Fresh Brews

Cookie

A cool mish-mash of deli, café, restaurant, cookery school for grown-ups and kids and off-licence, late opening Cookie is an attempt to bring a slice of Med culture to the Shawlands area. I take in the eccentric surroundings – obscure artwork, scattered kitchen paraphernalia and the unexplained table hanging from the ceiling- order a cuppa Joe, fresh roasted and ground on the premises, and enjoy the smell of home-made bread wafting over from the open-plan kitchen. I decide to try the antipasti. It has the usual staples – thin wisps of salty, chewy dry-cured meats and juicy olives, both delicious and both sourced from small scale producers in the owner's Italian hometown, Amelia. There are also the welcome additions of marinated artichokes, meaty, pickled anchovies and a cold puffy rice salad. Along with this, I order the Cookie rice balls – golden crisp on the outside and filled with lovely, gooey risotto. Cookie’s mission statement proclaims, ‘Food is one of life's greatest pleasures. Binding us to each other and where we live, our environment, traditions & changing seasons,’ and it certainly does everything to live up to it. 

Miau Espresso Bar

There is a charming simplicity in Miau, with the selection of coffees, well-made sandwiches and brekkie staples offering flavour and variety. The ingredients are sourced mainly from local producers, and the quality is evident. We ordered hot sandwiches, made on delicious bread from a Shettleston bakery and emptied our plates in minutes, save a few stray salad leaves.

There are only a few tables, spaced so that there is no need to squeeze past other customers, and a high bench with stools looks like an inviting place for some impromptu Facebooking. Small it may be, but it is run with no little imagination – the menu is accompanied by language exchange evenings, links to arts groups, cinema nights and free wi-fi. The ambition is to create a venue with a community spirit and, at the weekend, it was the embodiment of relaxation: newspapers spread out, cake stands heavily loaded, chilled out music in the background, people popping in for a blether with the owners. The atmosphere on Duke Street these days suggests that Dennistoun is an up-and-coming district, and that there exists a real diversity among the people. Miau Espresso Bar is a welcome expression of this.

Moo Cafeteria

Sitting happily in the row of cafes by the Canonmills roundabout, Moo Cafeteria is certainly the most attractive of the lot. A miniature farm sits at the back of a brightly decorated open room, with menus on the back of artistic, flowery postcards. It's very much a family joint – when I swither over my dessert choice the wee girl on the next table informs me that the chocolate and orange cake is delicious.  It's a genuine pity, then, that the food doesn't really live up to the wholesome and filling expectations. Mushroom stroganoff with rice is uninspired – a single variety of mushrooms entirely unsupplemented leaves me hungry by mid-afternoon. The roast pepper and onion pie also lacks something in the filling and the pastry is unfortunately overcooked and hard. The aforementioned chocolate and orange cake was certainly an improvement and the blueberry gateau was moist and lovely, leading to the conclusion that Moo is more a coffee and cake sort of place than a gastro venue. They also have an impressive all day breakfast array including porridge served with local jam or spiced nuts and honey. Pop in for a morning coffee (soy milk available), bacon roll and a friendly start to your day, but don't expect fireworks at lunchtime.