Finally getting to visit Berits & Brown represented the conclusion of a considerable odyssey. It started in Edinburgh in November and concluded today in Glasgow.

Exterior

To explain, Berits and Brown used to have an outlet on Haddington Place, and we tried to visit it only to find it closed down. It was soon replaced by I Heart Cafe, which has grown to be an MJ favourite. I had spied that there was an outlet in Glasgow’s Merchant City, when I was on my way to lunch at Gandolfi Fish, a few months ago, so when my friend Colin suggested it as a potential venue for lunch, today, I was happy to go with that.

Colin is my go-to-guy on the topic of coffee. I took him to visit Hula to sample their excellent espresso, a few months ago, and he was suitably impressed. But before we sampled the Berits & Brown espresso, we chose some sustaining lunch options.

Interior

Their specials board was the only point of reference we needed, as that contained details of their dish of the day, soup of the day, and lunchtime deals. Colin opted for the meatballs, while I chose the soup, which was butternut squash and sweetcorn, and a cheese and red onion toastie.

Dishes arrived promptly, as I caught Colin up with all the latest news on The Istanbul Review. I had a degree of food envy as the meatballs looked pretty good. But my soup looked nicely made, so I was soon happily partaking of its brightly-hued goodness.

Soup and toastie

It was a perfectly good soup, but it lacked star quality. The same appied to the toastie. It was safe, nourishing lunchtime fare, but it wasn’t particularly memorable. I tried a little of the meatballs and they were better, so perhaps it was a case of me not having ordered to best advantage.

Fortunately, the espresso was considerably better, so I’d more than happily return for further acquaintance with that.

Meatballs

So, Berits & Brown was a trifle underwhelming on the food front, which was a shame. The place is rather smart, the service relaxed yet attentive, and the coffee definitely worthy of a repeat visit. Perhaps next time I’ll forsake my beloved soup and order something else from their menu, in the hope of finding something with a little more pizzazz.

Scores
Blythe scores Berits & Brown
3/5 for food
3/5 for presentation
3.5/5 for service
3.5/5 for setting
giving an overall 13/20

Today’s questers were: Colin, Blythe

We ate: meatballs, butternut squash and sweetcorn soup, cheese and onion toastie

We drank: water, espresso

We wore: the suits of Friday working gents

Total bill: c.£20