Tinderbox

Love this place. Great Coffee, tea, French toast and also now does Martha’s food as well as some of the old favourites. What I love most is the chilled out atmosphere, hip décor and amazing playlists.

Nice place. Inventive selection of hot and cold drinks (including smoothies). Had the soy spicy mocha just because it sounds like nothing I had before. Love that they don’t charge extra for soy milk. Prices seems to be fair. Had the drink «to go» but saw people working on their computers inside, even though the lighting isn’t so great for work. Also liking the Togo cups which are neat and easy to grab. I’d come back here.

Met up with a friend for a coffee, well hot chocolate for me.
It’s not the cheapest for food though their beverages are average prices but it’s open until about 10pm and sometimes I’d rather a café than a pub for an evening catch up or just to read.
I like the fact there are lots of different sized tables so you can go intimate or spread out with a large group. The mezzanine level is often occupied by singles on their laptops but don’t let that stop you from going up there.
For a treat I love their French toast with maple syrup.

I’m a big fan of tinderbox, having spent many an afternoon in the branch on Byres Road in the west end, so remembering that there was a branch in the Merchant City was just the ticket today.
I was running the Glasgow 10k and my pre race ritual is a double espresso, so I popped in to Tinderbox for my fix. The coffee is delicious, the prices are pretty spot on (£1.80 for a double espresso) and the atmosphere is suitably laid back. Although I didn’t sit in for my coffee due to time constraints, I have done in the past and there are plenty of seats to relax in and even get a bit of work done.
If you’re in the merchant city, or the west end, give the big chain coffee shops a miss and head to Tinderbox.

In dire need of just «being out» when I have stuff to do, I come to this tinderplace to work & sip.
Alternating the flat white for a different pick every now and then, I’ve tried most of the hot coffees a la carte. and I think their coffee to be good stuff. They make a mean flat white for those between moods for a cappuccino or straight espresso. Even gave the strawberry smoothie a go, but I’d skip it in the future. Not enough ice, watery, and no berry punch.
Tried a few of their baked goods including a pear/​apple tart and a lemon custard tart. I appreciated that both were not cloyingly sweet and the flavours had a clean natural taste to them. But then again they were not much more than okay. The crusts were lacking and the overall taste was not bad but not great. Place has seats a plenty but the upstairs can get a but stuffy.
All in all, come for the space and good coffee.

In a bit of a rush, I popped into Tinderbox for a quick bite to eat. As I’m not a coffee drinker I can’t comment on the quality of the drinks — if you love you’re coffee I’m afraid I can’t help you with this review!
Firstly, and probably it’s main attraction, Tinderbox is a nice looking place. I was in the ground floor area, and it was a pleasant place to spend some time. It’s designed in such a way that it’s a comfortable place to stay, and you don’t feel like you are squished in next to the other tables. There are little design flourishes like the cool bakelite-​style price lists above the tills, and it feels like the well-​established part of the neighbourhood that it is. The major downside to is that the Wifi appears to be completely broken. A few other folk have mentioned it and out of interest I tried it myself, and it doesn’t appear to work at all — you can connect to it, but then it just sits there and does nothing. It’s just a basic mistake, and something that shouldn’t take much to fix.
In terms of the food, I was a little disappointed. I think part of this might have been because I came here late in the day (around 7pm), and most of the stock had gone — there weren’t any pies of the day left for example. This left a couple of sandwiches left to choose from. These weren’t overly exciting, and for £4.70 you didn’t really get a huge amount for your money — just a 2 slice sandwich on a bloomer slice with nice tasting, but not a vast amount of filling. Yeah you get a packet of un-​branded salted crisps with them (not exactly brilliant), but for that amount of money you could spend your lunchtime in places around Merchant City and get a lot more and better for an extra 30p (I’m thinking the lunch at Brutti Ma Buoni here).
I might have ordered the wrong thing, (there was chilli on offer for about a fiver, and Babu Bombat Street Kitchen satay sticks in a box), and if you love coffee then you might think that I’m being a little harsh. I just think that for the prices being charged for food I can get better and more elsewhere. I might come back if I need some time to kill and don’t fancy sitting in a pub, but it’s not high up on the list for a snack destination.

They are cool! The coffee is perfect, music list carefully selected, chilled atmosphere, you can just sit and enjoy your time for hours there. Wi-​fi connection which ends within 3 – 4 hours and that can’t be renewed is the only unpleasant thing I would mention.

Went for desserts after dinner and had a relaxing time. I ordered the apple pie and mango smoothie; both were satisfying. Also, whip cream on apple pie costs extra — I didn’t know. There is plenty of seating area so just pick a place and hang out!

This Tinderbox is huge! From the outside it’s deceptive, but when you enter it’s like walking into a rabbit warren. The design is very modern, lots of chrome & wood paneling with geometric prints on the tables and walls. The coffee and tea menu above the counter seems huge, so much so that if you’re not careful you could strain your neck scanning from end to end.
This tinderbox seems a bit more hip (ster) than the others, which makes it the perfect location to observe the Merchant City yuppie in its natural environment.
What I like about this place is that there’s so much space and so many seats, which makes a great change from the usual perch or hover act on byres road. The music here’s usually really chilled out too so you can sail off into a daydream or get on with some work (or Unilocaling) without being disturbed.
I’m not overly impressed by their coffee, but it serves its purpose & keeps you going. The cakes at the counter always look really good, but as I’m not a cake & coffee person (I know!), I didn’t try them.

STEAMER!
Popped in with a friend, we needed a quick pit stop!
I had a caramel steamer (which is a glass of hot milk with caramel syrup in-​yummmmm!!) and a mahoooosive slab of Victoria Sponge (for sharing with my pal.) The cake was a teeesny bit dry (I’m a bit of Vicky Sponge purist!!!) but it was tasty and the icing was lovely!
My BFF had a soya milk cappuccino, which she said was lovely.
There are only two reasons I’ve not rated this as 5 stars… the cake and drink came to £8, which I thought was a wee but steep (in retrospect the café is in Merchant City, so the price shouldn’t reeeeally have surprised me…) and the manager/​dude in charge kept shouting!!! Not at customers, OBV, but we were sat on the mezzanine and it was quite distracting! He was asking folk to stop blocking the door-​put a sign up, mate!
I would recommend for a quick pick me up when at that end town…

Tinderbox serves excellent coffee, has great, tasty food and late opening hours. I really like the atmosphere in this coffee shop, and I go here quite often to study. I can recommend their chicken wrap and, well, all their coffees haha.
However, they do not accept card payments under £5 and have no WiFi. Also, some of the staff members seem a bit grumpy. Others are a delight though! One guy, who often works late shifts, sings out songs and spreads a good vibe. All in all a very nice place!

I don’t work in a coffee shop and never have.
However, I imagine the recipe is pretty simple for success.
— Have a nice ambience and décor
— Have free working WiFi
— Have friendly staff
— Make sure the supplies are always full
— Don’t penalise customers for paying by card
What I found in Tinderbox,
— Have a nice ambience and décor
What I did not find in Tinderbox,
— Have free working WiFi
— Have friendly staff
— Make sure the supplies are always full
— Don’t penalise customers for paying by card
In the highly competitive marketplace you need to do better.

One of my favourite coffee shops when I visit the city. The coffee was lovely and the atmosphere is so relaxing.

Even though I’m traveling domestically, I still like to try and find a local place. I was about to give up one morning until finally searching the streets on Easter weekend found a place for breakfast. The food didn’t look that great and decided to just pick up something in Tesco next door but the coffee was def the thing to try. Oooh iced coffee! Yes please (even though it’s cold out… It’s a NY thing)! Coffee was really really good… But not convinced to try any of the food there.

Used to love coming to Tinderbox…
It is a great place to relax with a coffee and newspaper before going to work or go to uni. I love the mix of people coming in, and generally enjoying the ambience of this cool city centre coffee house. I really like the interior style/​design of this place, it has a cool aesthetic and the music they play is brilliant which adds to its cosmopolitan vibe.
Tinderbox has a great selection of coffees, teas, hot drinks, cakes pastries, hot food, and even some indian food (samosas etc…), the portuguese custard tarts are a must try! It is pretty reasonably priced compared to bigger chains and smaller cafes in the merchant city. But, it’s the coffee itself which really sells the place and why I keep coming back, to sit in most days or to take away. It is my favourite place in the city centre… I’ve even walked from Garnethill and back just to pick up a caramel latte.
However, recently it has gone downhill, and I’m really disappointed by this. Over the last few months I have received the wrong order on a number of occasions. I usually ask to sit in with my coffee (a little more expensive to do so, but worth it) but received one to take away; a simple mistake but it has happened three times in as many months. Twice, I have been given completely the wrong coffee. Never at any times have there been any apology or recognition of a mistake, just a funny look. It’s seems to be chaotic when the orders pile up and the staff seem unable to cope at times. Being busy should be a good thing. Today, I waited 15 – 20 mins for my coffee. Fair enough, it was busy, maybe up to a dozen people waiting when I walked in, but these people slowly cleared and new customers walked in… and they started receiving their orders before me. Finally a girl behind the counter realised I had been waiting and asked what I’d ordered. Blank looks all round. To her credit, she apologised and made it within a minute, however I didn’t have the time to sit in and had to take away, which is a shame because I really enjoy staying with my coffee. Anytime I go in I am anticipating something to go wrong, and it never used to be like this. I don’t really want to go anywhere else as the coffee and vibe at Tinderbox is normally so good, but I may have to try elsewhere for a while.

Oi! You lot! Tinderbox do more than coffee and cakes! Grrr! Go for lunch and sample their soups. You can travel the world in sampling the variety of soups they offer. And then there’s the… wait dont get me started. But, erm, shh, the cappuccino is top drawer.

Event: Saturday afternoon coffee
Pros:
–Big space with more seating at the back/​upstairs
–Open to 10pm daily (including Sunday!)
–Good cake selection, good temperature and quirky décor
–Next to Tesco, paid NCP carpark nearby
Cons:
–Have to pay for BT wifi if not using their two in-​store computers (which are annoyingly located)– there is no local free wifi here!
–Busy on the weekends
Sum: Coffee without the buzz

Of all the Tinderboxes in all the world (well, Glasgow anyway) I had to walk into this one… and I’m glad I did, for it is my favourite of all of them.
I was in here today, doing my best hipster impression — sitting in the big leather backed winged armchair, in my Converse and lumberjack shirt, reading the untold history of Marvel Comics, with a giant cinnamon latte. It looked so good, it almost felt like a shame to ruin it by drinking it.
But I’m a monster, so I did.
The staff were quick and friendly, and very helpful when I forgot exactly what it was I asked for. It was one of those days, don’t mock me.
Anyway — plenty of seating, a lot with the joy that is a POWER SOCKET WITHIN REACH OF YOUR SEAT!!! Sorry, that does always get me excited. I’m weird, I know.
Pop in here, bring a book or a laptop or just your thoughts. Soak in the atmosphere, consume the expertly brewed and poured coffee and basically, relax. It’s the way all coffee shops should be.

Tinderbox is a much more intimate, quirky option than massive coffee chains churning out conformity. I like it because it is reasonably priced, and has a much more varied offering than Starbucks or Costa. I also like the staff, they are always happy to tell me some info about something I don’t know (to do with their produce, not about life in general)
I also like their seating area; it is very quirky. They also have board games to try!

This is probably my favourite Tinderbox in Glasgow due to the sheer huge SIZE of the place ~ it is deceptively big, especially since they took over what used to be the shop next door. Loads of seating space which is great coz this coffee shop is damn popular!
Visited here recently with friend and ordered just a flat white initially but whilst I was waiting for my coffee (there was a wee queue) I spotted one of my favourite cakes/​cakey things ~ Portuguese custard tarts ~ YUM! So I had to get one… they almost FORCED me to buy it! (I jest of course)
Scoped the place for a table for myself & my friend before she arrived & I must admit when I first walked in, on spotting the queue, I did panic a bit… but then I remembered all the space they have at the back of the shop now, woo! Nae bother.
Flat white was lovely ~ it came served in a glass which at first I found a bit odd (only ever seen lattes in glasses before), think I would still prefer a mug/​cup but still, the coffee within was lovely. My Portuguese tart was delicious ~ beautifully fresh, with that tasty vanilla creaminess I just adore. Perfect.
Service in here was okay ~ not super fast but hey, I was in no hurry. I did feel a bit of a dafty standing waiting in the line at the end of the counter for my coffee even though I was sitting in… I would’ve thought by now they would provide table service even if just to bring your coffees to you, but I guess this is not their style & maybe they don’t have enough staff at times to facilitate this service. Oh well.
I must say that in Merchant City this is one of my favourite coffee shops & the fact that they do have so much seating means I don’t have to worry about rushing to get there after work & grab a table quickly as this place has loads! Yas.

Glasgow hat ein Kaffeproblem! Es ist einfach zu schwer in dieser Stadt guten Kaffee zu bekommen. Gut, es hat hier und da einen Starbucks — aber wenn man einfach keine Lust auf die Grün umrandete Sirene hat, und eben mit etwas mehr Seele hergestellten Kaffee ohne Geschnörkel und Flavor darum haben möchte, sieht das nicht mehr sonderlich gut aus…
Ausnahme bietet die Tinderbox: Hier wird mit wuchtiger Espressomaschine bei gefühlten 9 Bar der Espresso zubereitet und schmeckt dementsprechend so, wie er dann auch schmecken sollte. Viele Sitzgelegenheiten in angenehmer Atmosphäre sowie eine Handvoll Speisen runden das Kaffeehaus auf der Ingram Street dann auch ab. Wer will kann sich per WLAN für 3 GPB ins Netz einbuchen, oder anstelle der eigenen Technik an einen der verfügbaren PC’s setzen. Übrigens: Der Service ist freundlich, die Tische werden flott abgeräumt…