CCA Bar and Café

This review appears in the The List's Eating & Drinking Guide 2008 – in the shops now or buy online.

The Centre for Contemporary Arts, a cultural oasis amid Sauchiehall Street's noisy parade of bars and clubs, is the place to come if you're after a coffee or a meal without selling out to The Man – the café uses fair trade and organic produce wherever possible. The courtyard at the centre of the building is a family-friendly space which strikes all the right contemporary design notes. Staff are sometimes a wee bit too-cool-for-school so you might find yourself sitting with empty plates for a while before anyone gets round to removing them. The menu has lots of light dishes and salads as well as some hot meals. The sandwiches can be big on bread and a little low on filling, but the seafood chowder brims with squid, mussels and clams in a light, milky broth. The pear that arrives with the parma ham and rocket salad is rather crunchier than the caramelised one described. For dessert, the big, squidgy sticky toffee pudding will have you nostalgic for school dinners. Upstairs, the Scott Street bar opens from noon during summer months so customers can enjoy the sun trap terrace. The whole venue is closed on Sunday and Monday.

• High point: Always something interesting going on
• Low point: Backless stools don't encourage lingering

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