Avenue G (CLOSED)

With cafés ten-a-penny in and around Byres Road, Avenue G has done exceptionally well to not just survive but thrive since opening in 2011. They even added a second outlet on Great Western Road near St Georges Cross in 2014, in a pocket of the West End that has also welcomed their New York coffeehouse chic shtick with open arms.

It’s a bright and shiny space, with white walls and chrome fittings. Coffee-making is elevated to little short of an art form by well-trained baristas, who’ll happily offer advice on just the right roast and brew for you. They take food just as seriously, using lots of ingredients sourced from the Scottish larder. The sandwiches – served either whole or halved with fresh soup – are all made to order and stylishly served on wooden boards. Options include wild roast venison, Loch Duart hot smoked salmon and Scottish Dunlop cheddar with cured roast ham.

Breakfasts include all sorts of British and continental standards – bacon sandwiches, croissants, pains au chocolat – as well as a few less-common options such as eggs en cocotte: French baked eggs with a toasted muffin and your choice of cheese, ham, bacon or salmon. If you’ve still got room for something sweet after that, see Avenue G’s artistically arranged cabinet of temptation, full of freshly baked tarts, pies, muffins and brownies. The space in the café is a little on the cramped side, especially upstairs on the mezzanine, but staff go a long way to offsetting that problem by doing table service as standard.