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- FEMALE FRIENDLY Café Tempra
The so-called female-friendly High Street bar is usually the province of mega-brewers such as Bass, Whitbread and similar UK-wide chains. But local entrepreneur Jim Byrne, who owns a string of pubs on the West Coast, has decided to challenge such dominance with the new Cafe Tempra in West Campbell Street, Glasgow.
It has the signature elements intended to make women feel welcome: a clean, uncluttered and well-lit space with picture windows facing the street. Although drinks are served to midnight, cafe is the correct name and, again, sends out the right signals.
The design is by Yellow Studio's Stuart Murray, whose growing portfolio includes Farfelu and Esca in the Merchant City, as well as the city centre's Cosmopol and Bar Gaudi, which was an earlier Byrne venture managed by daughter Nicky. Working within the restrictions of the building‘s B-listed status, Murray has preserved a good deal of original cornice and designed around two central columns.
Instead of moving diners downstairs into the basement, Tempra has a balcony at the rear with booths to accommodate twenty people. The ground floor has a continental feel, with counters and stools to complement basic wooden tables and chairs as well as tubular chrome and black leather sofas near the decorative fire. All very tasteful and geared to the young professionals who quickly descended on Tempra for lunch in its first week.
The ice cream people are moving into town
CLYDE COAST TO CITY
Writlrrrrirri!
Women are welcome for food and drink at Cafe Tempra
Food is served from 8am-8pm. In the morning, American style dishes such as pancakes and grits share billing with more typically British fare. Selections for lunch and later range from salads to sandwiches like char-grilled chicken with baby spinach and Cajun mushrooms on focaccia (£3.95) to main courses such as sole stuffed with smoked salmon on a bed of mash (£8.95) and vegetable korma with tri-colour rice (£5.45). The coffee comes courtesy of Starbucks.
'The emphasis is on cafe culture,’ says Byrne, who's been influenced by his two twenty-something daughters. ’We are into concept pubs now. We want to take it forward, patent this one and make it happen all over the place.’ (Barry Shelby)
III Cafe Tempra, 257 West Campbell Street, Glasgow, 0747 572 4052.
been plannecr for some time, says assistant managing director Stephen Gow ’The Nardini name was so big on the West Coast that we beiieveci the concept wouch work '
Although no member of the Nardini family remains in the business ithe last, Pete Nardini, retired severai weeks agoi, their trademark ice cream as well as the decor, the furniture, even carpets and wallpaper have survrved the move from seasrcle to city centre The \iveIl-kncm'n art deco style of the Largs cafe, including the original Lioyd Loom furniture, has also been brought to Cambridge Street and Glassford Street with the third shop on Union
CENTRE Nardini
In Italy food and drink go together. So, when the first of the Nardinrs arrived in Scotland in 1890, he, like other Italian immigrants, spotted an opportunity. Soon Nardini fish and chip shops were catering to hungry drinkers spilling out of the many pubs. In I935 the focus changed and Nardini cafe opened in Largs selling coffees, teas and the now
famous ice cream to tourists who travelled ’doon the watter' for their holidays. The esplanade cafe, With its Views of the sea, soon became a landmark.
It took more than 50 years, but Nardini eventually came up the water, opening a shop as part of the I988 Glasgow Garden Festival. Now they are back on a presurnabiy permanent basis after buying three Pancake Place restaurants in Glasgow and converting them into Nardini cafes. The move has
Street soon heading for the Nardini face lift
The menu offers teas, coffees, snacks, traditional dishes ipix/a and pasta~ as well as a selection from their 52 different and ever-popular ice creams. And for children, a separate bambrni menu is available If only they could shift some fresh sea air ‘Jdllt’ Hamiltoni III Nardini, 59 Glassford Street, 0,747 552 4229, 24 Cambridge Street, Ol/ll 333 7374, 9/ UNION Street, 0l4/ 248 2562.
Delivered to you by 6 Go
Side dishes
News for Festival Foodies
A RECENT OPENING which has not escaped our notice is Modern India at the top of Leith Walk (20 Union Street, 0131 556 4547). Just across the busy boulevard from the Playhouse, it offers a two-course pre-theatre dinner for £7.95 before 7pm. Like its sister restaurant in Glasgow, Modern India also discounts take-away food. Once the second floor is opened, with space for 100 diners to enjoy a buffet, this will become the largest Indian restaurant in Edinburgh.
THE EDINBURGH BOOK Festival is host to a number of events in the food and drink realm at the Field & Lawn Silver N'Iarquee. Italian and Scottish cooking, as well as tastings of the national trpple are scheduled in the coming seven days. On Sat I8 Aug at 4.15pm, the internationally recognised Claudia Reden will dISCLISS the Joys of Italian cuisine. Roden rs the author of various books from l'l/lfl’dllé’ffalleall Cookery to The Book of Jewish Food and A Connorsseur’s Companion. Tickets cost £6 50 Later that day, and repeated on Sun 20, Tue 22 and Sat 26 Aug, whisky tastings \\Ill be conducted under the watchful eye of Susan Morrison. At 30 she recently became tasting manager at the Whisky Heritage Centre on the Royal Mile Morrison is also the yOungest female ‘Keeper of the Quarch', a dzstrnction limited to a few experts in the fine art of 'nosrng' and those who know their peat from their sweet among SI'IQLC‘ malts Participants need not be connoisseurs and will receive 2-for-I passes to \ISIl the centre The tasting begins at 7pm and tic kets are £8 ‘30
DUNDEE-BORN Edinburgh resident Sue Lawrence will speak and give a cooking demonstration on Mon 21 Aug at 4.15pm to help launch her latest book Scots Cooking. Lawrence, currently writing for Scotland on Sunday, previously contributed to the Sunday Times and is author of eight other cookery books. In 1991 she won Masterchef and now applies herself to de-mystifying such Scottish specialities as crappit heid, cullen skink and rumbledethumps. Tickets £6.50.
54 THE lIST I7 24 Aug 2000