How did Sean Williams and Megan McFarlane become Absolute Roasters?

“Probably when we met”, the couple laugh as we sit in the new permanent home for their growing coffee business that opened this week at 70 Hyndland Street.

I take a big bite of a pastel de nata as they explain their backstory. “We were in Estonia, we went to pick up Sean’s car because he had done the Mongol Rally. We were driving back through Stockholm and saw a Piaggo ape coffee van. Now, my dad has businesses in Inverness, he had bought some of these wee vans with an idea to do something with them but they ended up sitting in a field.16 years later, we thought, maybe this is a good idea” Megan says.

Glasgow Times:

“We took it down to my home place in Dumfries and Galloway, spent six months doing it up. We had plans to take it around events” Sean says. They live in Finnieston so decided to start with a pitch nearby, in an industrial estate in Firhill. “Two weeks later Covid happened”.

That could have been the end of that. A few months later, they tried again beside the canal and developed a following. Folk would walk up to see them for a coffee and a chat.

Taking a chance, Absolute Roasters opened as a pop-up on Hyndland Road, next to Old Park Station. “We never expected to be so busy but during lockdown, coffee became an excuse to leave the house, it grew from there” Megan says.

Glasgow Times:

They had the opportunity to be part of the Dockyard Social market with their Absolute Roasters cold brew cups. Then came a small unit on Dumbarton Road.

Having moved through three premises in a year, they settled on their ideal location: “we are never moving again” they both say in unison.

I’m looking at the brunch menu now. Eggs baked in a green shakshuka casserole with sourdough and spicy n’duja. Japanese sesame toast with smashed avocado, ramen eggs, miso aioli and crispy onions. Baked cauliflower, vegan tzatziki and pomegranate molasses.

Glasgow Times:

It’s clear they are taking things up a notch from a mobile coffee machine in Maryhill. Part of that process was staffing a kitchen that is classically French trained in Paris. They will make their own patisserie in house: “we are going to have fun with the drinks and our chefs are going to take care of the food. We got extremely lucky in the team we have put together” Sean explains. “Jules has worked in three Michelin star restaurants in Paris and London, worked in Bali, now he is here”.

The busy duo are currently offering brunch cocktails and looking at developing an evening speakeasy type offering at weekends. For the moment, both are enjoying the chance to join Glasgow’s breakfast club.

Glasgow Times:

There’s a remarkable thread running through the reopening of Glasgow hospitality. Lockdown businesses that have succeeded in the most challenging of circumstances. Young businesses who are moving forward instead of retreating.

“This wasn’t the plan at all”, Megan says. Sean adds, “we’ve just kept going, there’s so many ways to find reasons not to do something. We wanted to sell coffee and that’s led us here. If you see an opportunity, you’ve got to take it.”

Absolute Roasters is open seven days a week, 9am to 6pm.

instagram.com/absoluteroasters

Lobo

Farewell to Turkish eggs. Gnom - known for their playful, experimental and global approach to food - has closed. They make way for a new opening, Lobo, at 758 Pollokshaws Road.

They are expecting to open their doors in the week beginning 13 October. I’ve seen the opening menu and it features plates including baked beetroot, whipped feta, smoked dukkah, mint and harissa; lamb shoulder pastilla, spiced pea sauce, sumac onion and soft herb salad; cider glazed pork belly, ajo blanco, jamon and caper breadcrumbs with pickled grapes. A caramel apple empanada, lemon curd tart or brandy snap cannoli for desserts with options for snacks and sides.

instagram.com/loboglasgow

Six by Nico

Glasgow Times:

In March 2017, I proclaimed Six by Nico on Argyle Street Glasgow’s most exciting new restaurant. Six courses, inspired by a food story, available for six weeks. Then the kitchen resets for a new menu, and so it goes. The format is familiar now and Six by Nico has arrived in other cities: Edinburgh, Belfast, Manchester, Liverpool and two in London. Two! It’s a remarkable run for a Glasgow chef.

Next, I hear chef Nico Simeone will open a restaurant on Dawson Street in Dublin city centre. There’s also the arrival of a new flagship Six by Nico venue on Byres Road which will transform the former Fopp store and add a rooftop bar.

For now, there’s the opportunity to try the Guilty Pleasures menu that runs until 31 October. That starts off with a surprising octopus and pork Bolognese with aged pecorino foam. Ceviche tuna follows with Tokyo turnip and dashi deli. The kitchen’s riff on a lamb kebab features spiced belly of suckling lamb, rose harissa emulsion and a sharp cucumber chutney.

There’s a double header of stand-out dishes next, the scrabster cod deconstructed fish supper with curry sauce and Nico’s Fried Chicken with barbecue corn, hen of the woods and black garlic. The meal reaches an indulgent conclusion with a version of “Nutella and waffles” featuring chocolate and praline cremeux, sour cherry and stroopwafel.

The menu is £32 per person with wine pairing for an added £26.

sixbynico.co.uk

Bowling With Owls

Glasgow Times:

 

Bowlarama is a late-night bowling alley with four lanes, neon lights, a restaurant, dancefloor and retro arcade game machines. They offer comfort food, cocktails and snacks. The venue is from the team behind Tiki Bar and Kitsch Inn on Bath Street.

From 12-3pm on 27 September, Bowlarama becomes Owlarama. Book a game of bowling and you will be able to play in the company of owls. Real owls from the Owl Magic display team. That’s what’s happening on Glassford Street on Monday. It’s the sports entertainment crossover that no-one was expecting.

bowlarama.co.uk