Giancarlo’s Arcaffe

Popped in for a coffee, was pleasantly surprised!
Ultimately this is a restaurant with (I think) a side business doing takeaway sandwiches and the like but we got a seat outside (under a canopy, this is Glasgow after all…) and whilst Kirsty got stuck into her MASSIVE french fancy, with a nice big pot of tea, I got stuck in to a delicious fresh strawberry tart.
It was massive, messy and wonderful! I do love a good tart!
The staff were nice and friendly, and it almost felt a little like being on the continent, sitting outside with a pretty good Italian coffee.
I like it when you find places like this, that you don’t know and happen across randomly, and from the look of the lunchtime menu (pulled pork burger caught my way) it might be worth ‘happening’ across it again for a meal!

Arcaffe looks like it’s a coffee shop from the outside, to the point I’ve always assumed it was. I learned yesterday that it is its sister café, The Sandwich Concept, that do light bites and affordable takeaways (although I was offered a latte when I asked for one!)
Arcaffe is as classy as you would expect it to be from its royal blue fronting. Laid back and nicely decorated with rich wooden tables, it’s a small and intimate restaurant serving up pastas and pizzas for under ten pounds. The food is decently portioned without being dolloped on the plate, the staff are very friendly and sophisticated, and they have a small selection of wines behind the bar.
It’s been open since the late 90s and I’ve always wondered at how it stays in business since it appears to shut really early in the evening. I actually think this place would fair well if it moved its closing hours to later on in the evening as it’s in a ripe area for business and would be the perfect end to a summer’s day in neighbouring Kelvingrove park. But as it is, it does pretty well and would make a lovely, different place to meet for a lunch date or as a precursor to the theatre (they have a reasonably priced menu for the very same).
It’s a very sassy place to visit, and makes the Sandwich Concept’s sullen service look a bit shabby in comparison if I’m honest.