CANTEEN DREAMS
Cool cafe ready to offer an in-person experience with its diverse influences
HAYLYNN Canteen is ready to make a play for the title of Glasgow’s coolest neighbourhood cafe. Restricted to a takeaway menu for almost the entirety of its short existence, Whiteinch residents will see a different side of their emerging local hangout on Dumbarton Road when indoor dining returns on April 26.
In the meantime, you can pick up bagels stuffed with a delicious mound of pork belly, celeriac remoulade, piccalilli and pea shoot or a high-concept piece loaded with roast chicken, slow-roasted pepper, chorizo and watercress, presented between wedges of toasted sourdough bread from The Freedom Bakery.
The dining room is bright, modern and decorated with pop art, with the venture already attracting attention from locals. After an interrupted debut, this summer could be a time to shine.
Owner Robbie Morrow started his chef story at Catch 22, a seafood bar on Bath Street. He moved on to Number 16 on Byres Road, working his way up through the ranks in the kitchen. After seven years, the owner encouraged Robbie to try his luck in Australia. Inspired by the chance to experience a new food scene, he booked flights and dived into the Melbourne life, securing a job for Masterchef Australia judge George Calombaris at his restaurant, The Press Club.
“The culinary scene out there is amazing, the standard of food and the cafe culture, that was the beginning of my idea to come back here and start a cafe,” Robbie says.
Life went in a different direction for a while – Robbie helped open Tabac and spent time working at a private members’ club in Switzerland: “It was at a resort so I got a ski lift to work each morning, up in the Alps”.
He joined the team at Alchemilla, then came the opportunity to open Eighty Eight in Partick, which drew warm reviews. Explaining what came next, Robbie says: “I decided to go it alone and open up my own place in the middle of a pandemic.”
The space now occupied by Haylynn Canteen was once The Cabin restaurant that served generations in Whiteinch for 125 years before closing in 2015. When he committed to the idea of opening a cafe, Robbie realised the ideal location was staring him in the face.
He says: “I’d moved into the area. Like most chefs, I need my coffee and I couldn’t find anywhere nearby to buy one. It seemed like a gap in the market and it made sense to start here. There might be other things later on for me, other venues that suit different neighbourhoods, but this is what I saw as the right type of place to open here.”
At the moment, it’s just Robbie working in the kitchen and serving coffees from the door. Soon, the doors will be open and the cafe will fully take shape.
“We had four days open in December then we flipped to a takeaway from Boxing Day,” he says. “We’ve had a lot of praise from the neighbours here and people in the area have been really supportive. We’re also getting visitors from Broomhill, Jordanhill and the South Side.
“We started with an empty shell and there’s a lot of work that’s gone into it. We’ve built this from scratch.”
To add to the character of the building, Robbie says they’ve donated their corner wall as a canvas for local street artists, with the artwork changing every two months.
Haylynn Canteen is very much a personal project that will reflect Robbie’s personality and attitude to food.
He explains: “I’ve been lucky enough to work with owners that have given me a free rein, and Eighty Eight was very much aligned to what my style of food is. When we can open the doors this is going to be a brunch cafe. We’ve adapted the menu for takeaway but I’m looking forward to getting back to putting food on plates.”
New dishes will soon be more prominent in their offering: “We will continue to offer takeaway over the summer but I’m going to have a menu for sit-in that very much reflects the Melbourne cafe culture that I love. It’ll be more than just popping an egg on top. There will be meat dishes but I want to appeal to vegetarians and vegans too, I enjoy that kind of cooking.
“It’s going to be light, seasonal, bringing in different influences, including local ingredients and flavours. The menu will change constantly and will push me as a chef. It’s going to be exciting coming in to work and seeing what we can bring together.”