Social Bite

Working in the city centre now I finally get a chance to try here and I was not disappointed.
Simple enough food but with enough of a twist to make it a bit more exciting than the offerings from nearby supermarkets/​fast food places. For me a coronation chicken sandwich and a protein pot with smoked salmon.
I am very fussy about my coronation chicken, and this one hit the mark with lots of tender chicken, raisins, apricots, in a creamy curry sauce. Deeeelish! The protein pot was tasty too, wonderfully smoked salmon and some salad leaves, all washed down with … Diet Irn Bru, don’t judge me!
I’ll definitely be back!

You really can’t fault Social Bite. I think their generosity extends to the customers as they offer free coffee on a Friday and their loyalty card gives you a half price lunch after five visits and a free lunch on your tenth.
The food is good with a great selection of soups, wraps, sandwiches, salads, noodle pots and cakes. They also do hot main dishes, a spicy chicken dish and Hong Kong Pork served with either rice or cous cous. My only criticism is that the hot dishes could do with a bit more seasoning but aside from this everything I’ve had has been fresh and tasty. Oh and the coffee is great too!

I was intrigued to try Social-​Bite after all I had read lately about the company and the amazing work it is doing for charity and the local community. So today I went along for my lunch. It was great to see so many people there ordering sandwiches on their lunch break or sitting in with a coffee.
All of the menu is designed by their resident Michelin star chef so you know you’re in for a treat. I opted for a focaccia with Italian meats, mozzarella and sun dried tomato, which I then had toasted. It was lovely and a really warming delicious way to cheer up my cold Autumn day.
However, I wish I had seen their menu of pulled pork or Mexican chicken on the wall above the counter; but that is always something I can have next time. The staff were all really friendly and quick with my order, although I did not see a card machine so taking cash might be the best option. (I might have to double check this).
Overall my first visit to Social-​Bite was really great, with friendly staff, delicious affordable food along with knowing that every penny profit was going to charity.
They also offer Suspended coffee and food for the homeless, so I think I’ll be donating this the next time I’m in.
Definitely worth a visit to eat well and support our community!

I’ve been hearing such good things about this place, so when my friend suggested we meet in the centre of town for a lunchtime bite, this seemed like a no-​brainer.
I have a bit of a problem with many of the lunch places in town — they’re mostly expensive and samey, leaving me feeling that I just should have gone home, or bought things to make sandwiches and sat in a park somewhere.
Social Bite’s chef is Michelin starred. Their profits go to good causes, and they actually do that whole suspended coffee thing that keeps getting shared to Facebook…
I opted for the crayfish & mango salad (£4.25 I think), with a banana & massive cup of tea (£1.30 iirc). (There was also a soup /​sandwich /​fruit deal for £5, which my lunch buddy had, and which is incredible value.) The salad came with a wee pot of dressing, and was in one of those pre-​style boxes. And wow, it really was good. The crayfish was fresh, the mango had just the right amount of bite, and the dressing was well paired. Bloody good.

How could I not be a fan of Social Bite? So much more than a sandwich shop — they’re actually doing something amazing with their profits and helping out local causes. They’re a social business which means they give 100% of their profit to good causes, and help to feed the local homeless community as well. I think it’s such an amazing idea and really appreciate that they’re trying to do something worthwhile!
But the big question is — is the food actually decent? I’ve been meaning to try it out for ages but only ever seemed to pass by when I’d already eaten. I finally made it here when I was looking for some lunch to-​go, and grabbed the chicken pot noodle. They also have a huge selection of sandwiches, as well as some more unusual options like a mezze box and salads. The chicken pot noodle is £3.50 but it’s like no pot noodle you’d grab at the supermarket — this one has actual fresh things in it, like vegetables (cucumber, carrot and spring onion) and lovely chunks of real chicken. They top it up with boiling hot stock at the counter for you so it’s ready to eat in 3 minutes. The staff go out of their way to explain why Social Bite is different, without being robotic or pushy. They’ll give you a loyalty card which gets you some sweet discounts — 50% off or a free lunch the more you visit.
If I worked in town, I know I’d be visiting Social Bite all the time — who could resist the delicious food with the added bonus of the warm & fuzzy feeling you get from helping out a good cause? I can’t wait to see Social Bite take over the world with their great idea.
(There’s a second Glasgow shop opening on Bothwell Street soon!)

Reminds me of school lunches… In a good way. One of the very few places you just CANNOT choose unhealthy… Cheap, tasty and great ethics behind the business, what more do you want? ;)

Just had the tastiest bacon roll ever from here — And the fact it’s a social enterprise makes it entirely guilt free :) Looking forward to trying out their lunch menu.

I passed this place the other day on my way to getting a lift home and as I passed the store front, which had it’s mantra of «good food for a good cause», it stuck in my head.
Today, while I was doing some work I spotted this article on our main careers site, which featured Social Bite co-​founder Josh Littlejohn
talking about how he came up with the idea.
This year I’m definitely up for giving more to charity and this enterprise is right up my street. They claim to give 100% of profits to good causes, which is pretty awesome and I hope they manage to keep on doing so. This store is their second after the flagship Edinburgh venue.
The menu is very similar to that of Pret A Manger with various baguettes, sandwiches, noodles, salads and panini’s all on offer with artisan fillings. They also do what looked like a lovely wee line in Rwandan coffee but I’m sadly on a caffeine diet this week.
I had the Parma Ham, chorizo, mozzarella and pesto panini (£3.99), toasted and to go. It was really tasty, the tomato pesto particularly tasted so fresh.
The store design is cool, laid back, bit hipster-ish…think Pret mixed with Starbucks. I did really like the various saying’s printed on the walls about the company ethos and the case studies of the people they have so far helped in to the workplace.
The lady that served me was super friendly and only too happy to suggest to me additional extras with my meal and also gave me a loyalty card (eat 5 times and get lunch half price, 10 times and get it free).
This is the kind of wee business Glasgow needs and I really hope it thrives. It has some heavy competition like Pret, Subway, Costa, Starbucks and Greggs all in close vicinity so I urge all office types to ditch the pretentious Pret salad for a day and have a Social Bite!

The Glasgow one just opened this week giving out free coffees :)
I thought I try them out for a take away lunch and was pretty impressed with both the choice of sandwiches, toasties, baguettes and the ethos behind the operation.
I opted for the meal deal — any soup, sandwich and piece of fruit — for £4.95. It’s nice to see somewhere else offering fruit rather than crisps or chocolate as the meal deal choice. My food was good and they do a loyalty card, where on your 5^th visit it’s half price and on your 10^th visit it’s free!

Social Bite has been around Edinburgh for a while, and this is their first branch to open up outside our fair capital.
The thing I really love about Social Bite is their work with the homeless. They do suspended coffees, which, if you’re not familiar with he concept, means you can pre-​pay for a coffee and a homeless person can come in and claim it later on. You can actually suspend anything from the menu for a local homeless person to claim later, and Social Bite do a Bagel & Coffee deal for £2.99 which I think is a good option for suspending.
Even if you only do it once a month when you get paid, that’s a meal that a local homeless person wouldn’t otherwise have had. Come on, £2.99? You’ll spend 10 times that on a night out.
As for the food on offer, there’s plenty of choice, and as a pescetarian I was pleasantly suprised by the range of options open to me. Even for pure vegetarians there’s a lot to choose from, including a rather tasty looking falafel salad box.
They have 2 homemade soups on offer each day. I opted for the Haddock Chowder along with a Tuna Nicoise salad box. Both of which filled a hole and tasted superb. I might opt for a baguette next time and go for their Meal Deal, which is any sandwich or baguette, plus a soup and piece of fruit for £4.99.
I’ll definitely be back. It’s great food and does work for a great cause.