Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Scone Spy finds some fantastical concoctions at Charlie’s Coffee Shop

Charlie's Coffee Shop and Bar, featuring an Irish Buttermilk Scone. (Andrew Cawley)
Charlie's Coffee Shop and Bar, featuring an Irish Buttermilk Scone. (Andrew Cawley)

YOU know, it used to be easy, this café lark.

In you’d pop and the choices before you were, to be fair, on the basic side.

Tea, pretty much builder’s or nowt. Coffee – well, it was either milky or not. Chocolate was of the straightforward hot variety.

Now, they need a section, nay a menu of their own.

Actually, a book – a fairly beefy beast at that – might be more appropriate.

I find myself mulling that as I have a look at the options at Charlie’s Coffee Shop & Bar at Mugdock Park, a short drive from Milngavie on the outskirts of Glasgow.

If tea’s your cuppa of choice there’s chamomile and China green, rooibos, red berry splash and chai latte as well as Earl Grey and Scottish brew.

Charlie's Coffee Shop and Bar (Andrew Cawley)
Charlie’s Coffee Shop and Bar (Andrew Cawley)

Coffee concoctions include cocomon latte – that’s coconut and cinnamon – cara-mallow latte (caramel and marshmallow) and liquorice mint mocha.

That’s on top of the standard flat whites, Americano et al. And “traditional” is just one of various chocolate choices.

However, the bottom line is that, if it’s good, then I’m all for it.

And Chunky Monkeys Coffee (there’s another branch in Airdrie) say they pride themselves in dishing up amazing coffee with great and personable service.

Goodies at Charlie's Coffee Shop and Bar (Andrew Cawley)
Goodies at Charlie’s Coffee Shop and Bar (Andrew Cawley)

We’ve had a couple of hours strolling around the expansive park, including the fascinating ruined 14th Century castle, so a reviving bite and a nice brew sounded just perfect.

It’s a decent day and we pick a table outside in the old courtyard among the walkers, cyclists and runners.

As it’s late morning the various breakfast options are pretty tempting, especially the bacon and egg omelette round.

But I settle on a freshly-baked ciabatta with a few slices of nicely crispy bacon, while my dining companion picks one of the individual waffle options (they also come as part of a hearty breakfast selection at £4.50).

Charlie’s Coffee Shop and Bar (Andrew Cawley)

In her case it’s the maple syrup which covers it plentifully in a big bowl.

A cappuccino is my liquid accompaniment and it more than lives up to the billing. So, too, I’m told does the hot chocolate.

Of course, the most important part of all of the offerings is the scone – and we really have saved the best for last.

On the menu it tells us in big and bold lettering that they are Irish buttermilk scones, made fresh every morning.

And big and bold is the perfect description for the scone.

It’s a cracker, overflowing with fruit and perfectly crisp and soft in all the right areas.

Amidst all the change, thankfully, some things stay reassuringly the same.

VERDICT

WARM WELCOME 8/10

LOCATION, LOCATION 8/10

SCONE SCORE 8/10


Looking for a scone near you? View our interactive map of Scone Spy reviews: