Rose & Grants

My colleague and I popped in for a coffee just to have a chat outwith the busy office. We’d walked past R&Gs (A reference to Hamlet, perhaps??) a number of times and it looked really nice inside. We each had a latte served in porcelain mugs (I do hate those silly latte glass things!) along with a white chocolate & raspberry muffin form me and a scone for my colleague. The food was fantastic and the lattes were perfect.
No complaints other than the fact it was a bit chilly inside. I definitely see myself becoming a regular here…

Had an hour to kill on a rainy Monday, before an appointment around the corner, so went there for the first time (even though i’ve been eyeballing the place ever since it opened).
I really like their décor and the food selection was quite adequate.
I ended up having a goats cheese salad with roasted butternut squash and walnuts and a pot of tea. I was expecting a tiny bowl, but once it arrived, I was pleasantly surprised at the size of the salad!
Prices are also quite fair in terms of the location and choice, a nice wee café to sit down in when you’re out and about in town.

Very good service, great coffee. Had bagel, cream cheese and nova, tomato (had to ask) and onion (also had to ask).
Not five stars because of price.

A new place discovered: great coffee and cakes, friendly staff and wifi; call in if you are passing, you will not be disappointed.

I live close by this café, but I’ve never actually heard of it before signing up to Unilocal.In my opinion, it is not a hidden treasure.
The coffee was cheap, but fairly small in size, and the decoration of the place is bland and boring. If you’re looking for a mediocre experience, this place delivers. I’ll probably come back sooner or later, but primarily due to the location.

Love it in here! Open and light, not too expensive, wonderful attentive staff and its totally gay! Plus free WiFi and plugs make it the best place to study!

It is the unwritten rule of being me that arriving early for a meeting always calls for a cup of tea at a nearby teashop, so I was somewhat delighted to arrive early for a meeting on this particular morning and discover Rose & Grants just over the road. Here, as in many reviews previously, I remind my dear friends that, where there are roses involved in some capacity, I will usually be happy.
But first of all, I had to navigate Charybdis — a shop called Guitar Guitar, which (despite its name) had a mandolin in the window. Friends, I was nearly pulled under at this early stage, never to re-​surface, but somehow I trimmed the sails of my willpower and set a course straight and true for the tea.
When I steered into port shortly afterward, I was grateful indeed to my sturdy sails, because Rose & Grants is my kind of place. It’s quite big for a café, with lots of seating, and I can imagine when it’s full it must be pretty noisy and busy. At this time of day, though, it was uncluttered and peaceful, with four or five other people dotted around enjoying a spot of mid-​morning relaxation.
The service was prompt and friendly — not overly chipper, just warmly efficient — spot on for the time of day. (One of these days I’m going to run out of nuanced adjectives and I’ll have to start making them up, like with «flavoury»). The prices aren’t bad either; £1.85 doesn’t seem too raw for a nice pot of tea and £2.50 for a bacon roll isn’t the worst. I had a breakfast bagel with bacon and cream cheese for £3.50 and it was the stuff, you guys. Crispy, greasy bacon, loaded with delicious cream cheese that squidged impudently out of the bagel’s central well, a bagel of soft, sweet, and fluffy warmth. It was a bagel and a half. (Actually it was just one bagel but what I mean is that it was really nice.)
However, friends, I confess I failed. There was rose tea. ROSE TEA. But I’d left Edinburgh well ahead of my usual daily schedule and my caffeine levels were low, so I ended up going for a standard all-​day tea instead, a personal mistake for which I might never forgive myself. Yes. I turned down ROSE TEA. The regret could haunt me for an eternity. Even if I go back, the fact of that one missed opportunity will remain.
But the tea I had was fine.

Was in the area so popped in here for coffee and some breakfast.
The interior is quite a big open, bright space, so feels a little ‘distanced’ but I’d heard it was pretty good so, after climbing two tall stairs, we sat down in the window area and soon had our orders taken. One flat white for me, a pot of tea for my partner and we both spotted the Potato Cakes with crispy bacon and a poached egg and ordered one each.
The good stuff: Coffee was delicious and it was nice to be offered a large Flat White (most places only do a small one and I end up having two!). The tea was… tea (I’m no expert, but my partner confirmed it was tea). The staff were friendly and efficient, although didn’t waste much time with niceties but I can live with that.
The not so good stuff: The food was ok, the eggs were poached perfectly, beautiful rich dark yolks and the crispy bacon was mostly crispy (top tip people, if the fat isn’t brown, it ain’t crispy enough!) but the potato cakes… not sure at all!
They were a mix of grated potato, chives and a little too much black pepper. I’m guessing there was something else in there to bind (egg whites perhaps) but whilst they looked appetising, with a nice brown crust from being fried, the inside was a gooey, thin, almost porridge like texture which was a bit weird. As my partner put it ‘a bit like overcooked gnocchi’.
Tasty enough, although way too much pepper for my liking, just a very weird consistency.
I’d go back but not in a hurry. If they dim the lights, smile a little more, and sort out their cooking I’d rate this higher. Not bad, just not great.

We popped in here today for a quick bite today and it was a lovely place. The food was extremely reasonably priced and as delicious.
My only complaint was that it took us several attempts to find something that they had stocked (including drinks) however it was after lunch time to we put it down to this.

I occasionally pop in here for a coffee and a cake when passing by great friendly staff good selection of soups and sandwiches, salads, and home made cakes.

I popped into Rose & Grants for lunch yesterday, while I had a meeting. First up, I had to order food, as my stomach ached for some sustenance after missing breakfast! Both of us had the homemade carrot and lentil soup and a sandwich, for £3.50 each. The soup was generous in its portion size and hearty for such a horribly wet and windy day. I decided to have a Brie and Cranberry sandwich with mine, but me being me, I didn’t want it with Salad! Oh no, that’ll be toasted please, and indeed it was no problem for the staff. We sat at a table and conducted our meeting in peace, without ever feeling we were being listened to, despite how busy the tabled areas were. Over 2 hours later with only 2 lattes, off we went with a cheerful goodbye and an invitation to return for another meeting soon! For a slightly less formal meeting over lunch, Rose & Grants was ideal. The food was superb, and the welcome refreshing!

The brain said coffee (yes I was able to hear it over the snot and coughing) and I obliged.
Having heard a few chatters about this place I decided it was about time I got my backside over there for a wee nosey.
Despite the sandwiches looking rather awesome, I only had eyes for the coffee and a rather comfy looking (and feeling) couch by the window.
It’s a bright and rather simply decorated place, that’s certainly welcoming on a grey day in Glasgow. Service was quick, friendly and the coffee was nice if not outstanding.
Given it’s location it’s unlikely that I’ll return (although I may have to check out the sandwiches at some point) as although it’s out the way, it’s too close to a few other great food (Trans Europe) and coffee (All That Is Coffee) joints, to make it a go to joint in this area.
Good though!

Always keen to try out new coffee joints, so thanks to Sharon G & Peter M for bringing attention to this one.
Perversely, I did not have any cakes, even though they looked lovely, so will make return trip to try them out.
The sandwiches are great, not entirely keen on the massive mark up for sitting in, but can imagine it gets busy. Nice bread, lovely choice of fillings.
The coffee? eh. average, temp too high, a bit too bitter, and that was on a flat white, would should be failry balanced.
the hunt goes on…