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A café shopfront lettered "Us v Them, engineering coffee" has diners seated at a window counter, a sandwich board and outdoor tables on the pavement.
Glasgow

Thomson's Coffee Gallowgate

The Gallowgate espresso bar of Thomson's, Glasgow's coffee roaster since 1841, near the Barras, once known as Us V Them.

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Welcome

Thomson's Coffee on the Gallowgate is the espresso bar of Thomson's, the Glasgow coffee roaster whose sign reads since 1841, and it stands a short walk from the Barras market and the Barrowland Ballroom.

Visited and photographed by Simon Hird

It opened as Us V Them Engineering Coffee, a minimalist espresso bar that doubled as a workshop for repairing coffee machines, and it now carries the Thomson's name over a long black front.

Inside it is a big, calm room of pale terrazzo floors and dark panelling, with a central bar where the baristas work and tall stools around it. The coffee is the point: espresso and milk drinks, filter and iced coffee, poured with care from Thomson's own roasts. On the counter there are glass cases of croissants and pastries, with toasties and a few light bites for lunch. It is a welcome stop on a Saturday or Sunday at the Barras, or before a gig at the Barrowland. The café opens on weekdays from eight in the morning until four, and at the weekend from nine until five.

Before you go

The Gallowgate café opens Monday to Friday from 8am to 4pm and Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 5pm.

Hours
Mon to Fri 08:00 to 16:00; Sat and Sun 09:00 to 17:00.
Where
196 to 200 Gallowgate, G1 5DR.

Opening hours

Their website
Monday
8am–4pm
Tuesday
8am–4pm
Wednesday
8am–4pm
Thursday
8am–4pm
Friday
8am–4pm
Saturday
9am–5pm
Sunday
9am–5pm

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Where it is

196 to 200 Gallowgate, near the Barras.

Close byIn the East End.
  1. Red archway reading "The Barras" spans a Glasgow street at sunsetThe BarrasGlasgow's weekend market in the east end, begun with Maggie McIver's barrows in the 1920s.Under a mile 1 min by road
  2. A whole thin-crust pizza with pepperoni, pesto, basil and a drizzle of sauce, in its box from Anxious Pete's.Anxious Pete'sUnder a mile as the crow flies
  3. Bill's Tool Store's red front with its name across the top.Bill's Tool StoreA hardware shop on Bain Street by the Barras for over seventy years, with power tools, hand tools, fixings and workwear.Under a mile as the crow flies
  4. A burger in front of the Smokey Trotters skull painted on a wall.Smokey Trotters KitchenA street food favourite with a home of its own on London Road, serving smash burgers and loaded fries.Under a mile 1 min by road
  5. The long room at Outlier, with tables down one side and the open kitchen and counter on the other.OutlierUnder a mile as the crow flies
  6. A busy bar under bare beams and hanging bikes.Saint Luke's & The Winged OxA church of the 1830s by the Barras, reborn as a music venue, with the Winged Ox bar and kitchen.Under a mile 1 min by road
Directions
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Stay nearby

Places to stay near the café, and when each is next free.

A grey sofa with cushions sits before a black and white kitchen, a framed print on the wall to the left.Moment Blythswood Street
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Free 31 Oct – 2 NovPlaces to stayEvery stay in GlasgowAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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