We all know how much I enjoy travelling and exploring new places, especially when there are an abundance of vegan cafes and restaurants to try out too. Glasgow has been on my radar for quite a long time now as being a hotspot for vegans and as an ideal city break destination within the UK. It's also long been known as the vegan capital of the UK so it was only right I went to check it out! When I suggested a little foodie getaway to fellow vegan blogger friends Jess and Anjuli we all agreed it would make a fantastic trip and, as somewhere none of us had been before, we were excited by the prospect of a little adventure away!
My husband and I really enjoyed our stay in Edinburgh a couple of years ago and we thought it was such a beautiful city. I don’t think I went into Glasgow with the same expectations as a few people had already mentioned that it maybe wasn’t quite as nice to look at as Edinburgh, although the vegan food options were even better, which was almost hard to believe as Edinburgh was also pretty amazing on the food front too!
I have to say that on arriving in Glasgow it certainly didn’t have the same wow factor for me that I’d experienced in Edinburgh and, despite being fairly close in proximity to one another, they do seem like very different cities, with Glasgow definitely having a more urban feel. In Edinburgh it felt like everything was just so photogenic and picturesque and I personally thought that was much harder to find in Glasgow. There were a couple of moments when I didn't really safe in this city which is something I haven't really felt for quite a long time. But on a positive note everyone we spoke to and interacted with was so friendly and helpful and I guess that's why the city has now adopted the slogan 'People Make Glasgow'.
In any case, with an itinerary as long as our arms, and with more recommendations coming in every day (thanks you guys!), it was really hard to whittle down the vegan hot spots into the space of three days. I think out of all of the places I’ve ever been to, Glasgow definitely has the most choices I’ve ever experienced! It almost felt overwhelming at times trying to decide on what places we just couldn’t miss out on, and even then we still had to make some changes because there just didn’t seem to be enough hours, or appetite, in a day!
So here’s where we did make it to...
Picnic
Picnic was our first stop on landing in Glasgow and we were all really impressed! It’s a gorgeous little vegan cafe with some really great breakfast and lunch options, and a whole counter packed full of delicious looking fresh sandwiches. I went in for their ‘BLT’ which I enjoyed so much! The staff were lovely and friendly and we all agreed we’d go back again.
Mono
Quite a few people had said to me that Mono was an absolute must for our visit so it soon made its way into our itinerary. We stopped there for lunch on our first day and were pretty wowed by their vast ‘animal free’ menu. The venue itself I couldn’t quite work out if I liked... it kind of feels like a cross between a bar, a music venue and a youth club! Anyway, we decided to share some dishes here including their mac’n’cheese, tofish & a hot dog. It was all ok... My hot dog was really good but I know Jess & Anjuli weren't really blown away by their dishes. I don't know, maybe we went in with too high expectations, or maybe we've been too spoilt in the past, but on the whole it didn’t really blow any of us away.
Steak, Cattle & Roll
This isn’t a solely vegan restaurant but they have some pretty amazing vegan options on their menu including burgers, southern fried ‘chicken’, an ice cream sundae and vegan milkshakes (some alcoholic!). I really enjoyed my burger here, it was so tasty and so huge I couldn’t even finish it! The fries were also really good and it mad a nice change to go somewhere with some live music.
Serenity Now
This was definitely my favourite place of our whole visit. It’s such a cute spot, very Instagramable and the food was delcious! I went in for the choc chip pancakes and oh my GOD they were amazing!! So fluffy and thick. Seriously, without a doubt, the best vegan pancakes I’ve ever had. Jess had their Açai bowl which came with an ice lolly dipped into it and Anjuli had their brunch plate which all looked pretty amazing too but they both ended up regretting not ordering the pancakes! We all agreed that this was our fave spot from our trip and I would have actually liked to have gone back to try their avocado toast which also looked incredible.
Loop & Scoop
If you find yourself in Glasgow and have a sweet tooth then this place is a must! Their vegan friendly churros are so good and they also have some dairy free gelato options too. The combination of the churro with ice cream was just divine! We split ours three ways and it still defeated us but I loved every mouthful. We also got a little box of churro dippers which were equally as nice.
V & V Cafe
Sadly we didn’t have room left in our stomachs to give this place a try but we couldn’t resist popping our heads in to see what was on offer and it really does seem like a lovely little cafe with some great lunch and pastry offerings. The staff were also really lovely and friendly and chatted to us for ages about all things vegan in Glasgow.
Lotus Vegetarian Cuisine
This restaurant was originally on our back up list but it swiftly got moved onto our main itinerary when we found that we’d overdosed on too much vegan junk food and we just fancied something different. I’m SO happy we made the decision to go there as it was a real highlight for me. The whole restaurant is vegetarian and vegan Chinese food which in itself is pretty amazing and not something you come across very often. The menu was also huge! The vegan prawn toast was just unreal and tasted exactly like the real thing. I also went in for some sweet and spicy shredded ‘chicken’ which was seriously so good I can’t even put into words! The staff here were so friendly, informative and offered us up fantastic service. I feel like this place is a unique hidden gem in Glasgow and well worth a visit.
Mala Carne
We visited Mala Carne for breakfast on our last day and, although a bit of town, I’m glad we made the visit. With vegan pancakes, cooked breakfast and avo toast options it’s definitely a good call for any plant based foodies. I went for the avo & scrambled tofu on sourdough toast and really enjoyed it. Anjuli absolutely loved her pancakes here too.
Market Coffee
Just across the road from Mala Carne is blogger and YouTuber Kate Spiers (formerly Kate Lavie) newest venture, Market Coffee. We wasn’t sure if there’d be any vegan options on the menu but we still wanted to pay it a visit as from the photos we’d seen it looked very cute inside and on our arrival we wasn’t disappointed. If you like interiors, plants, and basically all things pretty then this place is definitely worth a visit! And yep, they even had a couple of vegan cakes on the menu and plant based milks. We couldn’t resist trying their rhubarb crumble cake and their chocolate & raspberry cake and both were gorgeous.
Stereo
We managed to squeeze in a trip to Stereo on our last day for lunch before leaving for the airport. I'm going to be completely honest here and say that this place felt a bit grubby and it wasn't somewhere I'd want to return to. That being said the menu was all vegan and there were plenty of options to choose from. The food itself was ok, again nothing really to write home about but it filled a hole!
Aside from all of the eating we also spent some time exploring the city and doing a little sightseeing. I didn’t really feel like there was a huge amount to do in that respect in Glasgow but the few things we did do I really enjoyed.
Botanic Gardens
The Botanic Gardens were pretty high up on my agenda and ended up exceeding my expectations. It almost felt like a mini Kew Gardens! The plant collection was so impressive and it was just the perfect way to spend a couple of hours away from the hustle and bustle of the city streets. The fact that it's completely free to visit too is quite something.
Open Top Bus Tour
We thought we’d get the bus to help us get our bearings and to learn more about the city but sadly it started to rain just as we set off and we ended up getting pretty wet and windswept sat up on the open top deck. It certainly made us laugh but we didn’t end up completing the whole tour. I think this activity is probably best enjoyed on a sunny day!
Street Art Mural Trail
If you’re strolling around Glasgow then the chances are that you will see one of the many striking wall murals dotted around the city and, as someone who loves a bit of street art, I really enjoyed hunting them out and photographing them.
Glasgow University
On one of our walks around the West End we took a little de-tour into the university and the buildings and scenery were just stunning.
Ashton Lane
This is a really lovely little lane packed with cute bars and restaurants.
The Lighthouse
We visited The Lighthouse as we'd heard it was a great spot to get a good view across the city. There's also a decent Glasgow gift shop and art on display on the way up to the top that's worth checking out. Again, it's free to visit.
Places we sadly didn’t make it to eat:
I really enjoyed the break away with Jess & Anjuli and it was so much fun being away with fellow vegan food bloggers as we all just have so much in common and are all pretty passionate about getting good food shots and documenting our experiences. It was so lovely just chilling out at our Air BnB, watching movies with face masks on and generally enjoying some nice girly time together.
Be sure to check out my Glasgow vlog too!
Have you visited Glasgow before?
What vegan places would you most recommend visiting in the city?
Thank you so much-lovely pics
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