Meet The Owner @ Smile Café!

Heard about this wee Italian café through my good lady friend Elizabeth F. but I never really find myself in this part of Glasgow — when I lived in Byres Road I was near Queen Margaret Drive all the time but now I’m East siiiiiide I don’t really come up this way & it is my loss because this place is fab!
The lovelt guys from Smile made us few Elite Unilocalers feel very welcome & I have to say the place was very cosy indeed :) Chris got in some top notch wine (don’t mind if I do…) but because some folk don’t do the wine Andrew C. had some magical carry out from a shop just a hop, skip & jump up t’road, so myself & Eliza checked it out & came back with booze laden bags. Don’t let anyone say we’re not classy ;) (The beer shop was brilliant… but I’ll review that another time)
The foods on offer here were all absolutely yummy & there was not one thing I did not like! I think my favourite savoury things were the salami paste, fish tomato thing & the meatballs — NOM. But honestly everything was so tasty.
Then later we came to coffee & cake — I was so worried we weren’t gonna get to try their coffee & I thought seens as it’s a café we really needed to try their own special coffee (well I did coz I is a coffee FIEND! Muhahahaaaa!) the coffee (Kimbo — which led to us/​me shouting ‘KIMBOOOOO!’ in the style of 90’s cartoon Jimbo) was served Napoli style with a dollop of crema sugar — WOW. Good shiz. Even if the food wasn’t great here (which of course it was) I would come here just for that black, liquidy goodness… oh my… warmed my cockles so it did.
All in all one TOP banana Unilocal event AND, to top off an already splendid evening Chris gave us all AMAZING ‘Pure Mad Unilocaler’ Bonnie Bling badge!!! Ya dancer! :) Pleased as PUNCH man.
TOP night. Well done Smile guys & Christopher.

Despite being a local girl, this event was my first experience of Smile Café. The café itself is by no means spacious, but the Meet the Owner event really proved that good things come in small packages!
Lots of authentic Italian eats, crammed full of interesting and less than run-​of-​the-​mill ingredients — wild broccoli, anyone? The owners are clearly knowledgeable and passionate about what they do. They have a large and varied menu, including multiple vegetarian options, and verything I tasted was mouthwateringly delicious!
Also, if you like your coffee to pack a proper punch, you won’t be disappointed here. Served up all creamy, in a tiny cup like they do in Italy, it achieves that rare feat of actually tasting as good as it smells!
Smile, I did. Definitely worth a return visit.

Wow, what a great night of fine Italian food and wine. The mood was right, the vino flowed freely and the café was snug and warm. Because there was so much grub on offer I thought I would run down the food we tasted, as it truly was a feast to behold…
ANTIPASTI
Bruschetta Classica with tomatoes, garlic, oilve oil and oregano
Crostini with N’duja — spicy Calabrian salami paste
Crostini with pesce ghiaccio (literally ice fish) mini, tiny fish in a spicy tomato sauce
Vitello Tonnato — truly unique for Glasgow, only ever seen this in Italy. Sounds weird but its delicious, tuna mayo, roast beef and caper, just so fine!
SANDWICHES
Catanzaro — spicy salami, Caciocavallo cheese, sun dried tomatoes, leaves
Potenza — Wild broccoli sandwich with smoked mozzarella
Milano — Salami, smoked cheese, aubergine and rocket
Torino — Taleggio cheese, aubergines and roast peppers.
SECONDI
Polpette (Italian meatballs) with Pecorino cheese
Homestyle pizza slice
DOLCI (sweets)
Torta Caprese — almond and chocolate cake
Handmade lemon biscuits from Siena
COFFEE
Espresso — Napoli style with a dolop of crema sugar.
Thanks very much for to the Smile boys — great job.
Chris — I would have thanked you for picking such fine wine, but it turns out it was someone else’s choice, oh well.

I felt a whole lot of smiles at this Unilocal event and they were smiles of satisfaction.
It was quaint, dainty, wee and bursting full of Italian goodness. We were graced by some of the finest Italian food and drink. Santino and Rocco of Smile Café spoiled us rotten with many varieties of antipasti, sandwiches, sweets and a cheeky wee proper Italian espresso.
I was very impressed with the selection on offer, I have to admit I am a fussy eater but willing to give it a go. There was some hit and misses for me, especially the spicy antipasti. Oooft, too spicy for wee me, I may have breathed fire. There was also some flavours I would have never chosen but getting a wee sample has certainly given me the confidence to try more from their menu. The meatball and cheese were my favourite, wow it was just to succulent, I should have snuck in another.
I also, would you believe shock horror, tried the Napoli style expresso. Now, being someone that disnae like the coffee bean, I was quite surprised. It still had a slight bitter taste but the crema mixed with the sugar really helped give it a smooth flavour. Me being weird as I am, I thought I would have shot to the ceiling on the caffeine, alas I came to a lull and I believe my belly was full and it was time to rest due to another exciting, informative, funfilled evening.
Thanks again to Chris for organising another fab wee Unilocal evening and to Santino and Rocco for putting up with us pure mad Unilocalers (I’ve got the proof).

This is most definitely a 5* event.
The Smile Café hosted a Unilocal event tonight and what an event it was. I wasn’t expecting anything when I went really, so what I was given was absolutely spectacular. An evening of multiple glasses of wine (I think all the Unilocalers went through 8 bottles of wine in total all night. Wow,) gorgeous, authentic Italian food made by Santino and Rocco, and coffee, is definitely a night I’m going to enjoy.
The food that was presented to us over the course of the night was Bruschetta, a Pizza bread with olives, a tuna and roast beef with capers and chives bread and a spicy tomato bread amongst others. Genuinely, fantastic Italian food made by passionate Italian men who are from a town not far from the Amalfi Coast. The Italian wine was amazing, really crispy and had a kick but smooth at the same time. The coffee was just wow; real Naples style espressos that were just absolutely to die for. And the company of my fellow Unilocalers (maybe as the King of Glasgow (I’m going to have a crown to prove it!) I should start saying subjects…) was absolutely spendiforous. Nothing like a collection of Unilocalers in one place!
Another wonderful event arranged by our wonderful Community Manager. Hooray for being a Unilocal user!
P. S. not actually going to start calling anyone my subjects. I’m not that much of an asshole!

Small café and a group of Unilocalers. Time to snuggle up!
Excellent chance to sample several of the amazing food and coffee being made in this lovely café. Santino and his business partner produced a wide array of delicious Italian delectables.
Well done Chris and Alasdair even made the CM look good.
A very nice change from the previous big events. Scaled down but still delivering high quality. Congratulations all round.

What a fantastic night! Lots of good company crammed into a cosy space, fantastic food, and an almost never ending flow of wine. What more can anyone ask for? Santino and Rocco of the Smile Café were lovely, gracious hosts, and fed us to bursting with their tasty and authentic Italian sandwich bites (I must find out if they cater). I can’t believe that last night I sampled the GREATEST meatballs I’ve ever had anywhere… ever. Full stop.
Now, as you may have guessed from my previous reviews, I’m not usually one for coffee… not without sweetening the bijeezus out of it. But again, last night I tasted the BEST coffee I have ever tasted which was barely sweetened at all. It was aromatic and not at all bitter. I shall be dragging my coffee loving friends here in future.
This place is a teeny wee gem in a part of Glasgow I’ve barely visited — but be assured, I will gladly WALK the 5 miles from my house for the sandwiches, cake and (surprisingly) the super tasty coffee.
Thanks Chris and Smile Café for a fabulous evening. I can’t wait to come back!
Also, it was decided that the King of Glasgow must wear an actual crown at Unilocal events. Mwahahaha!