Tinderbox - Glasgow

I always knew that Paperchase had a coffee shop instore but I had never tried it. So when my phone died and I was in desperate need of a plug socket, we picked this place over the corporate Starbucks nearby. While my original plan was just to sneak in and take advantage of their electricity without being caught, I ended up buying a drink to sip while I typed on my iPhone. I had the Vanilla Icebox, which was basically an iced coffee with a drizzle of vanilla syrup. The coffee flavour was a bit strong though. I am not a lad who likes his coffee strong, so after tampering with the milk and sugar I eventually found a taste I liked. When my phone reached 50% I decided to go and have a wander around Paperchase itself which was lovely and had a disco dance floor at the back and colour changing glass elevators, as well as 2 floors worth of stationery and craft stuff. My only real complaints for Tinderbox are that all of the tables were filthy (an ongoing problem in self-service coffee joints in Glasgow), I never really saw any staff and these guys cannot clean toilets. But apart from these problems, I believe that picking Tinderbox over Starbucks or Costa would be a better decision for the economy as it is a local business.

Whoever had the genius idea of opening a coffee shop within a huge stationary shop (the delectable Paperchase I would like to shake you by the hand! Thank you. This Tinderbox, situated on the 1st floor of Paperchase, is now my go to coffee shop if I am in this part of town and looking for a cafe that is cosy (and pretty cool to sit in. Another thing I like about this particular Tinderbox is that it stays open until 7pm (8pm on a Thursday most nights, which is really good for a coffee shop as most seem to shut much earlier. There 's a reasonable amount of varied seating you can choose cosy booths, high up table, wee lower table, a sofa or window tables. The window tables seem to be the most popular as they have a cracking view down onto Buchanan Street below. Also they have a good mix of small and larger tables too. The shop itself is very bright, colourful mostly pretty jumpin ' so this isn 't maybe the best coffee shop to sit in with a hangover or to sit quietly with a book...although I 'm sure at certain times of the day it does quieten down a wee bit. Staff are always friendly and helpful. One day after only taking 1 sip of my flat white I accidentally (clumsily spilled it all over the table (ooft , I felt so daft had to ask a staff member for a cloth to clean it up to which she thankfully laughed at (in a knowing, 'we 've all been there ' kinda way and then swiftly came over to clean up, before I even got a chance to apologise (again she said 'Flat white wasn 't it? With soya milk? I 'll get another straight over to you ' Wow. That was SO nice of her. Not only did she get me another coffee (For FREE; I didn 't expect them too! but she also remembered/knew what I was drinking when it wasn 't even her that had took my order! I was mightily impressed. THAT is really good customer service. The choice of coffees/drinks here is really good there 's something for everyone, be they a coffee drinker or not. I stick to the (soya flat whites or cappuccino 's as they 're my favourites. Soya milk is also at no extra cost which I like. On a more aesthetic note I rather like their take away cups they 're a corrugated cardboard of various shades (depending on which size you have with 'Joe To Go ' written on them. I like this as it reminds me of Agent Dale Cooper from Twin Peaks every time I read it : Food wise I have only ever partaken in the sweet treats here. Everything looks yummy but I can recommend the Empire Biscuits, Portuguese Custard Tarts and the cakes (cupcakes . All very tasty. Since they have introduced the bonus of a cheeky free coffee every 7 days for any Paperchase card holders I have been in here more than ever. It 's a great idea and it really has made me visit here buy more stationary than I normally would have! Haha! Clever clever people...

Don't really know what to say about this Tinderbox. I usually end up here after a day of shopping, when everything else is closed after 5pm but I still want coffee. Desperate times haha This one is located above Paperchase and always looks quite messy for some reason. There's always a table with uncleared coffee cups, which I detest. When I'm there, I order a flavoured coffee because I've made the mistake of ordering ordinary coffee and it tasted super burnt. The syrup's sweetness compensates for the lack of coffee flavour haha It's quite a nice place to sit at if you were shopping at Paperchase and wanna look at all the pretty things you bought but other than that, not the biggest fan! Staff members are also a bit snooty at times. But anyway it's just an ok place. If there are better places to have coffee, just go there. Haha

A real nice place for a coffee or tea with great views down Buchanan street. Shame about the dirty cups

After wandering around Paperchase for quite a while, and I mean a while, I had completely forgot that there 's more upstairs and also a Tinderbox. I 've visited the other two branches and I 've always enjoyed what they 've had on offer. I had been a busy wee bee in town and decided a cheeky wee break was needed. It 's located at the window, so you can watch the busy town goers whizz on by. I noticed that they had 'Not Coffee ' options, so for me a non-coffee drinker, I wiz pure like yas. We 're a rare breed so it was nice to see so many options available and not only in hot drinks but in frapps as well. A Steamer, hot flavoured milk drink, was on the menu so I ordered it in caramel. Didnae get me pure steaming but definitely heated me up. Hehe!! I also had a chocolate type croissant thang, I can 't remember it 's proper name but it was delicious. The staff were spot on, I got my Steamer at the end of the counter and found myself a comfy seat and enjoyed. A nice environment in town for a treat and to gives the legs a wee rest.