Cafe within the Centre for Contemporary Arts. There is a tapas style menu for sharing, daily specials, as well as a large menu of varied options. Pre-theatre options available. All vegan except for cows' milk. Serves scones and toast from 10am, then kitchen opens 12pm-10pm. Reported fully vegan April 2022. Reported closed April 2023.
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350 Sauchiehall Street (at Centre for Contemporary Arts), Glasgow, Scotland, G2 3JD
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Last update on 21 Apr 2023 by craigmc
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Added by alimac on 22 Oct 2011
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69 Reviews
First Review by alimac
axis777
Points +107
Fantastic! - Edit
What a fantastic place! It’s the inner courtyard of CCA, so your surrounded by art and artsy folk. The menu selections are varied, the servings are beyond generous, and it doesn’t hurt that all of the staff have a super hot artsy vibe. I’ve been here three times in my two-day visit, and I wish I’d come back more often.
Read morePros: Great vibe - casual, artsy, friendly, fun, Large portions - sometimes too large , Reasonably priced - you won’t go away hungry
Cons: Beer and wine only - no liquors
Guest
unmond
Points +769
Great food in a wonderful place - Edit
Eating at Saramago is such a joy, both because the CCA's interior is stunning and due to the fact that the food there is amazing.
Read moreNevertheless, I found it a bit irksome that the menu didn't explicitly state which dishes are vegan. I assume that most of what they offer is plant-based, and they should really advertise this more.
Guest
falafffel
Points +3103
Best vegan food in Glasgow, awesome location! - Edit
If you are after great and affordable vegan food in Glasgow, look no further and have it here! As opposed to the many fatty pub-food options in the city, you get some real nice dishes here with perfectly balanced flavors and fresh ingredients. Given their quality, the prices are almost cheap - a main course costs only about 8-11 pounds, which is just average for a vegan meal in Glasgow. Everything on their food menu is vegan as well, only for coffee they offer dairy milk as an option.
Read moreThe location is also quite great, something like and old court covered under a glass roof right in the CCA (Centre for Contemporary Art). The Staff was outstandingly friendly as well. I cannot recommend this place enough!
Pros: Best vegan food in Glasgow by a margin, Inventive, perfectly balanced and fresh food, Very friendly staff, awesome location, inexpensive
Guest
JoosoonSwoonoo
Points +54
Great restaurant, great food and art to boot - Edit
One of the best restaurants in Glasgow - maybe even THE best.
Read moreGreat for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner, but my favourite has to be the soup and sandwich lunch deal. The bread is fresh and tasty.
Located within the CCA, there are few other places that could boast great meal and contemporary art exhibition in one.
Pros: Great range of food, Lovely setting and central, Gallery and bar
Guest
DanielPaterson
Points +288
The best - Edit
Unquestionably the best vegan cafe/restaurant in Glasgow. Excellent food and atmosphere - try the butternut squash wrap! Plenty of seats, nice staff and a great place to work too. They also have oat milk which is a massive plus :)
Read moreGuest
Smankoff
Points +32
soooo delicious - Edit
The food here was so delicious and flavorful. So good that I ordered a second meal to have for dinner haha.
Read moreGuest
koringal
Points +219
Delicious food and good vibes - Edit
Had the most delicious walnut pesto linguini and red wine dinner here - really recommend here for a break from the junk food vegan scene in Glasgow
Read moreGuest
Megan89
Points +52
Best vegan sandwich in Glasgow - Edit
I've tried most of the menu in Saramago but my absolute favourite will be their humble tofu sausage sandwich. Their bread (that they bake on site) is so ridiculously good. The sriracha mayo just brings it together. Also love their warm brownie and affogato.
Read moreThe only downside is the service can be painfully slow. Not good if you are a quick eater that just likes to get in and out.
Pros: amazing food
Cons: slow service
Guest
Yasminesan
Points +1912
lovely place - Edit
Lovely staff, cool space, the scones are great. The menu also looked fantastic, wish I could have tried it all
Read moreGuest
NelsonVegan
Points +265
Delicious bread and soup - Edit
The soup and the bread was so amazing, can't stop thinking of it.
Read moreThe pizza not so good though. The cakes and coffee are nice for a light breakfast.
Guest
TrixieFirecracker
Points +4061
Disappointing - Edit
They have a fully vegan menu, which is the ideal, but I can't shake the feeling of 'plantbased' rather than being particularly "vegan". They never ever seem to acknowledge this when it comes to social media, Vegfest, World Vegan Day, nothing. I never bother reserving because the last three times I have done so there've been people with their coffee cups around my reserved sign blatantly ignoring it and we've had to squeeze in somewhere else - twice under the table under the leak in the roof.
Read moreThey always have scones, this is good. They have no syrups for coffee - server didn't really seem to care that this disappointed me a bit. The time before last they'd closed the kitchen an hour early and couldn't even bring us out cake, so we left. One day I'll go back in for a full meal, probably when someone else suggests there.
Pros: Scones always available, All food is vegan, Easy to get to
Cons: Lacklustre in "veganism", Hard to get seats, full of folk on laptops with 1
Guest
TheBigBadMouse
Points +175
Saramago used to be great... - Edit
The CCA is a special location, not your regular restaurant, and so is the Saramago menu. The mezze platter is particularly good, and you can choose from so many vegan mail dishes it can take a while to decide. It can be very busy, so be prepared to wait for your meal and / or even book a table in advance.
Read moreIt is not posh, so just show up in jeans and t-shirt. The menu is online, so you can choose your favourites before you go.
***
Ok, just 2 years ago I listed this place as my favourite, but now I have to edit my review, sadly. A couple of times when we were there, they were out of everything that we wanted to order, so had to make new choices (they could've told us when they gave us the menu, not when they came to take the order), and we had to wait for a loooong time, not matter if it was full or not. We still accepted this because we really liked the place and the food (that is, the food which WAS available).
Then, the last time we were there, I was not happy at all. We had reserved a table and when we arrived, they had no clue who we were and obviously our reservation had not been taken. Ok, a few tables were still available, so they placed us (2 people) at the smallest table in the most remote corner, which led to them never seeing us when we wanted anything. It took AGES before they took our order, then again, what we wanted to order was not available, so we had to make new decisions, then it took AGES for them to come back to the table, took the order, but then we did not get anything for about an hour, and when finally a waiter came to our table, we got everything at once: the starters, the drinks, AND the main courses. Of course the table was far too small for everything, and even though there were other tables available, we were not allowed to move, so we had to place plates on top of one another in order to eat. By the time we finished our starters, of course the main courses were cold and I was fed up anyway. It was impossible to order more drinks, and the toilets did not work either - there was just one big sign saying OUT OF ORDER. To top it all, when we wanted to call the waiter to order coffees or cakes, after waiting for more ages, the waiter finally came and banged the bill on our table! When I gave him my surprised look, he said "Oh, I thought you wanted to leave". And I just said "Ok then, we better go".
The saddest bit is that I really, really liked this place but the totally incompetent staff that evening ruined it for us.
Updated from previous review on 2016-10-05
Pros: Food is delicious - if available, Very central location
Cons: Can be very busy, Chosen dish might not be available, Waiters(mostly students?)can be really incompetent
Guest
Agadooska
Points +559
Heaven - Edit
I can't fault it! Very good value pre-theatre deal, food was divine and loads of it, good choice of drinks, lovely staff and very pleasant atmosphere. The biggest surprise was the coffee, I didn't expect anything special but I got the best coffee I've ever had! It is roasted in Glasgow and tastes incredible, perfect match for my delicious dessert.
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2016-02-13
Pros: Fresh, delicious food, good pre-theatre deal. Exce
Cons: Cow's milk as a default, must ask for plant one, Same menu for years (just new prices)
Guest
xJasperx
Points +96
Food and service both okay - Edit
After placing our order at the bar we sat outside for 45 minutes waiting for our food. When I came in to check, it turned out our order had not been sent to the kitchen.
Read moreWhen the food finally arrived, it was okay but a bit boring. The Linguine was mostly just pasta, with hardly any other ingredients.
On top of that, one of the drinks we ordered was out of stock, as was one of the desserts. We ordered another one instead and then received our desserts about 15 mins apart.
However, the girl at the bar did deduct one of the desserts from the bill because of everything that had gone wrong. So while the service could be better, at least they are customer friendly.
I also noticed that they use regular milk for their tea and coffee, which is strange for a place that claims to be vegan.
Pros: Vegan except for the milk
Cons: Friendly staff
Guest
lsijbenga
Points +20
lovely food and atmosphere - Edit
Nice little cafe. A bit fancy but not in a pretentious way. Very nice food, but the tofu sausage sandwich was a tad dry. No other complaints, will be coming back!
Read morePros: friendly staff, great selection, large menu
Guest
DougK
Points +796
Phenomenal vegan meal! - Edit
Seriously, this was outstanding. We shared a scone, the butternut squash/avocado/sage & sunflower seed mayo on fresh homemade flatbread, smoked tofu tempura, and hand cut fries with rosemary & chili salt. Every single dish was excellent. Also, the service was really great too! Can't say enough about this place.
Read morePros: vegan scones!, wide ranging menu
Guest
I_love_pears
Points +324
spoiled for choice! - Edit
The food here was yummy! Would give five stars except they were out of a lot of things when I went there, which was disappointing. The sandwiches are big and tasty, coffee is good.
Read morePros: healthy options , lots of choice, tasty
Guest
GardenTiger
Points +260
Awesome Food, cozy atmosphere - Edit
This place was a pleasant surprise. There is a vegan brunch available even. We had a Sandwich, soup, sweet potato fries and everything was amazing! The atmosphere is cozy and nice and staff friendly and helpful. Don't miss this if youre in Glasgow, 5 star recommendation!
Read morePros: great food, good atmosphere, nice staff
Guest
Mwynen
Points +262
Worth a visit - Edit
On our last visit to Glasgow, we decided on Saramango's, as we didn't really fancy the menus of the other vegan restaurants, they all seem to be mainly burger/fast food places.
Read moreIt's very well hidden and you definitely won't stumble upon this café by chance, as it's inside the Centre for Contemporary Arts. But if you know where to look, you'll have no trouble finding it, you just walk through the main entrance of the CCA, then the café is to your right.
I had the Mezze Platter, which was very good, but the portion was a bit too large for my taste, I couldn't eat everything, so unfortunately no dessert for me.
The room reminded me of a typical old continental railway station restaurant with the high ceiling, but the furniture was contemporary. The atmosphere is relaxing, but it doesn't invite to stay for hours.
Pros: great, airy atmosphere
Cons: portions too large
Guest
konlish
Points +5288
Very nice - Edit
We loved the scones here and had like 2 of them. The portions are small though. This was the 2nd best cafe we went too in Glasgow from the 5 Vegan cafe available.
Read moreIt was situated inside some gallery and the sign is written in choke.
Pros: Vegan Baby!
Cons: A bit difficult to find
Guest
Braidy
Points +395
Worth persisting - Edit
I am a stranger to Glasgow and found this place difficult to get into. The large "Saramago" sign led to the Terrace Café, which was locked. When we got inside the building it took us a moment to figure out how to get down to the café on the ground floor. The staff were not very friendly; one particularly dour Scot kept ignoring my existence though I did get a smile out of her in the end. Interesting selection of dishes involving things I hadn't eaten at a restaurant in years, such as paella. Especially delightful and inventive desserts.
Read morePros: Superlative food
Cons: Poor service, hard to find
Guest
endofcity
Points +440
Pretty good vegan cafe - Edit
Although I live in Glasgow, I hadn't been to the CCA for ages, so popped in here for a long overdue lunch.
Read moreOverall, I was impressed. Service was prompt and pleasant and food tasted fresh.
My salad was a bit oily but I'll bear this in mind for my next visit.
There was a good choice and the place has a relaxed cafe vibe, although I would prefer a slightly more intimate room.
Prices reasonable too. Recommended.
Pros: Friendly service, Good selection of food choices, Prices reasonable
Guest
MuK-UK
Points +262
Excellent Food - Edit
The food is excellent. I'm a keen fan of the pizza, the tofu sausage sandwich and the 'haggis'. They have a list available of coeliac options too. I'm looking forward to future visits to continue to work my way through the menu. There is a friendly informal atmosphere and the venue is certainly interesting.
Read moreUpdated from previous review on Sunday October 12, 2014
Pros: Friendly Staff, Varied Menu, Great Food
Cons: Service Can Be A Bit Haphazard
Guest
SteveT
Points +28
Best in Glasgow - Edit
There are some good vegan pubs in Glasgow, but Saramago goes beyond just pub food. Food was terrific as was the experience.
Read moreGuest
waynesmith132
Points +20
best meal I've had since becoming vegan - Edit
Had to hang about a bit for a table but it was worth the weight. Risotto and root veg fries. Devine!! Orange and coconut tea was gorgeous too. I'll be back!!!!
Read moreGuest
Tiggy
Points +14596
Impressive variety of vegan food, unexpected place - Edit
My friend and I had lunch here today expecting it to be pricey. We figured we'd check out the Centre for Contemporary Art and have lunch here. The atmosphere was lively and we were attended to by a friendly member of wait staff. There was such a range of tempting dishes that I found it hard to decide but eventually settled on a pizza with cherry tomatoes, capsicum and roast garlic. (It was a toss up between the roast garlic pizza and the artichoke pizza and the garlic won). There were also a number of pasta dishes I wish I could have tried. While I was excited about the menu, I have to say that the pizza was fine but nothing remarkable. It was in the trend of simple, minimalist pizzas and the highlight was the roasted garlic, which was delicious, but otherwise the pizza was unremarkable (and lacked vegan cheese). My friend ordered the roasted red pepper and sweetcorn chowder and told me it was very tasty and enjoyable. It was a pleasant surprise to find a vegan cafe inside a significant attraction such as the CCA and it impressed my friend (along with other places we tried) as to Glasgow's wide variety and high quality of vegan food establishments. As for the price, it was perfectly reasonable for a cafe (around six to eight pounds for a meal) and comparable to other places we ate in Glasgow. I would have loved to come back to check out some other dishes here.
Read morePros: Interesting variety of vegan dishes, All vegan in a popular gallery
Cons: Pizza not as good as expected
Guest
denizthecat
Points +129
amazing menu, great location, lovely food - Edit
It was quite busy when we got there and were lucky enough to get a table without waiting. We had the roast tomato pizza and the one with roast peppers and red onions. Both very lovely and yummy. (both were cheese-free, which I think should be mentioned on the menu).
Read moreThe choice of yummy items on the menu was overwhelming - I even felt ashamed to be ordering a pizza but I was in such a 'pizza mood'! I would love to go back and try the many other items on the menu, especially the sandwiches.
For dessert, I had vanilla & raspberry ice cream (3 scoops)- it was so good! It was one of those 'I can't believe this is vegan' moments.
Only con was that we had to wait quite a while for our food and the ice cream, but since we were in no hurry whatsoever it just allowed us to get hungrier in the beginning and digest our main dish later. :)
Pros: best all vegan menu ever, yummiest ice cream
Cons: slow service
Guest
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