Riverhill Coffee Bar

24 Gordon St, Glasgow G1 3PU
When it comes to the caffeine scene, Edinburgh perhaps has more of a name for third-wave coffee and Glasgow is sometimes unfairly ignored which seems a little absurd given that it has more than its fair share of great coffee shops (given the relative size of the city) as well as its own coffee festival to boot. Riverhill Coffee Bar is just a tiny part of this burgeoning coffee movement (so tiny that you might walk past it on more than one occasion before eventually realising where it is) but its central location and Dear Green coffee have meant that it is making quite a name for itself despite its small size.
Squeezed in on Gordon Street, its narrow parameters mean you receive service on one side and sit on the other like a sort of glorified corridor where you can get coffee and cake, a cubby hole of delights, if you will. I sidle up for an oat-milk flat white and a dense and dark vegan brownie that compliment each other nicely as the rich sweetness of the baked good oozes through the lighter, fruity notes of the coffee to give a real sense of dancing perspectives of the coffee/chocolate divide, both sweet but in their own inimitable ways.
Given how cold it can get in Glasgow in November, I’m ecstatic to find a soot where steamy chrome instruments and frothed milk all add to the clutter and ambience of the tightly packed yet efficiently managed space. It lends to an air of cosiness that is only enhanced by its central location where you can spot suits and tourists alike flit about whilst you nurse a hot drink. The low key nature of the spot itself makes lends to people watching as you feel unflustered in this hideaway state, a spy onto the world with the added bonus of a decent cup of coffee.