Basta

Dumbarton road’s Basta is one of a growing number of Partick-based businesses looking to sow “unity in the community”, creating a hub of independent businesses which work together to create a local scene fully integrated into the area. Conscientiousness is a good business model when you apply it right, and it inhabits every detail of the little pizza joint.

Employees make the Glasgow living wage, NHS workers receive a discount, ingredients are imported from Italy when necessary for authenticity or sourced locally otherwise – everything from the prices to the overflow of plant life to the music is tuned to community, to the creation of a place for regular people to come together and have a good time, and a great meal.

The menu boasts a tidy selection of pizzas and sides, offering something for everyone without spreading themselves too thin. The result is that you can order anything at all and you know it will be excellent. There's a pleasingly named and priced “Wee Basta” menu for those who want to bring along the kids without breaking the bank, and that willingness to mix Scottish and Italian extends beyond linguistics: the ever-changing “Special Pizza” has been topped with meat marinated in Irn Bru and even with Cullen Skink.

In other hands, this might just be a cute gimmick but that same attention to detail ensures that each pizza is the end product of careful culinary experimentation, and the finished article always merits the term “Special”.