Some time ago I met a friend at Fifi & Ally’s Princes Square store and, although service was lousy, we enjoyed our coffee and cake and I recalled thinking the menu looked interesting, so when a good friend suggested going to Fifi & Ally on Wellington Street in Glasgow, I was more than happy with her choice.
As we took in the combination of industrial, sleek, stylish girlieness it is not surprising to learn that Fifi & Ally have won Most Stylish Cafe and have been nominated for Scottish Tastemakers and Top of the Shops in Elle Decoration 2006. The bare brick walls are softened by stylish, frufru, black framed mirrors and the oversized lamp shades. Despite the size of the place – large – it didn’t feel too vacuous, successfully maintaining a sense of cosy intimacy.
Pretty quickly we decided from the menu that the Open Boards were top of our list and so I ordered the Moroccan Board (£14.95) and my friend ordered the Celtic Board (£15.95), along with a glass of wine… When the Boards arrived, we were both delighted with what we saw. In the centre of my Moroccan board was a bowl with a salad, then around this bowl there were little dishes holding the various accompanyments and some slices of flat bread. Whilst all full of texture and taste it seemed a little on the megre side in comparison with the Celtic Board which contained mounds of beef, salmon and smoked wild venison as well as cheese and bread = I had menu envy!! Both boards were most enjoyable, but I would say for the price the Moroccan Board was a little mean in portion size, whereas the Celtic Board was value for money and full of satisfying ingredients.
Coffee and Curly Wurly cake to follow – I have a sweet tooth but even this Curly Wurly cake was too much for me, but deliciously moist and tasty. My friend had the Walnut and Coffee cake which was rich in flavour.
A popular option for guests to Fifi & Ally is the afternoon tea and through this option they seem to be filling the 2pm – 5pm afternoon slot successfully, tables filling up with groups of girls/ladies going for the three plate cake stand of treats, which we both thought most appealing…. that’s for next time!
It would be nice if the staff could conjure up the sterotypical glaswegian friendliness to add to the experience, but other than that it’s most definately worth a visit, preferrably with your best gal-pal(s) – ideal!
Fifi & Ally, 80 Wellington Street, Glasgow, G2 6UA
T.0141 226 2286 F.0141 204 3601
