The Bakehouse Bistro Bar

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The 2011/12 edition of The List's Eating & Drinking Guide is out now – only £5.95 (+p&p).

On entering the Bakehouse on Dalry Road, you can expect a friendly welcome from staff behind the food counter. Choose from a range of pre-prepared sandwiches and pizzas to enjoy as takeaway, or opt for table service when sitting in. There are plans afoot to extend the kitchen, but in the meantime the menu runs to home-made soups and stews of the day, jacket potatoes and lasagne (all popular with the kids, too). The sweet bites, Byron Bay cookies, Häagan-Dazs ice-creams, and fruit and cream tarts are great with a rich cup of Italian Illy coffee. Hand-made jewellery is displayed for sale in a glass cabinet, and as you go down the spiral staircase that leads into the heart of the old bakehouse, you pass a retro golden bike – clearly someone's old friend. It's a tranquil place, with small, comfortably arranged sofas, changing displays of artworks and photographs, and the original stone bakehouse oven embedded in the wall next to the wooden tables and chairs. On weekend evenings, this underground space takes on a wilder tone when the bar springs to life with live performances of music, poetry and comedy, and becomes a real neighbourhood hub.

• High point: A scene as well as a snack
• Low point: At weekends, the specials sell out