With super service and great grub, century-old pub has a bright future
There are few bars still around that can rightfully claim to have launched the career of one of the country’s biggest entertainers.
But the Cafe Continental, which is more than 100 years old, really is a pub like no other.
It’s gone from an ice cream parlour where schoolboy Jimmy Logan would entertain customers to a base for the Norwegian navy during WWII.
And when it became a pub and restaurant in the 80s, it was the first bar in the country to have a proper coffee machine.
But it doesn’t matter how long you’ve been open or how unusual your history is, you’ve still got to get everything right to keep your customers – even when you have a location that’s pretty hard to beat. The uninterrupted views from Gourock’s riviera across the Firth of Clyde to the hills of A rg yl l are stunning.
But then so is this place. From the service to the staff, the tasty food and vast drinks selection, Cafe Continental is as good as it gets.
It was super busy when we arrived and it was easy to see just how many customers were regulars – they welcomed them like old friends. But even new visitors get the five- star treatment.
The waiting staff couldn’t have been better, ushering us to a table within a few minutes. The menu looks tasty but, when the food does come, it is very un-cafe like.
Their delicious king prawn linguine with pancetta and cher r y tomatoes, subt l y flavoured with chilli and garlic, wouldn’t be out of place in a top-notch city centre restaurant.
The range of drinks is also impressive and includes a large choice of lagers and beers on tap, a big selection of spirits and liqueurs and a dozen cocktails on the menu. One of these, the raspberry caipirinha, mixes cachaca – a spirit made from sugar cane – with lime juice and raspberry syrup, and was served on ice topped with three berries and a slice of lime. Simply delicious.
Cafe Continental may have a rich and wonderful past but its future looks just as good.