Penny Black

I really really wanted to love this place — independent shop with little café area as well as the post office. I loved the shop area — excellent selection of cards (I couldn’t resist buying some!) & a few other small gift items to choose from, such as mugs and notebooks. What stopped me from loving it & knocked a star off the rating was a lack of friendliness from the café staff — not a smile or a thank you amongst them! And they overcharged us — we weren’t given a receipt & it was only when we commented on how expensive it was when we were eating that we realised we’d paid for things we didn’t order! Whilst we got the overpayment back they weren’t overly apologetic! Espressos & cake were tasty though! If only we’d had a smile it would have been a 5 star rating…

Is it a bit sad to have a favourite post office? I don’t care. This is my favourite post office.
It has the most efficient and helpful staff of any post office I’ve visited. I really don’t like waiting in queues, here I never have to wait very long. Once I’m at the front of the queue my order is always dealt with very quickly and the staff are always happy to chat about anything that isn’t totally clear or to help you find the best option to suit your needs. They’re super stars
It has an amazing range of greetings cards and cute little gifts in the shop, as well as all the usual stuff like gift wrap and stationary. Then, there’s the café. Cakes, sandwiches, coffee and free WiFi — it would already be impressive for a post office if this stuff were just average, but it’s actually really good.
It’s a huge improvement on the old Post Office that used to be near here on Great Western Road and I wish it was the only Post Office I ever had to visit.

Have popped in here once for a hot chocolate with a friend. The person behind the counter was friendly and we were served quickly. There’s not much seating available but we were lucky enough to get two seats at the window right after we ordered.
The hot chocolate itself was a bit on the tasteless side (as if I had made it at home with powdered hot choco), but might have just been a one off mistake. I’m sure I could’ve taken it up to the barista and had another one made but didn’t bother! Will have to give it another try.
Also had a wee wander round the shop and loved all the unique cards/​gifts

I have not yet explored the café area of Penny Black so I can’t speak to the sandwiches or coffee, but I can say that the Royal Mail service seems much improved over its former location up the road. Also compared to the former location, the interior and the inventory have been significantly modernised. The layout has been updated to a ‘lifestyle experience’ model — an open plan with do-​dads scattered around in different, convenient-​to-​pick-​up spots so it looks vaguely like it could be your own personal office. As a long-​time lover of all things stationary, it ain’t bad. Though shy of the stationary-lover’s paradise, Paperchase, it does hit the spot in a pinch.
I seem to be in Penny Black about once a week with some parcel or letter that has to be sent off for work or across the pond. Even at lunchtime and just after work — peak time for post offices — the queue never seems to be too long and always moves fairly quickly. This is of course in relative terms to the usual purgatory of your average post office queue.
Just a few niggly points: the ‘post’ queue leads customers away from the ‘shoppe’ register and toward the back of the store where the postal services desks are located. However, if the products register is open, the attendant will take the next ‘post’ customer, which can lead to a little bit of confusion and inadvertent (I WOULD HOPE) queue-​breaking. This process could be a little stream-​lined, but it’s never been a huge problem for me, however, I have also experienced first-​hand how Brits feel about queue etiquette… Also, the counter space they have set up for customers to package up materials is against the partition where the queue lines up, putting you awkwardly not-​quite-​in-​the-​queue if you have a few dozen ‘par avion’ stickers to slap on before dropping your letters in the bid red box. Not a major problem, just a small issue of customer experience.
I have also successfully selected cards for a number of occasions, mostly birthdays and thank yous, which is a bigger compliment than it seems because I am among the world’s PICKIEST card purchasers (just imagine how long this process takes me at Paperchase…). I find their selection to be a little bit better than Papyrus around the corner and significantly less claustrophobic as well (although they don’t carry adorable kitchen accessories like Papyrus…). And it has, of course, the added benefit of also being a post office. Remember step-dad’s birthday at the last minute? Not a problem, pop into Penny Black, grab a funny, slightly off-​colour card, scribble in a charming message, buy a stamp, pop in the big red box. Done and dusted :)

Really fun evening at the Wee Tea Company tea tasting event the other night. The chap who ran it was so informative, knowledgeable and inspiring. The staff were friendly as ever, the tea was flowing and it was a good bunch of people.
Enjoyed tasting the different flavours, and even a sip of an Earl Grey infused gin and tonic! A great space for an event like this, look forwards to more of them in future.

What an awesome idea. We all hate having to send packages, the faf of going to the post office, waiting in line. Then having a million and one errands to run. This place is a one stop shop, coffee, tea, cake, café, post office, amazing cards and wrapping paper.
I love quirky cards, so this place is right up my street. I also love the Glasgow specific ranges. The staff are really friendly and helpful.
During the west end parade, if you came in with a flyer you got a free hot drink. So I got a lovely hot americano which was properly strong!
I came back last night for a tea tasting event, by The Wee Tea Company which was a pleasant way to spend an evening. As a coffee drinker, who dabbles in tea, aka has occasionally, it was great to learn a little more.

Que sitio tan divertido! Me encantaría algo así en las oficinas de correos de Madrid.
En un lado tienes la cafetería en la que comer y beber y luego en el otro lado tienes la oficina de correos. En esa misma zona tienes una tienda de papelería donde poder encontrar todo lo necesario para enviar cosas (paquetería, tarjetas de felicitación, cosas bonitas para decorar, etc) pero es que son cosas tan divertidas… Había millones de tarjetas preciosas, me quería comprar todas, simplemente para tenerlas en casa :) La verdad que ya les gustaría a los de Tiger tener esas tarjetas!

Well, this place is a gazillion times better than its last two incarnations where it doubled as a post office-​cum-​newsagent and card shop. Here we still have the card shop (and a few other interesting goodies), but the newsagent bit has gone and in its place is a rather swanky café area.
The place is cunningly divided by a ramp up from the door (wheelchair friendly!), with the coffee bit on the left, the cards etc. on the right, and the post office counters at the back. There’s a lot more space than the old one, and if there’s a bit of a queue at the post office there’s always something to catch your eye and make the queue seem to move pretty quickly. Not that I’ve ever had to queue for any great length of time here, in contrast to the Partick post office.
I haven’t tried the café bit yet, but having glanced at the counter area on the way past I’ve seen enough nice-​looking snacks to tempt me to give it a try next time I’m in.

A genius way to save local post offices — open neat little cafés in them! I never imagined ordering a side of first class stamps with my flat white but Penny Black allows you to do just that (ok, that’s maybe not entirely accurate — the post office and café are slightly separate but it’s almost possible!)
Penny Black offers a selection of hot drinks, a fully stocked fridge of cold drinks and a small choice of sweet treats.
They do their own freshly squeezed orange juice which is super tasty and refreshing but there’s just not enough of it in the little plastic cup you buy it in. The accompanying cheesecake I had with it was rather indulgent — very creamy and a much more generous portion than the OJ!
It ain’t a big place and probably no good if there are quite a few of you (most of the tables are for two) or if you are ravenous (due to the very limited selection of snacks) but if you want to revive yourself with a sit down amid a trip to the post office then it’s perfect!

Well this is a clever post office, card shop, café combo! Love the idea of combining functions and was really impressed with the range of cards and wee bits of stationery and gifts on offer. I didn’t have to use the post office so can’t comment on that bit but I of course sampled the coffee and cake options.
The range of cakes and sandwiches wasn’t massive, but then it isn’t a particularly big café. What they had on offer did look fresh and appetising. I chose an empire biscuit and americano and both were lovely.
It was a nice place to sit and refuel but it wouldn’t be somewhere I would sit for hours or suggest meeting friends for a catch up in. Although I will be back to buy cards as the selection was really good.

A very cute little café inside a Post Office that is very well priced given its location.
Not a particularly large selection, however.

I’m not gonna let a screaming wee girl spoil my coffee.
Well it was the parents really — «Just ignore her, she’ll stop soon!» they snapped at each other. 15 minutes into ‘a world’s gonna end’ tantrum and they’d had enough, at wits end and were gone. I won’t go into the «it must be hard for the parents» debate that ensued.
Anyway, now where were we? I think I prefer the coffee shop part of Penny Blacks to the upmarket ‘Clinton’s’ bit. It’s kitted out with that untreated horizontal plank panelling and those exposed, old style, faint glow filament light bulbs that are everywhere just now. Coffee’s adequately good and service seemed just fine, so nothing to complain about really.
If I was in the area and needed to post anything then this is where I’d do it and if I was urgently in the market for a valentines card, there’s no doubt I’d purchase it here too. In fact I could’ve gone the whole hog, i e. bought the card, thoughtfully penned it and posted it — All while supping a pretty good beverage. My wife might have questioned who the card was for, but not today. A coffee and seat will suffice thanks and no secret valentines card was sent.

I just love it when there is a coffee shop within a store, so I had to go and try that one, which is inside the new post office on Great Western road (they just moved a block down from their previous location, and it is so much better now).
As I am a little bit of a coffee fiend, I started by asking the barista what kind of coffee they have, which greatly confused him (bad point!) but after chatting a bit, I found out they had Costa Rican beans, and that they even did V60 brewing, which not all places do. So I went for that, and my friend too, adding to this a slice of toffee caramel cheese cake (sooooo much sugar, but quite nice)
The coffee was really tasty and I also loved the chilled atmosphere with lounge music and dimmed light, which gives the whole post office a really relaxed feel.
As this place is literally 3 minutes from my office, I think I might go for a few work sessions over there in 2015!

When I heard about Penny Black I knew I needed to visit. I tend to love anywhere that is multifunctional and that part of Great Western Road has needed something to break up the lines of hairdressers and children’s fashion boutiques for a while now.
The shop/​post office/​café was quite busy which is great a new business. The gift shop section is packed full of gems like Nikki McWilliams cushions (you know the ones, they’re shaped like biscuits), posh salted caramel marshmallows, sewing kits, notepads — so many beautiful Glasgow gifts. The shop is also full of interesting non-​generic greetings cards. I spotted about 5 which I am planning to buy for people’s birthdays. The gift shop adds an extra place in the West end to shop local.
The café section is small but an welcome addition.
We opted for a chemex for 2 as well as a slice of jaffa cake cheesecake to share. They get their cheesecake from The Artisan Cheesecake company based in Bathgate, which a firm favourite with a work colleague. The cheesecake was well worth it and was beautiful. However I would recommend sharing as it is really sweet.
The coffee was delicious and I was so happy with our chemex as it meant I had more coffee to look forward to.
I think I will definitely be heading here again for their coffee/​cheesecake/​shop/​post office.

I like this place! It’s a bit different, very new and does tasty food. I popped in for lunch with a friend and wasn’t sure what to expect apart from a mashup of a post office and café. Can’t say I remember eating in a functional post office before but hey, I’m an adventurous kind of person.
It’s where the £10 Thrift Store used to be. They’ve well and truly gotten rid of the smell of vintage clothes (now it smells a bit like paint), and about ¹⁄₃^rd of the space is the café with a good amount of seating. There’s premium seating of comfy armchairs by the window and the rest is standard tables and chairs.
The food menu is pretty simple — some breakfast options like porridge, yoghurt pots, pastries plus sandwiches, soup and sweet treats. I got the inside word that the sandwiches are done by Cherry & Heather. They’re pre-​made in the chiller and you can get them freshly toasted. I tried the brie & caramelised onion sandwich which was lovely, a good mix of the ingredients and perfectly toasted. Not a bad price at £3.20 either.
I also had a pot of peppermint tea which is fresh leaves and they’ll give you a timer so you know when 3 minutes is up, so it’s perfectly brewed. Other tea options include breakfast, camomile, darjeeling, earl grey, green, peppermint, roobios, ginger chai and rose. Awesome selection!
Also — coffee. Good range of the usual plus the option of decaf and milk alternatives (not sure what they are) — V60 and Chemex available. Service was warm and friendly even though the staff were new and still learning the ropes. We left our sandwiches with them for toasting and they were promptly delivered to our table with a glass of popcorn as well which was cute.
There’s lots to like about this place — huge selection of cards in the post office section and some good wee gifts. The post office counter seemed to get busy at lunch time and perhaps the queue could be positioned in a better spot so it’s not in the way of the café counter. I’d personally like some more gluten free options in the café but maybe that’ll come in the future! I’ll definitely be back here in future as I love all the little details that have gone into making this place feel warm and welcoming.

I haven’t had anything to eat or drink here yet so my review is for the Post Office! In case you didn’t know Penny Black combines a local Post Office with a card and gift shop and a café. I think it’s a brilliant idea.
The Post Office itself is an improvement on the old PO on Great Western Road as it’s much more spacious and less hot and stuffy. The staff were really friendly and efficient. They have the usual selection of boxes and envelopes with a few quirky options thrown in. The selection of greetings cards is huge, big enough to rival Paperchase and Papyrus with the same level of variety. They also have a small selection of gifts, some by local designers. Hopefully they’ll add to this as time goes on as it looks like whoever is buying for them has a good eye.
I’m looking forward to sending my Christmas cards and gifts from here and using it as an excuse to try the café.

First visit to Penny Blacks on Great Western Road. They have only been opened for a couple of days so I will need to go back again. Nice space but kind of had the air of somewhere unfinished yet, maybe because it is so new.
They only had two sandwiches left when I went in just before 4pm so not sure if they had more to put out as their FB page says they are open till 8pm. The toastie I had was really nice, goats cheese and honey Beetroot with a latte. The coffee was good but felt a bit lukewarm.
The staff were really nice but a bit unsure of the till. Again possibly because it is all new. I think that once everything settles down this could be a great space to stop in for a quick bite. The food tasted fresh and different. I loved the range of cards they had on sale, some of them were very different and hilarious!!!
Keep going Penny Black guys, I think you have a great space with a lot of potential and I am sure it will be 4 stars the next time.