CAFE STRANGE BREW - CHRIS EATS

KEEP SHAWLANDS STRANGE!

When you’re using the last day of your annual leave to recover from some Thursday beers and kick off your anniversary celebrations you need the breakfast you choose to be good … and Cafe Strange Brew certainly delivered on that front. Truth be told they delivered and then some with a great menu and even better food.

I started the day of with a matcha latte, a favourite of mine, and a Bundaberg ginger beer which were both delicious and gave me that little sweet kick I was craving to kick start my hungover brain. With my brain engaged it was time to give the menu a lookover and decide what to order.

Usually I arrive knowing what I’m going to order but having not seen a menu and having seen so many good Instagram pictures of the food I was still undecided and flying blind. Still with a coffee and menu in hand I was ready!

After some deliberation we decided to treat ourselves to 2 dishes and a side of pancakes because… well why not! We went for the Stornoway stack, the Spanish baked 2 egg skillet and the poached pear American style pancakes. Now whilst I have no regrets whatsoever about what we ordered I do want to go back and try the ‘that guy’ (smashed avo, poachers and chilli hollandaise) and the chorizo and fried duck egg pancakes.

First up was the Stornoway stack which was undoubtedly the star of the show in my eyes. What’s not to love? Black pudding, check! Bacon crumb, check! Chilli ketchup, check! Add to that a nice crisp grilled chunk of sourdough, 2 perfectly poached eggs and some grilled mushroom and what else do you need?

This dish just about had everything I love, I may have eaten 2 if they’d included some crispy onions with it. Having a great dish on a menu is one thing, executing it is what matters and this dish was flawless in that respect. Everything was cooked perfectly; the black pudding crumbled, the yolks were runny and there was a more than generous helping of the bacon crumb and chilli ketchup.

Bacon crumb was a new one for me but as far as I’m concerned the more ways that bacon can be prepared and served the better. Bacon jam being another genius innovation of recent times! I’d definitely recommend this dish if you’re heading to Cafe Strange Brew!

Next up was the Spanish skillet. I mean, have you even been to Cafe Strange Brew if you’re not eating from a skillet at some point? My best guess from all the pictures I’ve seen is no! There’s 3 options when it comes to the baked 2 egg skillets, we opted for the Spanish skillet which included chorizo, manchego, patatas bravas, parsley and was served with a tortilla on the side.

The presentation of the dish was great, I’m a sucker for a skillet, and again the execution was delicious. I love chorizo so the Spanish skillet was always going to win it for me. The patatas bravas were also a nice touch and although this was not a massive portion it was very filling with the eggs, chunks of potato and hunks of chorizo.

The tortilla was also surprisingly good. Perhaps surprising is the wrong word because everything was great, but I just expected it to be like any other tortilla. Instead it was light and fluffy and a great addition to the dish, especially for mopping up the sauce at the end to make sure none of this was wasted. Another breakfast win!

Last but not least was dessert with the pancake game in Glasgow seemingly on the up just now. I’m a big fan of the classic bacon and maple syrup but when there’s so many new choices then it’s time to branch out. We went for cardamom poached pear, lemon ricotta, blueberries, pistachio crumb and saffron syrup.

This was such a refreshing and delicious dish and was the perfect ending to a delicious meal. The pancakes are the most important part of this dish of course and they were delicious on their own which for me is how I judge a good pancake dish. The toppings obviously add to that but if the pancakes aren’t great then they’re only hiding that.

The toppings here certainly added to the dish, in particular I enjoyed the saffron syrup and lemon ricotta. The pistachio crumb also offered a nice switch up in textures and the pear was also very tasty. This was definitely another success in my recent pancake adventures.

It’ll come as no surprise that I’m giving Cafe Strange Brew a massive thumbs up and recommending that you get yourself down to Shawlands and check this place out! The Southside has some great food joints right now and I’d say Cafe Strange Brew should be right up there the next time you’re looking for a great breakfast or brunch.

I’ll certainly be back for some bacon crumb and to work my way through more of that delicious menu!

CAFE STRANGE BREW REVIEW

Food: 5/5

Atmosphere: 4/5

Value for Money: 5/5

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