Cafe Fame

Lovely interior very old school art deco. Only stayed for a quick soy latte but would definitely pop back in. Staff super friendly and attentive.

I had no idea this place even existed until recently. We were looking for somewhere off the main shopping streets. Somewhere we could rest and have a coffee, away from the Saturday shopping crowds, after having done our own Saturday shopping. All our usual haunts were full, so we were wandering down Hope Street, thinking that if we found nowhere else we’d just get a coffee in Central Station.
Thank goodness my partner had his eyes open, because I’d given up and had stopped paying attention. We were delighted to find Café Fame. The main store is a huge, light bright room with high ceilings and an array of chairs and tables (including some wing back armchairs which I quickly claimed.) There’s an upright piano in the corner and the general theme appears to lean towards art deco.
Sadly, it looks like its seen better days. Some of the furniture and fittings are a bit shabby if you look carefully. I didn’t mind, I was comfy enough, but it’s definitely due a refurbishment — or at least a bit of a tidy up.
It’s table service, and our kind waiter brought over our drinks and pretended not to laugh at how excited I was about the novelty cow-​shaped jug that the milk was served in. Simple things, I guess, but it did sort of make my day. My coffee was smooth and creamy and my partner’s pot of tea was generous.
The best thing about Café Fame though, is that even though it is getting a bit shabby, it’s just a really lovely place to sit. It’s immediately calming and manages to feel just a bit special. I was really happy, sipping my coffee and gazing out of the huge windows at the passers-​by.

I can’t help feeling sorry for some new business owners starting up a new food outlet like this one and not pre think what you want and where do you want to go, business wise.
It’s like opening a new kebab shop in a small street that has 10 or more kebab shops.
Today was my first time here and thought it looked pretty nice inside and looked the part but was very expensive for what you got, café latte, small tray bake & bottle of sparkling water was just short if £8.
Well what’s different about this place, well nothing, absolutely nothing. The same business idea that has been used for years serving the same old biscuit day in and day out, I think this is why so many business that have been here previously have failed due to not being able to think of a new idea.

A lovely place for a relaxed morning or afternoon tea or coffee and warm croissant. Very spacious and pleasant bright environment, with its slightly quirky furnishings. The Italian proprietor is very friendly as are the staff, some Glaswegian, and some Mediterranean. Not expensive, and a lovely contrast to the over-​crowded popular chain coffee houses in the city.

The owner of Café’ Fame is a brave man. Risking the ire of Glasgow’s many pedants with an errant apostrophe, they open today with a fairly limited menu of soup, salad, pizza and sandwiches. Being a pork fiend I opted for the porchetta and parma ham sandwich which came served on the 80s’ most ubiquitous symbol of Italian invention, the ciabatta. (Seemingly Italian bakers felt so threatened by the imported French baguettes that were becoming popular that they intented a whole new bread and in just a few short decades it now rivals the popularity, globally, of that gallic invader. Job done.) The sandwich itself was much as one would expect. I’m not convinced the choice of cheese, a mild cheddar I think, was the optimum but it was not too untoward. Shavings of pecorino might have complemented the parma ham a little better. On the whole a solid effort, though I think they might want to sort out a different pricing tier for sit in and takeaway as with the addition crisps and salad you clearly get a little more for your money when sitting in.
If I were in the mood for porchetta again, I’d go to Sarti’s whose sandwiches are a little cheaper to take away and, were I to sit in, the menu a little more expansive to suit a dining companion. However I can’t see many of the other nearby lunchtime crowd making the short jaunt to any of the Sarti’s to pick up a sandwich so this is unlikely to trouble the proprietor. I’m looking forward to seeing how Café’ Fame progresses and returning to try some other things.