on a Friday and Saturday, complete with a selection of wines served by the glass alongside delicious charcuterie sides.
Speaking to me about what makes the area special, Rachna said: “Shawlands has really turned round in the last 5-10 years, it’s become more gentrified with younger people, hipsters, families from the West End moving down, and of course, the people who’ve lived here their whole lives.
“It’s a real bright mix of people. It’s what makes Shawlands great. It’s incredible place to live and to run a shop. The place is thriving with lots of new shops opening and staying open which is great.
“Cafe Strange Brew helped make Shawlands what it is now, Bramble was also instrumental in building up the hospitality scene here. The thing about Shawlands is it’s independent businesses through and through
“Through My Shawlands, all these independent business owners pay a levy to help make Shawlands even better. The money put forward by My Shawlands goes towards festivals and Christmas events, murals by street artists, and litter picking to make the streets cleaner and even more beautiful.
“Living in Shawlands is just fantastic, it’s so great with so many exciting shops, and loads of lovely things to see and do with a great mix of people.”
I then moved on to The Indian on Skirving Street which is a Punjabi, family-run, homestyle restaurant which opened its doors in December 2016. Owner and chef Arjun creates a dining experience from sharing plates with a menu of vegetarian and meat-based dishes.
“When we opened, there wasn't really any Indian restaurants in Shawlands, we saw a gap in the market”, Arjun says. “Our family has been in the hospitality trade for a long, long time and we've had a lot of Indian restaurants. I said to my dad, why don’t we open an Indian restaurant with the type of food that we cook at home?”
“We serve a lot of vegetarian dishes which goes down really well in Shawlands. There’s a huge vegetarian market here. We have a few lamb dishes too. I’m mainly in the kitchen and we have built up a good reputation in the neighbourhood. I’ve a good team behind me now. We’ve become an integral part of the Shawlands dining scene. We’ve added takeaway in the last few years.
“I think Shawlands is really up-and-coming, there are lots of people running their independent businesses, trying to be different. They are trying to create and innovate. We are always trying to do things to keep people entertained and coming back to Shawlands.”
My penultimate stop in the neighbourhood was then along at Glasgow's best neighbourhood Italian restaurant, Oro. I sat down to speak to owner and founder Domenico Crolla about the story behind his business and the experience he strives to create for his customers.
“This restaurant has been open about 24 years now. Originally called Bella Napoli but we changed the name about seven years ago to Oro. We’re striving like so many good Italian restaurants in Glasgow to make good food and keep our customers happy.”
When asked about what his menu offers, Domenico said: “Classic Italian cooking. A lot of fancy restaurants now try and steer away from that stuff, ‘we don’t do lasagne, we don’t do carbonara’. I think a good lasagne is fantastic, a good carbonara is great, so we stick to the basics. Good pasta, good pizza, fabulous steaks, chicken, fish. All with Italian flavour we try and import as much as we can to make things as authentic as possible and give people the right flavour profile.
“Yeah, we’re trying hard. I love when people ask me about Italian food in Glasgow because Italian restaurants are so good in Glasgow. I don’t want to name names but they’ve been owned and run, they’ve been in families for two or three generations. People from the rest of the UK are quite surprised when they come to Glasgow because the food is so good. Not just Italian but Chinese and Indian, it’s exceptional compared to the rest of the UK.”
Before heading back for the train, I had built up a thirst so just head to head for a pint in Shawlands to seal the deal. I’ve been popping into Sweeney’s on the Park for a couple of years and know exactly what I am getting whenever I go in. It’s a cosy wee welcoming pub that serve a fine pint of Guinness which is priced at only £3,70 from Monday to Thursday. The boozer also has regular live music on at weekends as well as karaoke.
Some of the other businesses which we recommend checking out in the neighbourhood are Cafe Strange Brew, The Marlborough, Lychee Oriental, Chawp Pet Noi, The Corona, Phillies of Shawlands, The Georgic and Bramble.