Cafe / Restaurant – Page 2 – Curious Bystander

Parkrun 2025 – Running, Cake, and Community: A Parkrun in the Highlands

It’s funny—after doing around 20 Parkruns at different courses, I’ve noticed the same mix of fanatics and lunatics (myself included) who keep showing up. And honestly, I feel proud of my progress. My time has dropped from 42 minutes to about 34. Whoa! Maybe the Olympics next year?

This time, I ran in Faskally Forest, in the Scottish Highlands, just north of Pitlochry. It’s always a great crowd. A couple of weeks ago, someone had a birthday, so naturally, they brought cake. The week before that, it was the 100th, 200th, or 400th run here; so—of course—more cake. Parkrun is very sociable like that, and it tends to get rid of my natural cynicism.

After the run, a group of us (anywhere from 10 to 30 people) headed to The Red Deer Restaurant at Pitlochry Golf Club. It’s always a good time—warm drinks, food, and conversation.

Living in a smaller community like here means you often have to create your own fun—whether it’s a Polish school, a repair café, or a weekly run like this. There’s always something happening, even midweek, which is great to see.

Parkrun itself is a relatively young idea—maybe 10 or 15 years old? The founder, Paul Sinton-Hewitt, was recently interviewed on the BBC. I can’t remember all the details, but he basically started that it is a casual, inclusive event where people could run or walk, with their dogs, kids, or friends. There’s even a designated tail walker to make sure no one finishes last alone.

A Small Community Creating Its Own Fun

Many people come not to set records but simply to challenge themselves and socialise. However, as with any grassroots movement, Parkrun is growing, and I’ve been getting more emails about its future in my inbox recently; whether advertising goods, or noting that they need both more volunteers and donations.

A shot of Pitlochry Golf Club

The Red Deer Restaurant, Pitlochry

The Big Question: Can It Stay Free Forever?

Even though parkrun has sponsors, each event still relies on 10 to 15 volunteers every week. Recently, the Glasgow event struggled to get enough helpers, which made me think—I should probably put my name down to volunteer soon.

But the bigger question is: how long can parkrun stay free? At some point, despite sponsorship, will they need to introduce a £5 or £10 yearly subscription? We’ll see what happens when that day comes.

For now, I’ll keep running—and, hopefully, keep eating cake afterward.

Cellinos: A Taste of Italy in Glasgow’s West End & the beloved red candle holders in Italian Restaurants –

Celinos is one of those new Italian restaurants that manages to be both completely traditional and entirely modern at the same time. The space it occupies was once home to a Currys or Dixons for years, before being demolished and replaced with yet another block of student accommodation —something that seems to happen often in Glasgow. This one, however, is in the heart of the West End, costing at least 190 quid a week!

Every time I visit, it’s superb—nothing artificial, just pure “modern” authenticity, whatever “authentic” means these days. I don’t go often, maybe once or twice a year, but when I do, I always wonder why I don’t go more? In the past ten days, I’ve been here twice—once for a meal and another time just for coffee. The second time though, it was simply too crowded. No surprise, really—we went on a Saturday morning, and the place was absolutely mobbed.

What stands out to me is the continuous improvement by the owners. Though it’s a new building, it still exudes that classic Italian restaurant charm—the kind with wine bottles lining the walls, a delicatessen counter, and the signature red candle holders on the tables, which I’ve always liked.

Red Candle Holders:
Speaking about these things (above / below), I searched Grok on X for some information. These have always fascinated me, but even AI could not really pin this tradition down:

Info-wise, there’s no single definitive source tracing their exact origin, but they’re often linked to brands like Sterno or Victory, which sold red glass candles with long burn times (up to 45 hours) for restaurant use—practical for keeping tables lit all night. If you’re picturing the ones from 1980s Italian spots, a Reddit thread from 2024 mentions a similar candle, sans geometric design, hinting at a simpler, classic style that’s tough to pin down today.

The service? Impeccable. The food? Excellent. I went for a pasta dish with spiced sausage—perfectly done. My partner-in-crime opted for a pizza topped with sausage, mushrooms, and mozzarella.

Despite the crowd, we had our own space. We weren’t in a booth but seated somewhere between the windows and the booths, and nothing felt rushed. There was no sense of being hurried along, as is often the case in many Glasgow restaurants.

Even decided to have a dessert; something I normally (nowadays!) do not decide to do.

Glasgow, Scotland’s West End – Embracing Chinese Culture at Interestea Café, Scotland

What’s interesting about the UK and Scotland as a whole is that there seems to be an increasing number of Chinese students and residents nowadays, which can only be good for the restaurant trade. I live in the West End of Glasgow in Scotland, where there has been a significant influx of Chinese students, leading to a rise in the number of Chinese cafes, restaurants, and even supermarkets.

Also, if you look at the figures from the last few years, in 2021, around 150,000 people from Hong Kong were allowed to settle in the UK. In Glasgow, this likely represents many thousands that we’ve probably welcomed in the last few years.

The last few months in Glasgow, I’ve walked by a bike shop that surely had someone from Hong Kong working there, as he was older, and not a student. In addition, I was also at a small café that had been for sale for about a year. The new owner, Chinese, I believe also comes from Hong Kong, as his English was excellent, and I don’t believe too many Chinese students have this level of English, in addition to not having enough money to fork out for a used café’.

He was also quite astute, as when I mentioned to him that I had noticed this café’ had been on sale for the last few months, he enquired how I knew that piece of information. I told him that it was on a Glasgow website.

So, during a walk the other day, we passed by, yet another Chinese place, in this case also with a rather unfortunate name Interestea – a new bubble tea and coffee café that is minimal and sleek.

I just LOVE some of the names of Chinese restaurants in Glasgow!

This establishment is located further west in the West End of Glasgow. This trend is natural, as more & more Chinese students (and other nationalities) arrive, there simply isn’t enough accommodation near the University itself. As a result, they are moving further west, expanding into the Thornwood, and Victoria Park areas of the city.

One thing I noticed, as I am currently trying to learn Chinese, whilst I also have Chinese clients online, was that there were some moon cakes displayed in the window.

Moon Cakes, or Autumn Festival cakes, are traditionally baked for the Mid-Autumn Festival that took place 2 weeks ago in China. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to try any here, but we did buy some last week from our Chinese supermarket in the West End. I haven’t tried them yet, but one client mentioned he didn’t like them because they were too greasy.

In addition, as I’m a dreadful amateur “cook”, I searched for and found an online recipe that called for a strange flour mixture of dough; consisting of alkaline water, along with some sort of golden syrup and eggs—it didn’t look very appetizing.

This café was new, clean and very minimal; and will no doubt contribute to the proliferation of Chinese establishments, whether cafes or restaurants, in the West End of Glasgow. It can only be a blessing.

Asian Trip – Part 3 – Ko Lanta – The beach part

Koh Lanta is an interesting island. At one stage, it feels completely tribal and third world, but on the other stage, it is incredibly friendly, with a myriad of restaurants catering to a variety of tourists.

In my previous post, I mentioned that we got there via an ultra fast, speed boat. Next time, I will opt for the slower boat, allowing me to relax, have a beer, and enjoy lunch without having to deal with anyone who might feel nauseous and puke all over the ship! This boat was meant to be 1.5 hours, but both journeys averaged at about 2+ hours; not good enough.

Upon arriving at the port, we were informed that we had to contribute 1 or 2 pounds in the local currency as a tourist tax. While this didn’t bother me much, it would have been nice to have known this in advance.

This highlights another issue I have with such places – the lack of communication between private and public entities. You would’ve thought that when we boarded the boat in Phuket, someone (the tour operator, the port?) would have said something? They didn’t.

After disembarking, we hired a very cheap tuk-tuk taxi to take us to our hotel. The ride was only 10 minutes long, and the operator took pride in providing a safe journey and helping us with our baggage.

Once we reached our room, we headed straight to the beach. It was interesting to find that there was literally no one there, which we later realized was due to the intense heat and humidity; it was about 35 with stifling humidity.

Regarding restaurants, there was a huge variety within a 10 to 20-minute walk along the wide beach. We explored different types of cuisine, including Thai and British food. One night, we even enjoyed a fire breather show, which was complimentary with our meal, though we made sure to tip him for his performance.

Dunkeld in Scotland and my favourite retail shop – Jeffreys Dunkeld

Have I blogged about this before? I’m not entirely sure. But Dunkeld is a charming little village nestled between Perth and Aviemore. And as you can tell, driving there, the fog had still not lifted yet.

It’s also known as the home of Beatrix Potter. In the 19th century, I’m uncertain whether she lived there permanently or just during the summers, or if she did any writing there. I’ll delve into that in another post. However, they do have a new museum dedicated to her, along with a café.

As we wandered into Dunkeld; we passed by a statue of a violin player named Neil Gow, who was apparently the foremost player in all of Scotland during the 17th century, if not the world. It’s a wonderful statue in the park just before you reach the bridge.

Once you cross the bridge into Dunkeld proper, you’re greeted by a multitude of boutique shops, numbering around fifteen to thirty. The air practically oozes affluence here, yet it retains a refined, classical, and quintessentially Scottish middle-class vibe.

We decided to visit one of the many cafes, The Scottish Deli. Local kids were working there, no doubt earning minimum wage or more. The atmosphere was friendly and inviting, and the coffee was, indeed, perfect.

But that was just the beginning. We then stumbled (again) upon my favourite home furnishings shop in the entire world, Jeffreys Dunkeld.

What a name!

It’s like a treasure trove, always stocked with everything under the sun and more. Housed in an old church, or “kirk” as we say in Scotland, it caters to the upmarket home furnishing market. It’s tastefully decorated, resembling someone’s luxurious home rather than a store.

I can’t recall if we purchased anything significant, perhaps just some candles. The prices were reasonable, although some items bordered on the expensive. If you ever find yourself in this neck of the woods, do yourself a favour and pay a visit here.

The Cateran Trail – Part 4 – Bridge of Cally to Blairgowrie – 2 years after the last post!

It’s been some time for us to post here about this walk, and we STILL have a couple of stages to do.

This was a very much shorter version of the trail and we did NOT travel from Kirkmichael, but from Bridge of Cally. So as as of now, there are only two parts remaining; Bridge of Cally to Kirkton of Glenisla & then onwards to Lair.

The first part, to be honest, was a mess of detours, gravel and confusing signposting; but we got onto the moor in the end. Just follow the fence for a few miles!

In total, it was just under seven (easy) miles on foot, with brilliant weather and all in a southerly direction. The terrain was also quite easy but with outstanding views.

It was actually a very easy walk, and the weather was outstanding.

Once on the “high” plateau, it was more or less downhill, with not much in between.

As I remember, there was only one, very small settlement on the way, that offered eggs for sale!

And there were still enough signs to encourage you that you were on the right track.

From here, it was more or less downhill to Blairgowrie (forgive the simply awful website!)

It was interesting, that Blairgowrie calls itself the Raspberry Capital of Scotland, and coming down from above, no doubt it being in a valley, contributes to its “warmer” Scottish temperature. You can see the raspberry plantings / farms below.

Before we arrived, we noticed an abundance of garlic under many trees, but believe that it is not edible? We didn’t try it!

The town itself was very clean and looked exactly as I thought it should. We decided to catch a reliable bus service, back to Bridge of Cally (it was very easy to do this), and have our tea there, at the Bridge of Cally hotel where we were staying.

I believe there are only a few stages left; which I hope to finish in 2024.

Some “rose coloured” cafés to have lunch in – When did this trend start?

Interesting. The other day, I decided to explore the trendy Finnieston scene in Glasgow with my partner in crime. Over the last decade, this part of the city has witnessed an explosion of nightlife spots and a diverse range of places to eat, catering largely to a middle-class crowd.

During our exploration, we came across Derby Lane, a pub that doubles as a bar, café, and primarily a restaurant. Intrigued, we decided to have brunch there.

What caught our attention was the ambiance here, reminiscent of what I’ve seen years ago in London, particularly in Chelsea, when I walked by a place adorned with pink roses everywhere – on the outside, on tables, and on the walls. After an internet search, I’ve discovered that whilst in the process of going to Wimbledon, I believe in 2019, the place we stumbled upon was the Maitre Choux, that has now since closed.

Since then, a simple internet search reveals that these establishments have proliferated. I have no idea where this trend originated, but it’s fascinating how these places, whether classified as flower pubs, rose pubs, or girly pubs, have become widespread.

In fact, I believe they have now morphed into something called, rather horribly, Barbiecore pubs!? Who the hell started that tag?

Our brunch experience at Derby Lane was delightful. Priced at £11.00, the vegan breakfast was excellent (btw, I’m not a Vegan), and the service matched the quality of the food. As we enjoyed our meal, we couldn’t help but notice the diverse, young, crowd – I felt over-the-hill! A gang of three younger females had grabbed the window table, and I overheard that they couldn’t understand the concept of something called a “cd”!

I felt even more ancient. . .

The waiter, who seemed well-versed in all things Glasgow, engaged us in a pleasant conversation about just what to do that evening, as we had mentioned going to a choir concert.

He even shared some insights about a Gaelic choir in Govan, which I found particularly interesting. It turns out it’s located south of the river in Glasgow, contrary to what I initially thought – it’s not in the West End.

Overall, it was a very nice experience.

8 of 10

Equally, after running the dreadful Glasgow Half Marathon in October, the Merchant City part of the city was buzzing, and we managed to find a place at the Sorriso Cafe; yet another “rose” cafe.

This was again, completely middle-class and tolerable. Service was outstanding, considering it was packed, and the food was outstanding.

I had a stereotypical, egg and avo concoction, that was passable and was served incredibly quick.

8.5 of 10

Ryte

A Greggs Drive-Thru – A surprise in Clydebank, Scotland

They must be doing something right here, as it seems that Greggs is going from strength to strength.

Right now, there are about 14 of these in the UK, and they no doubt have intentions to open more. They, to me surprisingly, started 80 years ago in Gosforth, near Newcastle; and now have over 2,000 restaurants in the UK.

My partner in crime suggested that it would be new to go here, and so we did. The menu is the same, the shops though, being purpose-built, are more spacious and seem brighter and fresher than those you would find on the High Street.

Not that it was important, but I chose a chicken baguette that was simply fine and at a much cheaper price in a “normal” sit-in restaurant.

And though we parked and sat outside, the number of cars / trucks that used the drive-thru in the 20+minutes that we were there, was astounding.

Tips in Restaurants? Is it out of control now?

I had a recent journey to a mid-level café / restaurant in the West End of Glasgow, and immediately noticed that the prices had increased significantly (above).

It seems like the days of having a lunch for under £10 are simply over with, but it just wasn’t that; they also had a tip added to my bill, whether you liked it or not (as I saw no disclaimer indicating that it was voluntary?). It was ONLY 10%, but it seems that the precedent has now been set and I eagerly await when the 10% becomes 15%, and so on, and so on, etc. Something that has happened across the pond in America the last few decades.

In addition, during a trip to my local gym recently, I came across the video below whilst on the treadmill:

This, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_fMkXHYh6c, was a very fine critique of this phenomena and how some, if not many, are now simply fed up with this tradition. As well they should be(!) with now takeaway workers at a your local drive-in fast-food joint in America, now demanding them!

In addition, it’s not just the above video, but I ask you to go to YouTube and do a search for information on this topic; your results will come up with a myriad of different videos relating to this very theme.

My own opinion that has served me for a long time, is that tips should ONLY be optional, and the new system of adding these to your bill automatically, especially when they have not told you before, is simply outrageous and should be immediately banned by parliament.

I don’t make tips on my online job and neither do I expect them.

Tomintoul, Highlands, Scotland – A quick hot chocolate

I’ve been here in Tomintoul before several times; one after seeing a cheap deal on Wowcher or Groupon, and the second time, when I did the Speyside Way with friends, and used the youth hostel here for several nights accommodation. Well worth it!

Whilst there in the youth hostel, I was told that not only did the village have many more people years ago, but that it was a Gaelic speaking one. He also noted that the pronunciation should be, “DAW men dowl”. Finally, he stated that many of the existing houses are now AirBnBs, and the village tends to come to life in the summer when more people are living there.

It’s an interesting place, with not only a distillery for Tomintoul whisky just before the village, but it also has a very basic, grid street system.

We came here for a quick hot chocolate after seeing that the hotel we had stayed at years ago, the Richmond Arms, was not only open, but was advertising their wares with a street sign.

I noted that the village square is still there, and has a “designer” hotel, a village shop, pub restaurant / hotel, The Glenavon, and a tourist info / museum building, that provides much needed info on this area.

For those interested, there is the nearby Glenlivet Estate (yes, the same name as the whisky!), where a myriad of activities take place.