When I ran into Jamie, owner of Luckie Beans, at the Glasgow Coffee Festival, I learnt all about the coffee cart which had opened, at rather short notice, the previous summer. Invited in by the management at Glasgow Queen Street Station, Jamie had all of two weeks to set everything up, including sourcing the cart and all the equipment.
The result is quite impressive and a welcome addition to the station. Although there are plenty of options nearby in Glasgow city centre, there’s nothing quite like having speciality coffee on the station concourse, especially if you’re waiting for a train.
The Luckie Beans cart serves a blend and single-origin on espresso, with the option to buy the beans. There are also various sweet treats and savoury offerings, including porridge and sandwiches. If that wasn’t enough, there’s also a small seating area, perfect if you have a few minutes to spare.
You can read more of my thoughts after the gallery.
The Luckie Beans coffee cart is on the concourse of Glasgow’s Queen Street Station, opposite the ticket barriers to Platforms 2 & 3. If you don’t know Glasgow, there are two main stations, Central, at the end of the mainline from London Euston, and this one, Queen Street, which connects to Edinburgh and Stirling.
Luckie Beans has a pretty simple set-up, just a cart with a two-group La Marzocco on the left, partially hidden by the large menu board. There’s also a pair of grinders back here, one for the blend, the other for the single-origin. The till’s off to the right, where there are some sweet treats, while the chiller cabinet next to the cart stocks soft drinks, sandwiches and a few other bits and pieces.
On the other side of the cart, off to the left, is a small seating area, with two low tables and one high one. While most of the cart’s trade is takeaway (it only has takeaway cups, by the way, so don’t forget to bring your own), it’s the ideal spot to sit and make some notes for the Coffee Spot (or, more likely, wait for your train). It is, however, noisy, the platforms constantly occupied by diesel-powered trains, engines idling, plus the ever-present announcements. On the other hand, the views of soaring glass roof, vaulting high above you, can’t be beaten. It also makes it a rather sunny spot.
Luckie Beans runs either its house-blend, Love Lane, on the main grinder, or, as was the case during my visit, the Queen Street blend. The second grinder has a single-origin, which changes every week, drawn from Luckie Beans’ range, which can run up to 10 different coffees. I went for a shot of the Queen Street blend in my Kaffeeform cup. A 50/50 mix of Sumatran/Brazilian beans, it was a lovely, rich and well-balanced espresso, one of the nicest I’ve had in a while. With that, though, I was off, for while I didn’t have a train to catch until the evening, I did have rather a lot of coffee shops to visit!
QUEEN STREET STATION • NORTH HANOVER STREET • GLASGOW • G1 2AF | ||||
www.luckiebeans.co.uk | ||||
Monday | 06:45 – 20:00 | Roaster | Luckie Beans (espresso only) | |
Tuesday | 06:45 – 20:00 | Seating | Tables (outside) | |
Wednesday | 06:45 – 20:00 | Food | Sandwiches, Cake | |
Thursday | 06:45 – 20:00 | Service | Counter | |
Friday | 06:45 – 20:00 | Cards | Amex, Mastercard, Visa | |
Saturday | 06:45 – 20:00 | Wifi | Free with login (Station Wifi) | |
Sunday | 08:30 – 18:00 | Power | No | |
Chain | No | Visits | 8th May 2017 | |
If you liked this Coffee Spot, then check out the rest of Glasgow’s speciality coffee scene with the Coffee Spot Guide to Glasgow.
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