Tea Garden

I used to frequent Tea Garden many years ago, when I first lived in Partick and my friend at the time was a BIG fan. She LOVED her tea. I mean REALLY loved her tea. She once came over to stay with me and I counted in one day she drank 10 cups of tea! Wow. I think she was part-camel…anyways, she loved Tea Garden (probably because it had her fave beverage in the name)& I always thought it was just ‘Okay’. Fast forward some 18+ years and I find myself again in Partick with a friend suggesting we ‘try out’ Tea Garden. It says something for the place that it has been around all that time & pretty much not changed at all. Some might see that as a bad thing but I guess they figure if it ain’t minging don’t stop serving it!
We visited one busy Saturday afternoon but luckily we snaffled a wee table beside the door and plonked ourselves down hoping someone had seen us. It’s not a huge place (around 12 tables) so it definitely has that cosy/​someones home kinda feel to it which I like. I get the feeling a lot of the folk in here are regulars, having said that there were no Western-​style piano stopping and people stopping conversations when we walked in, we were actually greeted by a very friendly waitress who was very efficient and friendly the whole time.
Menus are on the table and I swear they haven’t changed either since I was 1^st in here! It’s proper café-​style grub (breakfasts, sandwiches, baked potatoes, filled rolls, paninis) mixed in with burgers a few home cooked style dishes. They also have a Specials board. The prices are stupidly good. For example; the All Day Breakfast is only £4.50! Brilliant. Especially considering this includes tea/​coffee also. As much as I was swayed by the fried brekkie we both opted for the Soup & Sandwich deal for £4.50. I chose a Tuna Mayo sandwich with the Soup of The Day which was one of my favourites, Lentil. Even though we ordered the soup & sandwich I thought it was nice they still gave us a bowl of bread :-) Our food came very swiftly too. Yum.
For drinks I had a filter coffee with cream (such luxury!) and my friend a pot of herbal tea. Their coffee/​tea range is actually a lot better than I remember it being. They have a big coffee menu up on the wall & I was delighted to see that alongside the regulars they had coffee with cream as a lot of places (even dedicated, ‘fancy’ coffee shops) don’t serve (pouring) cream for coffee which is a shame as coffee with cream is the best! The coffee itself is also really nice; they use quality beans & proper Cimbali/​espresso machine. Since I’ve been in and now occasionally pop in for a take away coffee and one of the best things is a black Americano is only £1! Yes, one of your golden nuggets. Much bargain. They also serve milkshakes here, yipee!
We were so stuffed by our delicious soups and sandwiches (they were really nice) that we couldn’t face any sort of sweet thang but they have lots of various cakes, bakes & ice cream on offer. I looked around & noticed the scones seem to be popular. They also sell wee bags of homemade Tablet for £1.20 and it is really good. I meant to add they also have a Kids Menu too in case you’re bringing any wee people along.
We sat and ate and talked for hours and drank more coffee and talked more and yet not once did we feel as though we had to leave. The staff in here are really friendly and talk away to a lot of the customers (regulars I presume) and this is the secret to their success; alongside the tasty, comforting food & drinks they have good, swift service with a smile. It may not be a fancy schmancy, hipster haven, beardy style café but this place has soul and that’s something you can’t buy or fake as much as you may try. I know I’ll be back and I already have! I feel bad that I just never visited it again sooner.

This is a nice wee café for breakfast & Lunches

Feel like a bit of a traitor to my working class roots by only giving this place 2 stars. I half expected to see my gran getting torn into a jumper for the grandkids in the corner.
It was one of those days when the sun was hitting the 6 foot patch of seating outside so i thought I’d get a scone in and a milky coffee. Sadly I’d no sooner sat down than a local minstrel came a wandering and actually picked up the scone, gave it a quick once over, replaced it, then tried to tap me for a quid. This in itself shouldn’t justify a lowish score, but even though i didn’t actually eat the scone it looked a bit on the skimpy side. My gran would have knocked out a batch that required jaw dislocation to get your laughing gear round. The coffee was hot and milky and would have been the ideal brew 30 years ago when coffee was something that gave your sugar colour.
Again, no reflection on the score but it’s nice to sup a cup outside and not find yourself mentally writing a note to the environmental health department about dog fouling. Bag it and bin it folks.
I know I’ll be back when the shrapnel in my pouch won’t stretch to byres road munchies but until then I’ll remember my gran by raising a cup of brew in my kitchen and flicking the glacé cherry off my empire biscuit.

‘Tea Garden… Coffee House’ says the innocent wee laminated menu header… what the fudge does that mean? Are you a tea garden or a coffee house? It’s kinda like being in front of God on the opening days play and him asking you what you fancy being on this ‘Earth’ thing he’s making (disclaimer, Unilocal does not support any of the deranged ideas regarding creation, God, life, the universe and everything, spouted by this heavily caffeinated Community Manager…) and you saying:
‘ooh, i’d like to be a horse dog.
Eh… that’s two things… you know that don’t you?
No, no… it’s one thing. it’s a horse that’s also a dog. A horse dog”
«Do you vote conservative?»
«What?»
“Never mind…“
Mollusk…
Right. This place, despite being a bit greedy in the old name/​what are you department, is just a wee café that offers standard grub. Bit skint? Looking for a passible bite to eat? Then this will do.
Oh, almost forgot. Adding to the ‘oh hell, what’s going on here’ to the menu, there’s the added ‘eh’ of african themed paintings adorning the walls of this wee joint. I kept waiting for my coffee to be served to me with an umbrella in it by a goat on rollerskates… Hey, has someone been messing with my meds?

A massive pot of tea maketh the man…
And you can expect to get one here in the Tea Garden for a low price! This café keeps it fairly simple, but they definitely get it right. I got a friendly, homely feel off the place which is nourishing if you’re looking for some warmth and carby substance on a cold day.
Food is cheap, so it speaks the language of students and skint workers everywhere! That was obviously a selling point for me, but to pay three very reasonable pounds for a loaded plate of beans on toast was nothing short of wonderful! My friend got what could only be described as an epic baking dish packed with mac and cheese for only four pounds, complete with a mountain of salad and coleslaw on the side. We were impressed.
Although the beans on toast was surprisingly filling, I went on to have a heavenly slice of chocolate fudge cake which looked like it would’ve been at home in Miss Cranston’s.
Cozy and comfy, the Tea Garden’s food is fresh, served up quickly and is inexpensive for what you get! I love the places up Byres Road but honestly, the quality in this place is just as good and it’s a lot cheaper. It’s in a good location, easy to get to, and offers simple food like steak pies but also the usual sandwich and panini selections with a ton of fillings.
Moreish would be the word to describe the food here, but unfortunately I was too stuffed to dive in to a second piece of chocolate cake. But feeling suitably noursished with two courses and tea for just over a fiver gets the vote in my book! What’s more, I was two pounds short and the kind, trusting gent let me off with it (I’ll take it back and give him a tip while I’m at it, don’t worry!) We felt like we were being looked after — an unusual feeling in this day and age — it would be one to take your mum to for Mother’s Day.