Kothel

The room is got up like an apothecary, with wine bottles and vintage suitcases stacked against the walls and garlic hanging in nets, and the counter is where the argument actually gets settled.

Why go

Kothel opened on the Crow Road corner in April 2015 and has run the same idea since: "a Mediterranean menu of sandwiches, cakes, artisan breads and great quality coffee" (Kothel). Paul Trainer counted "space for around 30 people inside", at counters facing the big windows or at tables set around the room, and described a weekend service where "smiling staff will assess the room and assign you a place on a selection of contrasting chairs amidst a wealth of bric-a-brac" (Glasgowist). It sits in a genuinely crowded stretch, across from Oscar & Holly's and near Cafe Circa, Wee Lochan, Pianola and The Pavilion Tearoom, which is why the room does as much work as the food. There are no bookings at all: the venue's own line is "We don't take any bookings - it's walk-ins only!"

Order this / avoid

• Order: a salad, sandwich or deli plate off the Mediterranean side, and then cake. Trainer's instruction is the one to follow, "Just definitely save space for cake, to be accompanied by strong coffee" ref. The tea is better than a cafe this size usually keeps.
• Avoid: planning around a table. Thirty seats, no bookings, and weekends fill.

What locals & experts say

• Paul Trainer, Glasgowist, August 2018: "The counter is laden with cakes and brownies and slices and all kinds of other eye-catching treats. There's an opportunity to pick your way through the Mediterranean menu: order a salad, sandwich or deli plate. Just definitely save space for cake, to be accompanied by strong coffee." ref
• Phoebe Allison, Spotted by Locals, December 2018, on the room: "The blue green exterior design and glowing amber lights made me think of a ship in a fantasy film, or an old-fashioned apothecary", with "tall stacks of vintage suitcases, and a wall concealed by ancient books". Her caveat, kept: "the venue is a little on the expensive side." ref
• Nothing since 2018. The Skinny, The Glasgow Bell, the Glasgow Times food desk and The List were searched on 30 July 2026 and none carries a more recent assessment.
• Local rec: none. Jeff's row carries no note of his own.

Good to know

• Where: 300 Crow Road at Marlborough Avenue, in Broomhill. The master row said Partick, and the geocode and the venue's own copy both say Broomhill.
• Sites: three under one name. This row is Kothel 300 on Crow Road. Kothel GWR is a separate premises at 536 Great Western Road, G12 8EL, with its own hygiene record. A third site, Kothel Bakery, appears on the venue's own navigation and could not be located. Reviews of one are not reviews of another.
• Timing: 8am to 6pm Monday to Saturday, 9am to 6pm Sunday.
• Booking: none taken, walk-ins only, and it is busy at weekends.
• Dogs: welcome.
• Allergens: the venue says they are available on request rather than published, so ask at the counter.
• Hygiene, stated with its age: the Food Hygiene Information Scheme rates this premises Improvement Required, the failing tier of the Scottish scheme, from an inspection on 22 February 2022 (FHRSID 775631, Glasgow City Council). There has been no re-inspection in four and a half years and no re-rating is pending, which makes it weak evidence in either direction rather than a current finding. The Great Western Road site was inspected separately in July 2024 and passed. ref

Jeff's take (his words)

Nothing of his own. The master row carries no Description text from him and Glasgow has no raw saved-places export, so no opinion is attributed to him. He saved a cheap west-end cafe, and the row's own shorthand is all it says.

Verdict (Chef Jeff ladder)

could-visit — A cafe on the Crow Road corner in Broomhill since April 2015, running a Mediterranean counter of sandwiches, deli plates, artisan bread and a lot of cake, in a room got up like an apothecary with vintage suitcases stacked to the ceiling and garlic hanging in nets. Paul Trainer's read on how to use it is the right one: pick your way through the savoury menu, then save space for cake and strong coffee. About thirty seats, no bookings, busy at weekends, shut by six. It is a good local rather than a destination, and one writer's note that it runs 'a little on the expensive side' is the honest caveat. Two things hold the ruling here. Nothing citable has assessed the food since 2018, and no roaster is named, which is the signal a coffee room is usually judged on. And the premises has carried a Food Hygiene Information Scheme Improvement Required since February 2022 with no re-inspection in four and a half years, which is stale rather than current and is disclosed as such.