I had a slightly unusual schedule today, on my visit to Glasgow, so was on the lookout for a place (or places) to grab both a mid-morning coffee and an early takeout lunch.
Exterior
Recalling a conversation with Sandro from Castello Coffee, from a few weeks ago, where he said he’d been in the west and found a couple of good places, I popped in to the Riverhill Coffee Bar, on Gordon Street, to sample their espresso. I was mightily pleased with its rich, dark flavour.
As I sat sipping I had the opportunity to take in the smartly appointed surroundings, with its brickwork and wood interior.
Soup
Their selection of lunch items looked rather good, too, with evidence of a couple of soup cauldrons, and some savouries that looked incredibly tempting. Their Puddledub pork and black pudding sausage roll immediately caught the eye.
I decided that this would fulfil my lunchtime needs rather well, so after a couple of hours working on important matters of state, I returned to acquire lunchtime comestibles.
Espresso
The sausage roll was always going to be a factor, and I unsurprisingly opted to match it with some soup. The celeriac, apple and blue cheese marginally won out over the chorizo, crème fraiche and tomato.
Having negotiated the little stroll back to my office, I carefully unwrapped the items. I started with the sausage roll, and it was every bit as good as expected. It’s a true joy to eat such flavour-packed meat. The pastry, encrusted in poppy seeds, was delightful.
The soup was very good, too. It’s always a gamble to order a dish that bears a close relation to one that you’ve recently enjoyed, and such was the case, here, as the flavour combination was very similar to the excellent soup I sampled at Field. Where Field had chosen toasted walnuts, Riverhill had gone for blue cheese.
Sausage roll
As it turned out, without the walnut richness, this soup veered a little towards sharpness, but the blue cheese did a very good job at restraining its excesses. Just a walnut or two would have done wonders, but as things stood, this was still accomplished soupmongering.
So overall, I was highly impressed with Riverhill. Their coffee was first rate, and their food was extremely satisfying. I’ve been looking to add a top quality coffee stop to my Glasgow roster, so I’m very glad to have found this place. Next time you’re in these parts, do drop in, as I’m confident you’ll be as delighted with Riverhill as I was.
Scores
Blythe scores Riverhill
4/5 for food
3.5/5 for presentation
4/5 for service
4/5 for setting
giving an overall 15.5/20
Today’s quester was: Blythe
I ate: celeriac, apple and blue cheese soup; Puddledub pork and black pudding sausage roll
I drank: espresso, water
I wore: navy suit
Total bill: £8
