I’m indebted to Lisa, of Glasgow’s Dear Green Coffee, for introducing me to the Veldt Deli on the Great Western Road. Veldt, describing itself as Glasgow’s only Scottish/South African fusion deli, is not somewhere I would have thought even to pop into, had it not been for Lisa’s local knowledge and enthusiastic recommendation. It probably helps that Dear Green supplies Veldt with its own bespoke African espresso blend.

Veldt is very definitely a deli, while serving something very close to a coffee shop menu, with breakfast, lunch and cake to go with coffee (as good as you’ll find in many speciality places), tea and the intriguing “red espresso” (more of which later). The interior, although far from that of a typical coffee shop, is one of the loveliest I’ve been in for a while, with a real sense of space.

The South African influence is provided by the owner, Gisela. A violinist, she moved from her native Cape Town to Glasgow 15 years ago to further her career in music. She left this behind when she founded Veldt in May 2013, with the aim of combining the best of local, Scottish produce, with the recipes and tastes of her home.

October 2015: Sad news. Veldt has announced it closure and is no more.

You can read more of my thoughts after the gallery.

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The first thing that struck me about Veldt is its glorious interior. With windows on two sides, it’s bright and spacious, helped by an uncluttered layout, light-grey walls and some lovely wooden furnishings. It’s the sort of space that demands good coffee to be drunk there: fortunately, there’s plenty of good coffee on offer. While Veldt may be a deli, the coffee is by no means an afterthought.

The genius of Veldt’s layout is that pretty much everything is arrayed around the edges, leaving the centre of the room free for a sumptuous wooden table, made for sharing, with six chairs, three on either side. This centrepiece stands on what looks, to my untutored eye, to be a buffalo hide, although I wouldn’t like to put money on that. Or a table for that matter!

Immediately to the right of the door is a round, metal table, nestled in the corner by the window, next to a set of shelves holding retail bags of Dear Green Coffee. The table has two wooden and two metal chairs. The only other (interior) seating is provided by a pair of bars, one to each window on the left-hand side of the shop, each with three stools and facing onto Park Road. If you like sitting outside, there’s also a table on the pavement on Park Road itself.

Back inside, the right-hand wall is taken up with shelves holding various goodies, along with a chiller cabinet for cold drinks. On the wall above the shelves are a pair of blackboards listing Veldt’s various offerings. At the far end is the counter, another magnificent wooden construction, which holds the cake and various lunch goodies. Again, uncluttered is the word that springs to mind.

Pride of place behind the counter goes to the grinder and a two-group La Marzocco, out of which comes some lovely espresso. Gisela told me that when she was setting up Veldt, she approached various local roasters, the choice eventually falling to Dear Green and one other, which shall remain nameless. What sold Gisela on Dear Green was Lisa’s boundless enthusiasm and her willingness to work with Veldt to create something unique, in this case, Veldt’s own bespoke African blend, 85% Rwandan and 15% natural-processed Yirgacheffe.

I had a shot of this while standing at the counter chatting with Gisela. It’s a bright, punchy coffee (Lisa puts that down to the natural Yirgacheffe), perhaps a little too bright for my unadventurous palette, but a very fine cup nonetheless. The other thing that intrigued me about Veldt was its “red espresso”, which is red bush tea, but ground and served like espresso, providing a naturally caffeine-free alternative to coffee. I really wanted to try it, but sadly on the day of my visit, the machine was broken (it’s not something you want to put through your standard espresso machine!).

There was a lot I wanted to try at Veldt, including the tempting array of cakes, but sadly I only had time for a flying visit, which was a shame. I did get a chance to chat with Gisela, who impressed me with her dedication and the warmth of her welcome. I departed with strong memory of a truly impressive place where one can sit and drink some very fine, unique coffee.

Liked this? Then don’t forget to check out the Coffee Spot Guide to Glasgow for more great Coffee Spots.

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