Beanscene

Oh my, oh my… This shop in recent months fallen right off my list of favourites. Not sure what happened, but since the chain went through a name change (though for all intents and purposes seems to be operating in exactly the same way), the quality of the hot drinks has definitely gone down. I count on baristas having skill to make my soy based drinks not taste of bean juice, and this place (now going by ‘CoffeeScene’) simply does not do so any more.
The staff are still friendly, the food and drink options are all the very same, but the actual quality of hot drinks has plummeted. Why? Well, I heard that the people who run the chippy next door bought the place over and replaced the experienced staff with people who had previously been working in the chippy… No coffee experience what-​so-​ever. Some new faces did pop up after a while, and some of them make decent beverages, but generally it is all very lack-​lustre. Sad time, my friends!

Om nom nom… coffee done right! so close to work so hard to resist! Great service, tasty reasonably priced coffee and a good selection of cakes and snacks. The only thing I dislike is the re-​brand!

Decidedly average coffee at a distinctly un-​average price.
I bought a coffee from the rugby club I was at later today for £1.50 that was basically Nescafe gold with hot water, and it had more of a flavour than the cup I had here today.
Add in a difficult spot to park (for those that drive) and I think I have found a place that I never need visit again.
Oh and the tiny booth that has the smallest ratio of space-​under-​a-​table x space-​against-​the-​wall is the weirdest thing I’ve ever sat at. Even the pole in the way was weird. Weird.
TL;DR: Poor coffee, weird seats, awfy dear and hard to park.

I live just round the corner from Shawlands Beanscene but we stopped going there years ago after it got taken over by Fifi & Ally cos it went right downhill. However, friends suggested meeting in the Battlefield branch for food this weekend because they’re open until 10pm on a Saturday night and you can bring your own wine. So here we are.
The pizzas always used to be good so me and Him Indoors went for those. Most of the pizzas were £8 with extra toppings being £1 each. They do a 2 pizzas for £10 offer but we both went for the most expensive £9.50 pizza which was like a «Full Monty» thing with extra toppings on it and that wasn’t included in the special offer. £19 is quite steep for two pizzas and to be honest, they weren’t exactly loaded with topping, but they were thin and crispy and tasty. Our pals had the nachos and the chilli bowl and although they weren’t massive, they both seemed to go down well enough. Him Indoors says Beanscene coffee isn’t the best and they don’t do large sizes any more either.
One good thing is that they no longer charge for corkage if you order food — we ended up drinking three bottles of wine between us and they didn’t charge us for any of them. Beanscene is next door to a Co-​op so if you run out of wine, you can always nip round for another bottle easily enough.
The place doesn’t have a brilliant atmosphere — I don’t think people generally go here on a Saturday night and maybe it’s a bit quiet. We were having a bit of a laugh in the back corner but I felt occasionally like we were making too much noise for people’s quiet Saturday night coffee experience. But if you want somewhere with comfy sofas and decent pizzas that is open until 10pm on a Saturday night, this is perfectly good.

Like the Beanscene in Shawlands, this has a dependable wireless network that you get access to by buying something. The coffee and baking are pretty good. This one is smaller than the one in the Shawlands and I don’t find it quite as friendly and comfortable. It’s lacking the outdoor seating areas and the community bulletin board. Nothing wrong with it, though. If you’re looking for a place to work on a laptop in Battlefield, it’s one of the top three cafes I’ve tried.

Really overpriced. I’ve had a coffee from here twice now and both times the latte has led to a dose of the squirts.
With Nero, Starbucks and Costa doing so well, this place needs to up its game and hygiene.

I frequent this coffee shop on numerous occasions. Most of the staff are really friendly, and have my coffee available on my arrival (as the see me in the distance).
Last night I decided to order pizza, which looked like a chapati base, I know it was «thin crust» but dear gawd!!! it was cold into the bargain, and the most inedible piece of food I have ever eaten there. Then I ordered a dessert, which I was asked if I wanted «heated», I replied «yes please», needless to say it arrived at my table cold.
The place was dirty looking, the toilets hadn’t been cleaned since the last shift it seemed. I could understand if the place was busy, but it was late evening. The staff on at the time, looked more interested in brushing up the coffee from the counter top, than serving. I had to attract their attention to be served.
I also had to ASK for my coffee, it had been paid for, but forgotten. I did eventually get it, without an apology.

This isn’t a bad little Beanscene, though I prefer the one in Cresswell Lane (maybe because I once had a lovely spring afternoon there drying out after a rainy trip to the Hillhead Library). It’s a little too open plan and a little too ragged at the edges for my tastes, though the coffee is good.
Really, though, the prices are just a touch too high for me to put four stars on it. A competitive price for a Southside latte is £2 or less unless it’s flavoured with faery farts and sprinkled with edible glitter. This wasn’t. Perfectly good, and better than many, yes. But still, if I could cross the street to the Battlefield Rest and have one at similar cost – but made Italian-​style, in calmer and more attractive surroundings – there’s something wrong here.

Okay, so in recent times it would be fair to say that Beanscene has become a bit too «chain-​ey.» With branches all across Glasgow now, the coffee house has lost a little bit of its authenticity as a trendy one-​off shop.
This doesn’t change the fact, though, that the Beanscene formula works. They have free wifi, a good selection of cakes that are very bad for you, and a chai latte which is to die for. Could one ask for more? Possibly — I hear their pizzas and crepes are also rather tasty…
One great thing about Beanscene is that it isn’t just open during the day. This means that if you fancy meeting a friend during the evening, you have a great alternative to the pub. Good friends, candles and chai lattes is a combination very hard to beat…

I’m torn between a 2 or a 3 star rating here, mainly because of the pretty dire service. The place itself, including the prices, music, coffee, milkshakes and surroundings are nice, the rude service isn’t.
When my iced latte and partner’s milkshake arrive, they were served by a man with gold chains, who plonked them down really hard on the table without saying a word. We were then going to go for a 2−4−1 pizza offer (after 5PM all nights) until we found out the oven was broke. Iced coffee was really nice though, but when I asked if they had liquid sugar (as they do in Japan for their love of iced beverages) I was met by a look of bot disgust and contempt.

I hadn’t noticed the sign in Beanscene that Gavin spotted, but for me it sums up the attitude of the chain these days. The music is always a bit too loud– they have a silent TV in the corner, it is always full of children and feels like a corporate version of a coffee bar.
Okay, so I am bitter. I did once decide to meet a date here. It was a bad move. Apart from one corner, which feels like a den (and so, not appropriate), the design really lacks any intimacy. The comfortable chairs are high armed, making me disappear into them, and the smart chairs are too formal. This would be forgivable if only the coffee was good. Across the chain, it is to bitter.
It does have a few good alternatives– the iced coffee is splendid, especially in the fortnight of summer when it is a sensible choice. And the food is getting better again– the antipasti is a good choice. But the chain feels complacent.

Another indication of the burgeoning renaissance in Glasgow’s South Side is the dawn of the ‘trendy coffee shop’. By trendy I mean slightly expensive coffee, over-​priced, underwhelming sandwiches and forgettable acoustic soundtracks.
In saying that, this branch of the Beanscene franchise has a lovely atmosphere and is a welcome alternative to the working man bars that used to dominate this stretch of the city. Of an evening the lights are dimmed and the candles are lit. The cheese platter is a wee bit expensive, but it is rather yummy and cheese is always fun!
If I had one complaint about the Battlefield Beanscene it would be the volume of the music. I would have thought a coffee shop like this would hope to promote conversation and civility, but I often find myself shouting at the top of my voice.
The coffee is nice though and the carrot cake is amazing!

I’ve been in this Beanscene on a number of occasions, and though the coffee is nothing special they do an antipasti plate with mixed italian and spanish meats, bread, olive oil and balsamic vinegar which is absolute dynamite, and worth going for alone.
However, Beanscene lose a star for an annoying policy they have written up on the wall that basically states that once you’ve finished your food /​drinks, you should leave right away unless you plan on spending more money. It’s quite insulting, and makes the placed rather unloveable in my book.

This was the first café that I braved with my 3 week old son. It is perfect for new mums, very close to Millbrae so you can go for your check up and then go and chat to your friends. The service is very good and you can linger over 1 cuppa and they are not trying to rush you out.

Smaller than the nearby Shawlands branch of Beanscene, this branch is none the less very well positioned and perfectly formed.
Located in an old bank building and across the road from the Battlefield Rest it’s a great place to pick up a coffee on the way to work, or for a walk through Queens Park.
Inside it’s a bit of an odd shape, the main seating area running parallel with the windowed front, excellent people watching opportunity, then there are a couple of steps and a few more tables in awkward corners, not ideal for everyone to get access to.
They do the expected range of coffee based drinks and other hot beverages, cakes and a small selection of hot food: good pizzas.
A particular good thing about this branch is the close proximity to a good paper shop and Langside library, to allow you to stock up on reading materials before you disappear into one of the leather armchairs with your bowl-​o-​ccino.