Another recent addition to Glasgow's not-quite-west-end café district is Gesso Lounge. We're not sure why this place is called Gesso Lounge, perhaps it's some link to Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh, or the nearby Glasgow School of Art. The building has been unoccupied for a while as far as we know and was previously some sort of photo business (as evidenced on Google Street View!)
It's surprisingly large (very long) inside with par for the course - bare brick walls and lots of staff, all young and most content to stand around like a fart in a trance (there were 3 staff members behind the counter while we waited for assistance but they were all too busy doing...very little - we had to let them know we wanted to order and weren't just randomly standing there!).
We ordered and took seats at the back where the tables are far too close together considering there is further empty space at the very back, we had the area to ourselves though.
Unfortunately we'd left the measuring tape at home but most Glaswegians will struggle to squeeze into the gaps between the tables here...
Especially when you're there to eat cake! And this was the pretty inspiring display that was begging to be eaten - but it's one of those places where you're not quite sure if you're meant to lift the cakes yourself or ask an assistant to do it for you...and then we come back to that fart in a trance situation again.
These looked good but so they should at west-end prices. £5 for a roll?!
We ordered a twisty Italian pastry thing and it was pretty big and pretty good, perhaps a wee bit dry though in comparrison to...
...the lemon drizzle cake which had a citrus zing and was really moist.
And the flat white looked perfect and tasted like a good strong coffee. It came with popcorn rather than tablet or biscotti. We also had a can of Whole Earth's sparkling elderflower drink.
The cusions are nice, though at first I thought this was a blood filled moka pot, well I suppose it is - perhaps this is where the vampire society meet up if they still exist?
We didn't get a receipt but it came to about £8 odds, which for the standard of coffee (it's local Dear Green coffee) and cake was pretty good. The tea selection looked interesting too (included things like lavender rooibos) and they also sell various (ambient) deli bits & bobs.
Free WIFI, toilets clean - and look out for the "office" on the way there!
TL;DR
+ large and spacious
+ expertly made coffee (and strong too!)
+ really good cakes
+ free WIFI
- tables too close together
- staff need to be more assertive
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