Coia’s Café

I think I’d lived in the east end for roughly 10 years before ever eating out in the area, I’d moved here as a student so all I knew was city centre and city centre was great! Then one day we were passing and starving so decided to give Coia’s a whirl.
Coia’s is traditional Italian, it has an air of authenticity, like a proper family run Italian should. Don’t expect modern, fancy schmancy décor, that isn’t what they’re about, expect to be greeted by 3^rd/​maybe even 4^th generation family members who want to serve you the food they grew up with.
Open from breakfast through lunch and dinner the menu has something for everyone. I, a creature of habit, opt for the calzone on every occasion (each time stating I will have something different but never do!) and once you try it you’ll understand why! It must be at least 12″ in diameter, has the best dough and can be filled with your choice of up to 3 fillings (meatballs, spicy chicken and mozzarella are my fav’s). It’s amazing and at £10.25 is a fraction of what Papa Johns or Dominos will sting you! Freshly grated Parmesan is always offered for anyone having pasta, rightly so. They also stock my favourite lemon San pellegrino soft drink, this makes me über happy.
Should you have space for pudding there’s always a great selection to choose from but I would instead recommend checking out the revolving ice cream wheel… oh my is it awesome! It’s part of the deli where you can buy produce to takeaway, always worth a browse.
A word of warning though, you can very rarely just turn up and get seated straight away, they are constantly mobbed! Expect to wait a few minutes for a table; as the saying goes though «good things come to those who wait».

I remember going to Coia’s years ago with my gran… back when it was the old Coia’s and my feet didn’t touch the floor when I sat on the chair. Ah, good memories. So I’m chuffed that this café has expanded and continued to grow over the years because it does hold a special place in my heart.
On a recent visit with my friend, I was pretty disappointed with my meal. I chose to order the burger and chips which weren’t anything special. The burger was okay but it’s just not memorable for any good reason. It seemed to lack flavour and after one bite, I could hear my boyfriend saying ‘You should have gone for Dennistoun Bar B Que if you wanted a burger silly!’ The chips were chippy style which again were okay, but I’ve had better.
My cappuccino was nice and served with a small piece of biscotti which I enjoyed. There was nothing wrong with the service at all but it’s just nothing to write home about and I expected more from my meal. For now, I’m just going to stick with the happy memories I have!

Coia’s Café was recommended to me as a good place to meet up for some Sunday lunch. The menu is predominately italian but offers traditional fare such as steak pie and fish and chips. It also has a wide array of breakfast items. We had a table booked for 6 people and the restaurant was packed. Everyone in our group ordered 2 courses and everyone ordered something different. Notable mention goes to the lentil soup and my bruschetta. One of the less popular choices was the fishcakes as the fish taste was really overpowering. For my main I chose chicken ceasar salad which had plenty of chicken and sauce. Other popular items were the fish and chippy chips and the steak pie. The low point of the experience was the service, it was packed and there was a constant que of people at the door waiting for a seat. This business meant that staff were more rushed, our waiter sounded quite angry and ignored members of the group when they were asking for more drinks. Also when the mains arrived my main never came and we had to ask a staff member to retrieve it from the food pass where it had been sitting for 10 minutes. Other than this it is a pleasant place to eat with a good choice of food and looks like it be great for a morning fry up.

Coia’s is a great wee place situated in the east end on duke street and has been there forever!
It’s slightly more expensive considering it’s not in the city centre but I love it for a wee treat. I’m happy that they offer gluten free pasta so I can enjoy my carbonara … and omg this carbonara is amazing!
For the chip shop lover all things chippy is catered for and they have a deli next door that offers takeaway.
Parking is available on street outside just check meters during the day.

Breakfast at Coia’s is normally a hungover affair with me opting for a full cooked breakfast. This mornings visit however is a celebration of finally having money after an entire summer without. When you’re not opting for the greasiest, mountainous plateful of hangover cure there’s some great brunch choices on the menu, so much so I wasn’t ready to order when first asked!
I eventually opted for an Arnold Bennett omelette which promised me smoked haddock & Parmesan, not the kind of thing I’d usually order but it just sounded so good. It didn’t disappoint either. The smoked haddock was plentiful, large chunks of fish throughout which flaked beautifully under my fork. Generous slices of Parmesan adorned the top of the light & fluffy omelette. Served with a large side salad which had a good mix of leaves and a tasty dressing. The cucumber slices were a little on the chunky side for my liking but this would be my only minor negative.
I sometimes think price-​wise Coia’s think they’re more west end than east end but this was delicious, fresh and served quickly so I’ll forgive them their prices.
Apparently not just good for hangover cures. Who knew?!

Bustling café this. We walked in at about 1pm on a Sunday not expecting to have to queue, but queue we did. Luckily the people in the queue ahead of us were busy gabbing to another couple sat near the door, neither the staff nor us realised they were actually wanting a table so we got sat down first. Haha losers!
The staff are mainly Scottish-​Italian and have a friendly cheekiness with it, like when I pulled my almost empty pint glass away from the waiter to sink the dregs, and later when I’d finished my food he made sure he asked twice with a smirk before taking my comprehensively cleared plate away.
My Cappessante Stornaway starter, ie. scallops with Stornaway black pudding and pancetta was huge. Even I struggled a bit to get it down, it’s certainly wasn’t cheap but it was pretty good value, with four large king scallops, each with a bigger disk of black pudding and a large amount of pancetta spread around the plate. I wouldn’t say they were the best I’ve had, but all the components worked together nicely.
My Pizza Inferno main was mahoosive too. You get a lot of food here! The bread was slightly dry and over-​floured for me, but it was thin crust as I like and there was plenty of tomatoey topping with small Italian sausage and pepperoni slices. My criticism would be that «inferno» implies a hot pizza and this was fairly gentle. All the proper heat was from unevenly spaced small slices of a hot chilli so most of the pizza had almost no kick at all, a bit of chilli oil put on in the kitchen would have made it dazzle. To be fair though there was chilli oil in amongst the condiments, but still a four.

LOVE Coia’s. Been for breakfast, lunch and dinner over the years and just love it. Their antipasti starter is plenty for 2 to share and their pizzas and pasta dishes outstanding. Nearly always my 1^st choice for a local dinner but sometimes so busy that we can’t get a seat! Never been disappointed with my choice of food or drink at Coia’s.

Booked Coias for our team lunch as it’s not too far and the best Italian in the east end. Have been here lots of times and have never been disappointed although on this occasion the pasta was dry and bland. We all had starters which got scoffed and the others mains looked great and they said it was delicious. I ordered the oven fromagge pasta which turned up burnt at the ends that couldn’t be eaten and was very dry with not much flavor. I have had mac & cheese a few times before which was creamy, lots of cheesy gooeyness and flavorsome so I am not sure if is changed or they have two different macaroni cheese dishes. We all got deserts too and everything is good, I love the sorbets. They also forgot to give us out fries and don’t know of we got charged for them because it was a work paid lunch so no one thought to check lol. We all left full but it has put me off slightly. I would still recommend to friends.

When my boyfriend and I first moved to Dennistoun a couple of months ago Coia’s was one of the places our neighbours recommended. A few weeks ago my boyfriend and I were left in a food coma after going for breakfast — their vegetarian breakfast is outstanding! And now I’m sitting with a serious pizza baby. Their dinner menu is great, so many options so definitely something for everyone. We had mozzarella sticks to start with were nice enough but the pizza definitely stole the show. The Four Cheese Pizza was delicious and my boyfriend went for the «build your own option» (perfect for mr fussy!). Portion sizes were very generous but service was slightly on the slow size (although to be fair it was pretty busy).
Definitely recommend booking.

I was pleasantly surprised with Coia’s Café. I have recently moved to the East End and had heard mixed reviews though wanted to try it for myself.
We had booked a table for 7pm and upon arrival there was a little confusion. We gave our name to one waiter who went to set up our table only for him to be reprimanded by another waiter who informed him our table was booked. However we got our table, a little booth beside the kitchen which was cosy but a little busy with waiters going to and fro and service bells etc.
We ordered the house white which was lovely and then scanned our menus. A waiter checked in twice before we made our decisions. I had mozarella sticks which were delicious and my companion had deep fried mushrooms which he enjoyed too. The mozarella sticks are really good, melt-​in-​the mouth, and I do recommend them. They come served with a side salad and dressing also.
Our mains arrived literally minutes after our starters were taken away, which was a little too quick and made us feel a little rushed. I had the Tagliatelle New York and my companion had a spaghetti dish with mussels. Both dishes were absolutely delicious. The portions were generous and we were absolutely stuffed.
We enquires as to the homemade ice cream after our mains as I have an egg allergy. One waiter assured us that it was egg free but sensing our hesitance went to check and it actually wasn’t. An honest mistake but a pretty close call!
We then finished our wine and paid up. The staff were warm and friendly though I think a little overstretched, it was pretty busy for a Thursday night.
All in all a good experience and I would definitely go again.

Best ice cream in east end not too far from city centre. They have few varieties but all if them tasty and worth the price. Just pop in at any last afternoon and simply enjoy chocolate, strawberry and few more flavours.

Having never been to Coia’s before, I was excited to try out this venue for myself. Meeting some good friends on a Saturday morning for a brunch seemed like the perfect excuse for a trial! And I certainly wasn’t disappointed.
Sitting in a lovely spacious window booth we were served promptly and didn’t have too long to wait for our food to arrive. Being able to ‘customise’ your own breakfast was fab, meaning we could each choose items we wanted on our plate without causing too much hassle to the waiters, or having to plate dodge any unwanted customers (I’m looking to you Mr. Fried Mushroom).
The portions were more than hearty (especially the scrambled eggs!!) and definitely set us up for a busy morning of shopping afterwards. After this lovely brunch I’ll definitely be back to Coia’s sometime soon. I’m also eager to try out their evening menu as I hear the pasta dishes are great!

Unpretentious, friendly, lively and speedy service with fantastic food.
Visited on a Saturday early evening and it was buzzing with all walks of life from people on their own enjoying their weekend treat to couples and families. I was in a table of 10 and the service was excellent. The waiters and kitchen staff are total pros.
The menu is full of choice including ‘chip shop specials’ like ashet steak pie, big burgers and jimmy ginormous pizzas.
There’s italian classics and I jumped at the chance to order puttanesca– it’s so hard to find this on a menu. Hallelujah! It was delicious and there was plenty of it. I also had a special for a starter — lambs liver with salad, apple and chutney. It was the best liver I’ve ever had and the portion was extremely generous.
The prices range from value to high but there’s plenty of choice to decide what you want to spend. I would happily spend an extra couple of quid to sit in this atmosphere and get the service and quality of food they serve.

I have visited coias a few times and have never been disappointed. It has a very warm and lively atmosphere which is great for family dinners or special occasions. It is always busy at the weekends so would recommend booking. It is a family run place and you can tell the staff have the place in their hearts.
I love the seafood salad which is packed with seafood and is under £8! The pasta and pizza dishes are good and you can get a ‘jimmy‘ style dish which is half pizza half pasta. just in case you can’t decide. Other dishes such as steak and fish dishes are expensive and I have never seen anyone get any of these!
There is a good breakfast choice and a sit in or takeaway chippy menu. The takeaway pizzas are awesome. think crispy dough. Authentic italian!

We ended up here by accident on Friday, after heading elsewhere for dinner only to discover where we headed was more of a deli than a restaurant. So, after a quick browse on Unilocal we settled for Coia’s and headed in.
It is a pretty traditional looking set up, made me feel a bit like I’d taken a trip back in time to the seaside. We were presented with a couple of menus — the normal menu, a daily special menu as well as their being different specials on the board. After a bit of a browse I started to realise this place was not cheap, despite it looking more like a casual diner than an expensive restaurant. I really couldn’t decide what to have — on the board there was a lobster dish without a price. When I asked how much it was, it was round £16 for a starter and £23 for a main. See what I mean about being expensive?
Graeme was having pasta but I’m trying this whole gluten free thing so avoided the more reasonably priced sections of pizza/​pasta. All the mains were over £15, and anything involving steak has a starting price of £19. I eventually settled on the chicken special, which was chicken breast stuffed with ham hock on potato, leek and peas. Sounded good to me.
When it arrived I was very underwhelmed. What I expected to be a beautifully presented dish was pretty measly, especially the potato, leek and peas. I will concede it was a generous piece of chicken. For the price tag — a whopping £16, I really expected more. A lot more. I mean, at most restaurants there is a pre theatre option for early dining where you can get at least two courses for £16, if not three. The chicken was fine, cooked like you’d expect and the vegetables were nice. I just have no idea what aspect of the dish was worth £16 and by the end of it, I was pretty pissed off at myself for even ordering it.
Graeme’s dish (a mushroom tagliatelle) was tasty and a more reasonable £10. The garlic bread we had as a side was fine, kind of burnt around the sides and nothing fancy. Our bill came to around £30 for a main only each and one side shared, with about 3 soft drinks.
With their being nothing technically wrong with the food apart from the price, I would have awarded here 3 stars but the staff were brisk, verging on rude. While paying for the meal, the waiter didn’t even attempt to talk to me and just put the transaction through as quickly as possible. It was almost like we’d done something wrong. There aren’t many places I won’t leave a tip, but here was one of them. When I go back to this area I certainly won’t be going back here.

The pizzas are amazing and you have to try the Irn-​Bru Sorbet! We used to live right around the corner and popped in all the time. They refurbished a few years ago and it is a great place for a family mea

Coia’s is a fantastic wee café serving delicious rustic home cooked food. The pasta dishes are amazing!
However, the prices are a bit steep for my liking and although they provide a huge menu offering traditional british dishes and a chip shop menu, I feel it would be better if they stuck to providing healthy tasty pasta dishes. I personally have never ordered anything from the british menu but I know people who have and the dishes appear to be a bit dry and not finished off to such a high standard as the pasta dishes.
Stick with the pasta and Italian dishes and you can’t go wrong! Definitely somewhere I would go back to!

I remember the old Coia’s Café many moons ago (well, only about 4 or 5 years ago now) and myself and the boy would frequent this greasyspoon-​esque café almost on a regular basis for a panini, chips and milkshake. It reminded me of the University Café on Byres Road which I also used to frequent on a regular basis years ago; no added fanciness or pretension, a dash of surly waitress and a pinch of chippy grease to soothe the (hungover) soul.
Well Coia’s Café, my how you’ve grown! Upon 1^st entering Coia’s quite soon after it reopening I must admit I got sad and longed for the school-​style tables and greasy misspelled menus but mostly for the mucho cheapness of the old Coia’s. Oof. Then upon visiting Coia’s again after this 1^st time I grew to love Coia’s for what it is now — a great Italian café/​restaurant. I must admit I do still find the prices a tad steep for myself but having said that you do certainly get what you pay for and wow! Hello big portions! Woof-​a-​doodle-​doo. I’m quite a big eater and I like a healthy (as in unhealthy) sized portion of foodage when I’m dining and Coia’s certainly does not disappoint! Stuffed City.
Whether it be a lazy weekend brunch/​lunch or an evening meal Coia’s caters for all. They still have their greasyspoon throwback — the chippy menu alongside quality Italian dishes, such as pizzas and pastas and gorgeous fresh fish of day (I had the sea bass once and it was beautiful) plus lighter bites such as omelette’s (which are lovely), baked potatoes (again tasty), toasties and paninis/​rolls/​baguettes.
The desserts are great too. Their own ice-​cream (in many flavours) is lush, especially with some of that blood, I mean raspberry sauce on top. Yum.
Coia’s Café also do one of my favourite coffees ever: The Caffe Royale. This is their gorgeous coffee with whipped cream on top. It is better than I just made it sound, honest guv.
They also have a tasty wine list and they serve draft Birra Moretti which is equally lovely.
If you’ve never ventured into the dark and mysterious East End/​Duke Street then please do not let this put you off coming here to try out one of Glasgow’s finest Italian café/​restaurants, you’re missing out if you don’t.
Only minus point I have is getting a table on a weekend is sometimes a bugger but you’re more than welcome to book a table so don’t let this put you off as we all know that the best things come to those that wait (hopefully not for too long though…).

We booked in here for a Saturday afternoon lunch after hearing it gets quite busy. Just as well we did, as it was indeed thoroughly busy. Always a good sign though.
Our party was 6-​strong and we all ordered something different with empty plates all round. The portions were good and the service was exemplary.
A lovely, lovely place.
My fish and chips was amazing and there were no complaints from my friends. The steak pie looked pretty spectacular to be honest and the pizzas did not last very long.
We had to indulge in some dessert which was, as expected, brilliant.
The ice cream was reasonably priced to be fair, and well presented. The chocolate cake was also immense.
The bill came to around £80 between 6 which was good for what we had, and the overall dining experience.
I would recommend this place if you are over this way, but would also suggest booking ahead if it’s peak time as it can get pretty busy.

I miss the days when Coia’s used be a modest little chippy and café, with cosy little seats where you could get settled with a ice cream soda or a coffee and a big plate of chips. There would be the echoes of Glasgow banter and the same old faces piling in to grab a bite to eat and natter with the friendly staff.
Gradually Coia’s has transformed from cosy café into a rather large Italian restaurant. These days it is a big and busy place to go for breakfast, lunch, dinner or drinks, attracting the office types, canoodling couples and lunching ladies. The menus tell the story of how Coia’s became what is today, giving a nod to days gone by and informing visitors of the place’s heritage. The menu is full of traditional Italian fare as well as great British classics, offering something for everyone. My only criticism would be the big bright and airy nature of the place, drastically different from the cosy Coia’s I used to know and love, however the food is good and the portions are plentiful.