Having completed another early morning train journey to Glasgow, and feeling much in need of sustenance, I strode the short distance from Queen Street station to Café Wander, a little basement café on West George Street, with a considerable urgency in my step, not least as it had begun to rain.

Exterior

Breakfast was my requirement, so once the attentive counter woman had invited me to take a seat, as they do table service for sit-in customers, I was contemplating a nice selection of options from their menu.

I was hooked by their breakfast rolls, and decided that some black pudding was the order of the day. I thought a nice espresso would be a good plan to jolt me in to life, too.

Roll and espresso

Both items appeared swiftly. The single slice of black pudding on the roll looked a little lonely, but once I’d applied a generous dollop of brown sauce, it looked much more contented.

The roll itself was really good, with a lovely light crispness to it. It came together well with the black pudding and sauce to make for enjoyably restorative mouthfuls.

Lovely farewell steps

The espresso, a Matthew Algie blend, was pretty good, too. It was nice to see it delivered as a short double, as there seems a real fad in Edinburgh for serving this particular brand in vast measures (such as it was in the short-lived Drop).

After this brief but enjoyable interlude, I was on my way to face the slings and arrows of outrageous Glaswegian fortune for another day.

So overall, I rather enjoyed my visit to Café Wander. It’s a smart little place, with a warm welcome, serving good food that’s likely to please a range of tastes. I’ll certainly be back, as I found it very charming.

Scores
Blythe scores Café Wander
3.5/5 for food
3/5 for presentation
4/5 for service
3.5/5 for setting
giving an overall 14/20

Today’s quester was: Blythe

I ate: black pudding roll

I drank: water, espresso

I wore: stripy scarf

Total bill: £3.70