Saramago at the CCA

Do not, repeat do not come here if you don’t have plenty of time and I mean plenty of time to devote to waiting for your super chilled waiting person to saunter over with your admittedly tasty food. We’d gone into the bar for some lunch where there were menus on the table and a chalkboard advertising today’s soups. We ordered drinks then food, wrong way round I’m afraid. Poured beers sitting on the bar, we were told that they weren’t serving food, hmm. We persuaded the bar person to convey our drinks to the café downstairs where we eventually managed to get a table. Time for us was running out so we ordered two straightforward bowls of soup. How long does it take to serve soup? — thirty minutes apparently. The soup was tasty and the buttered bread served with it was fantastic but we didn’t have time to savour it as we swiftly necked it before running to a matinée performance at the Kings.
Oh well better luck next time.

popped in before a Glasgow Film Festival event in the Clubroom.
A laid back bar, though I can imagine it gets busier later AR night, which serves at a relaxed pace.
It has an outdoor area which gets the sun early evening (good in the summer) and there’s little hustle which makes it the perfect spot for a catch up with frirnds.

This was my second time drinking here and I wasn’t overly impressed. We booked the back room for a small party, which was great, and yeah the space itself works really well for a group of folk.
I drank red wine all night but I wasn’t happy with their wine selection, but as they say it got better with every glass! We were allowed to have decorations and cake but had to make sure it was all cleared up before we left, which is fair enough.
The staff though, the staff were very rude. I had to wait at the bar numerous times until the staff had finished gossiping with each other, and never got so many as a smile or thank you once.
They have a terrance which is handy for smokers, but either the door has to be locked or it doesn’t close properly. So either people had to walk back around the bar to go outside or the room was freezing!
Also it wasn’t until about 30mins before we left that the bar staff realised the speakers hadn’t been on in the back room. We then found out that this had been a blessing as suddenly no one could hear each other talk!
It’s useful for the space and location, but unless it fulfils a need for another party, I probably won’t be going back.

A rainy rainy day, laptop in my bag and I’m looking for somewhere quiet. ‘I know’ I think, ‘I’ll pop into the CCA!’ which, of course, was chock full of people hiding from the rain.
And so to my trusty Unilocal app where the gobsmackingly obvious suggestion of Saramago is top of the list, it’s in the same building and, thankfully, I can stay inside to visit it.
I’ve been in Saramago before for a drink before a gig at the ABC (just next door) and remember liking the place. I crossed my fingers and headed upstairs, then quickly uncrossed them as it was pretty much empty! SCORE!
I ordered a coffee, grabbed a seat, took out my laptop and got to work. The coffee arrived moments later, a pleasant surprise to get a good coffee here, I wasn’t really expecting that!
I was there for about an hour, had two coffees — both of which were pretty good — and scouted the bar which has a good choice of wines and beers.
Will definitely be back, a great place for a pre-​gig/​pre-​dinner drink I think.
Top tip: the door at the far end of the bar, if it’s open, takes you through to an extra area that’s about the same size as the bar again.

A sweet little vegan restaurant and bar tucked away inside the CCA. I went to a Unilocal newbies night and we were in the ‘back bar’. Had lashings of wine, plenty of laughs and some vegan loveliness. We shared the mezze platter which came with a bread basket and included humous, baba ganoush, califlower, stuffed leeks, a rocket salad and more.
People couldn’t be more wrong if they thought vegan food wasn’t tasty. This platter was absolutely delicious! My vegan friend has spoken about Saramago multiple times in the past — I can now see why! I really enjoyed the bread (strange focal point I know) it was beautifully fluffy and was the perfect accompaniment for the different bits and bobs on the platter.
Definitely worth a visit!

I was quite shocked when I realised that I had become the Duchess of Saramago. It’s a bit of a Glasgow institution, where stressed art students sit by the light of their Macbooks, sipping coffee and Irn Bru, and wondering how they had managed to put off writing their dissertation till a week before the deadline.
With all you cultured Unilocalers out there, I had assumed that someone would have a million check-​ins by now as they spent all day, every day, wandering round the new exhibition openings, attending the music festivals this venue regularly hosts, and therefore had a favourite table in the bar, Saramago, that they secretly felt should always be made available just for them.
…It was then I realised that I was, in fact, that exact person.
I use Saramago as a meeting place for both social engagements and business lunches alike. I take out-​of-​towners to the bar for a bottle of red so we can catch up in the casual surroundings before heading somewhere louder for cocktails. I often suggest jumping into Saramago for a quick dinner while in town, and have spent many rainy afternoons sat on my own taking refuge from the busy outside world and using the opportunity to just simply read my book.
The menu is small, jolly and vegetarian, with lots of vegan and gluten free options. The staff are occasionally a little ditsy and distracted, but in general they’re friendly and efficient (just don’t expect too much on a busy night or gallery opening, when the place will be heaving). They have a great selection of beers and ciders on draught, perfectly quaff-​able house wine and lots of yummy small plates/​bar snacks. If armed with a good novel or a pressing dissertation deadline, you could quite literally spend all day in Saramago and never be interrupted.
So I’m glad to be the Duchess of Saramago, and long may my reign continue. I promise to be a glorious and benevolent leader…
…Just don’t sit at my table.

Vegan haggis was the most delicious thing I ever ate in my WHOLE LIFE!!! I wish I lived in Glasgow so I could eat here all the time.

I visited here for lunch last Saturday afternoon with some friends who were visiting for the weekend. They were looking to try somewhere healthy, in city centre and nice to relax in for a couple of hours, which is a harder than it sounds! A friend suggested the CCA as it serves some lovely big salad bowls.
We were not disappointed, all four of us ended up ordering salads. A friend and I both had the Thai noodle salad and both loved it. Lovely fresh salad, packed with flavours and textures and coated in a delicious dressing. My friends also order the beetroot salad and the butternut squash one, which they also said were really good. The salad’s are served with bread, making it a very filling meal. We had some small plates between us, sweet potato fries and soy asparagus.
We spent a few hours sitting in the courtyard over lunch with a couple of drinks. It’s a great space to chill out in!
The only downfall was the service, when we walked in I had booked a table, being a Saturday afternoon we weren’t sure how busy it would be and as we arrived two members of staff didn’t know which table was ours. It was a bit of a confusing start to the meal. as we were seated we were instantly asked if we wanted drinks but needed a couple of minutes to look at the menu, we waited another 15 minutes until someone came back to take drinks orders. Not ideal but we weren’t in a rush at least. In general the service was slow and distant the entire afternoon.
I also tried some items on the mezzie platter while here for a Unilocal Newbies night. Everything I tried that day was also really tasty!
I will definitely be back to eat here, I think I would like everything on the menu! It’s a great space, with a nice atmosphere and great food.

Now, I’m a fan of the café set in the CCA courtyard section (see other review), but it’s only this week that I ventured upstairs to the Saramago bar.
The bar is split into 2 sections — the initial bar; and a more intimate back room. For the Unilocal Unofficial Drinks event (see other review), we had the back part to ourselves. This is a great space for a biggish group to get together for an evening.
After the event, a few of us stayed until closing — and the music, which had been nicely background all evening, was cranked right up. We ended up moving through to the main bar where the same thing with the music happened again — to the point we were practically shouting at each other to be heard. Given the bar was really quiet by this point, I found this to be totally unnecessary.
The staff were friendly and the beer (Joker IPA amongst others, on tap) was reasonably priced. Oh, and I love the toilets — white and red tiling and very clean!
Overall, Saramago is a great place to hang out for a few hours — the reason it’s getting 4 stars is purely due to the music volume issue.

Used this café for a meeting spot last night and I have to say I’m very impressed. It’s a cool, light and bright setting with lots of space and a delicious-​looking menu.
I ordered a tea which arrived quickly and hot in a pot. It’s a teabag rather than loose leaf but I can’t say I minded. Later I was temped by a glass of white wine which was a bit too drinkable. Although I didn’t order food a few others got some small plates and seemed very happy with them, especially the enourmous olives and the soup of the day.
The prices on the menu are very reasonable, almost suprisingly reasonable for the city centre. Especially given that they seem to make a lot of it fresh — they claim to bake their own bread freshly every morning with organic flour. I’d definitely re-​visit for a proper meal if I found myself in the area and feeling hungry. I’m also very tempted to come along and try the brunch one weekend. It would appear that the food is almost entirely (if not entirely) vegan and, in spite of not actually being vegan, this doens’t put me off one bit.
The staff are very friendly, quick and helpful and they seem happy to be there — perhaps because they get to keep all their tips (and quite right too) but possibly because it’s just a very lovely environment to be in. They certainly treated our little group very well and, although we usually rotate the cafes we meet in I’ve already had a few requests that we return to this one.

Review update time for Saramago and I’m super excited to dish out that magical 5^th star.
I had only been to the café area before, and this place was suggested as a venue for newbie night (thanks Ema C!). I phoned and booked the bar area even though I’d never been up there. Ok, it is a little hard to find on your first visit but once you know where it is, you won’t have any troubles. My tip is to enter from Scott St and you won’t have any trouble finding it.
There’s an awesome outside area as well as space inside, and an area I think they call the back bar. This is where we had Newbies Night and it was perfect. It was bar service only so it meant a little back of going back and forth but that was ok. Their Pinot Grigio is delicious too and very reasonable at £19 a bottle.
If you’re looking for a drinks/​nibbles space for up to 30 people, seriously think about the bar area at Saramago. The only downside is the space was a little dark on a nice sunny day but these are pretty rare in Glasgow anyway.

Ventured back to the Saramago to help at a Unilocal newbie’s night. We had the whole back section to ourselves, which was nice.
These guys have an extensive vegan wine list and the white wine we had was beautiful. Can’t remember the name of it, but pretty sure it was the house white.
There’s ample space for large groups, you can shift tables to accomodate and there’s ledges to stand at, if you’re a standing up kinda person. Nice view of the lovely sunny courtyard too, through the doors.
We all shared some mezze platters with breads and balsamic, which was nice enough. Think they change what’s on the platter from time to time. Also tried the tapanade, which was really tasty and filling. We had to ask for more cutlery and side plates. No biggy, it was a big group.
Next time I go here, I’m going to resist the urge to order those addictive haggis fritters and try out some more of their menu.

Saramago is split in two with the café/​restaurant in the courtyard of the CCA and the upstairs bar and terrace which can also be entered from Scott Street. I visited the terrace bar for the first time this week on a sunny day and it was the perfect place to have lunch and enjoy beautiful weather. It felt like being on holiday in some Mediteranean country with the tiled tables and flowers.
Both spaces offer all the bar and menu options. All the food at Saramago is vegetarian with many vegan options too. If you want to eat healthy food this is a very good place to come. The prices are quite high but the quality of the food is high too. I went for a butternut squash salad which was really good but I was dissapointed that the harissa marinade mentioned on the menu was not included. The salad came with a side of crusty bread and some olive oil and balsamic for dipping.
I’m looking forward to returning to Saramago to try more of their dishes and I’m very tempted by the desserts on offer, The other good thing about this place is that you can take in a bit of culture with your snacks, an exhibition or film screening at the CCA and a browse around Aye Aye Books or Welcome Home.

Oh Saramago, how I love thee.
Basically, everything on the menu is delicious and carefully crafted and you should really try to eat it all as soon as you can. I always go with a pal (that way you can try twice the number of dishes!) and order more than I can eat. It’s just such damn good veggie food! Last time I can remember having some amazing roasted root vegetables, spring rolls, and a really good salad. It sounds like the usual picky little vegetarian options I know, but trust me, it’s so much more than that.
The prices are pretty reasonable as well, and you’re surrounded by culture! You can pop in and see an exhibition at the CCA, or just visit their adorable gift shop on the way out, or go to Saramago as a pre-​theatre dinner, or pre-​predrinks dinner, or lunch while you’re shopping with your mum, or whatever. But GO!

This place so nearly ticked all the boxes but just missed on some — however, it’s still a great place and I would recommend it highly.
The other reviews adequately reflect the many high points — really good and interesting food, amazingly helpful and friendly staff, lovely atmosphere, very reasonable prices.
The only reason I’m knocking off a star, and you could argue it’s slightly unfair of me, is because they are not so hot on the allergen front. We chose the restaurant not because we are vegan or even vegetarian, but one of our group is gluten intolerant and one lactose intolerant. We thought that this restaurant would give us some options and be aware of our requirements.
They were indeed very sensitive to our requirements but they offered few to no options. They only had regular milk in skimmed and semi-​skimmed variety. No almond milk, which seems a strange omission nowadays. Likewise, there were very few options indeed on the menu which were gluten free. They stocked no gluten free bread, which again is a strange omission.

An easy five stars, in my opinion, for Saramago at the CCA! This is one of my absolute favourite places for lunch in the city.
The all vegan menu would impress even the carnivores amongst us. There’s such a wide variety of foods on the menu that, at first glance, it’s easy to miss that it’s all vegan.
They do a great ‘soup and sandwich’ deal for £6.50. Today’s soup was a choice of scotch broth or mushroom and puy lentil — which was my choice. It was a flavoursome soup — well seasoned and garnished with parsley. I ordered the tofu sausage sandwich with chilli jam and spinach on toasted bread to go with it and my lunch date chose the falafel and beetroot chutney wrap. Both were really tasty and we’d definitely order them again. We couldn’t resist sharing a side of their handcut chips either — thin cut, skin on, fluffy on the inside, crispy on the outside — sticks of perfection!
The service is always top notch — really friendly and helpful staff. It was busy when we arrived today but the waiter swiftly organised a table for us by asking others to move up to create more room.
Alongside the quality food, the venue itself is the reason I could spend every lunchtime in there. Inconspicuously situated through the gift shop of the CCA (which itself is behind a pretty bland entrance on Sauciehall street), you’d never know there was such a hidden haven in there! Saramago is in a high roofed room complete with glass ceiling and view of the sky, which creates a sense of space and openness. There’s a cool vibe and a certain calmness about the place.
It’s all just done so well.

Waaaay back before the CCA was the CCA and it was called the 3^rd Eye Centre, they still served a damn fine veggie lunch in the café, and thankfully Saramago is continuing that tradition.
It’s not huge so it can be difficult to find a table at lunchtime, but out of hours it is a wonderful space to chill out in over a coffee and a book, and they have free Wi-​Fi too if you have work to get on with.
The old centre was housed in a couple of tin-​roofed sheds and the transformation into the CCA has been nothing short of miraculous. Who knew that there was a wonderful town house hiding behind the old buildings? This was a showpiece job for the architects Page & Park, who have created a wonderful cosmopolitan atrium courtyard that feels like it should be outdoors somewhere on the Mediterranean and really shows off the best of the buildings that it connects with its higher-​level walkways.
The food is always pretty good, and they do a reasonable soup & wrap lunchtime deal for £6.50. Finish off with a cup of their excellent coffee or a Suki tea and you’re all set.
Even if you’re not hungry, pop in here just to have a look at the space. It’s a great example of creative architecture in action.

This place is once of my favourite bars in Glasgow. Not because it is in my street and I can actually roll from my door to theirs (which I actually cannot because it goes uphill first, only then downhill!) but because it has such a cool vibe.
You can enter it either from downstairs on Sauchiehall street and go through the shop that sells art, and then arrive in the downstairs part that does food (I’ve never had food there though), or go in from upstairs on Scott street and arrive in the ‘pub’ part of it. I like all of it. The food area is really nice, and you can go just for drinks as well, but it’s all going to be seated. It has a high ceiling and coloured light garlands all over the top, which I find really cool; nice music, sometimes live, extremely friendly staff and a good wine selection very much to my liking!
Where I usually go is in the upstairs bar part, though It is not that big, but very cosy and has a gorgeous little terrace, which is perfect on a sunny (understand non-​rainy) day. Music is really artsy and hipster, and they have a malt of the month, which I almost always end up sampling.
I can only advise you to go, whether you want to go for food, a coffee in the afternoon or a late night drink with friends, you cannot get it wrong at Saramago!

On a date night we decided to go and see the best metal band in Britain (Sikth!) at the Garage. Having not seen them live for ten years I was truly excited and needed to get my grub on before the concert, so we decided on The Saramago café.
Saramago has been on my radar for years and is just one of the places that I didn’t get round to going to, and I’m kicking myself for not going sooner.
I was late as usual and the girlfriend had text me saying she was already there, so I swaggered in the door through the main CCA foyer and into the café but she was nowhere to be seen. What I didn’t know was they also have a bar upstairs and that’s where she was. The upstairs bar is totally my vibe, dark interior some great beers and wine available and a really chilled out vibe. We grabbed a quick drink and popped downstairs to the café section.
When we first sat down the place was just starting to fill up with people (which you can see from my photo) by the time we left it was heaving, and there’s a good reason why, the food is outstanding!
The café’s décor itself is as relaxing as upstairs, a really serene vibe, the walls adorned with art and posters of what is going on at the CCA and around Glasgow.
Now, to let you know, all the food is vegan but I think vegan, vegetarians and omnivores alike will love this place, you get huge portions and it’s outstanding value and quality.
We ordered drinks and the waiter brought over a large jug of lemon ice water for the table and took our order. I went for the artichoke starter served with roast garlic aioli and she went for tempura with chili sauce, followed up by haggis fritters with chips and tartare sauce and pickles and a gnocchi arribiata.
All the food was good but the star of the show was the haggis fritters, better than any haggis I’ve ever had, maybe better than any meat variety I had tried pre vegetarian. Girlfriend had true food envy after trying a piece of mine, she tried to get another piece but I threatened her with a fork.
The service was great throughout the whole meal, and was only let down a little at the end hence the 4 stars instead of 5. It was difficult to track down a waiter to pay the bill and I ended up having to stand at the bar for 10 minutes while the staff worked out the debit card machine. But that was the only small downside.
When you’re in here it feels like you’re nowhere near Sauchiehall Street and in a wee haven away from it all.
The menu is extensive and inventive and I’ve already ‘stolen’ some ideas for dishes to make at home.
Their pre theatre is £11 for two courses which is a bargain, and they do 4 tapas for a tenner on a Sunday.
This is vegan food at it’s finest that I think anyone will enjoy. We’re already thinking about our next visit.
One our new favourite places in Glasgow, and the best food I’ve had in a while, hands down!
Go try it.

I’d heard great things about this place and have been meaning to go for a while now, so on a rainy Saturday afternoon it proved the perfect spot for some tasty food in a chilled out setting.
Although I’m vegetarian, I’m by no means a strict vegan, but I really liked the fact that the menu was completely vegan and was excited to have so many tasty sounding options.
Immediately I liked the feel of the place. Set inside the CCA the café/​restaurant is bright and airy — with high ceilings and strings of lights (which look lovely when it gets dark). Unlike a lot of places these days, there’s lots of room between tables and we were lucky enough to get one of the comfier booth style seats.
Its a fairly mixed bag of people — families and some arty sorts and people by themselves having drinks and nibbles and the staff were cool and friendly.
The menu has a nice range of nibbles and tapas style dishes as well as sandwiches, salads and main courses. I finally settled on a greek style sandwich with roast red pepper hummus and salad, asking for it on homemade toast rather than the flatbread as advertised (some sandwich options were on flatbread others bread — but mmm I love bread best) and a Diet Coke.
It arrived fairly quickly, all freshly made and was really tasty. Mr H opted for some chips which he enjoyed but strangely one half seemed to be a bit cold whilst the other was piping hot. He also enjoyed a falafel flatbread with salad which from someone who isn’t a veggie, and finds veggie food quite bland was high praise.
As usual Mr H was in the mood for some chocolate, and I’d heard good praise of the chocolate cake and icecream. Two spoons and a generous square of chocolate cake arrived and we were ready for attack. The top was crispy like a brownie whilst the inside was a gooey cakey yumminess. I would say there was a slightly unusual, but not unpleasant taste from it. It was only then that we both realised why … lack of eggs !!! Never having had a vegan cake before I’d forgot about the lack of dairy! Anyway regardless, it was still tasty but pretty heavy going, even for two chocolate lovers. Mr H loved the icecream and couldn’t tell it was vegan at all.
At £22 it was pretty reasonable for really good quality food and I loved the fact that we were in there for a good few hours, never feeling pressured to leave or to order more. I’ll definitely be back, and look forward to more good vegan meals!