Wow! I can't believe it's been 7 years since my first review of The Willow Tea Room. Everything time I'me even remotely close to Glasgow I book a reservation for afternoon tea. The whole experience is absolutely outstanding and the quality of food and service has not change over the years at all. I've even booked at the location in Edinburgh. Definitely one of my favourite places for lunch. read more

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I loved my high tea experience! I read reviews about this place and was super glad it was located about 3 blocks from my hotel. I arrived without a reservation and was offered a seat at the main ding room on the second floor. There was also the option to sit upstairs in the Chinese tea room room (same menu) where the bathrooms are also located. I selected the Classic Afternoon Tea - including a choice of cake from the daily selections. I selected the strawberry tart and brought it back to my hotel to eat later. For my tea, I went for the berry selection which was a loose leaf tea. They also provided a second fresh pot that was equally delicious! Service was fantastic. A great high tea experience in Glasgow! read more

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I found this cute place last year during the holiday season when I was solo traveling to Scotland and loved it so much I had to rebook for my visit this year. It's a great place for afternoon tea and lunch and is always lively and filled with people. Perfect place for friends to gather and have a cute tea time. I booked the afternoon tea on two separate occasions for this visit and the service was top tier and the staff so kind and caring. The food, pastries and tea are delicious! I can't wait to make it back here for every visit I plan to Scotland. Book your tea time at this wonderful place! read more

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A reliable choice for afternoon tea during your day out in Edinburgh. The beautiful window view of Edinburgh Castle cannot be beat. It is recommended to make a reservation to secure a table with tea service, but they also take walk-ins as well as take out of bakery and lunch items. Please note this is supposed to be for the Edinburgh location, but the page has been set for Glasgow, which is a separate location. I think? they got combined somehow. Yelp isn't as widely used overseas and my attempts to fix this haven't worked. I'm not the only review for the Edinburgh location. Anyhoo. I was pleased with the vegetarian selection, which came with four different finger sandwiches. They do also have a few vegan choices. Edinburgh and the Borders area in general I found to be very veggie friendly, yay! Prices were very reasonable here at the Willow, too. Soooo many dessert choices too, oh my goodness. I didn't know what to do with myself. Sticky toffee pudding was what I had my heart set on trying, and they did have this on the menu along with sticky toffee cake. What arrived after I ordered it was the rich cake with a sticky toffee sauce on the side for dipping, pouring, slathering, etc. This tasted excellent, but it wasn't really what I wanted. Communicating that with the server had been kind of off, but that might have been on me? I didn't want to push it and just went ahead and enjoyed it. I suppose I could have taken myself back to the Gordon Ramsay place we spotted while walking down Princes Street lolz. We did order afternoon tea service, with choice of sandwiches and desserts. I chose the Willow house blend tea and enjoyed it. Everything tasted delicious and the tea room is lovely, but typically I expect more attentive service for afternoon tea. They weren't particularly busy, but perhaps had been understaffed? It was a nice visit, but I would have appreciated being checked in on a little more. Still, I would give them another try on my next visit. Don't ask me about parking as we took the train into Edinburgh each time on my last visit. Yay transit! There are vegan options and the bathroom report also came back excellent. read more

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While we were in Glasgow, we found this cozy little spot for afternoon tea on a chilly day, and it was exactly what we needed to warm up. The tea room upstairs is small, comfy, and has a great vibe. The window seats look right out onto the busy main street, and with the Christmas decorations sparkling, it made everything feel extra special. Our server was friendly, quick, and just really pleasant to talk to. I ordered the classic egg mayonnaise sandwich with crisps, and it was just right, with the perfect amount of onion. The Victoria sponge was the real winner though: light, fluffy, and filled with cream and strawberry goodness. And of course, a proper cup of tea tied it all together. I'm already planning to stop by again the next time I'm in Glasgow! read more

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The view is excellent, the service is excellent and the desserts are acceptable. It's a great, quiet atmosphere, within a few steps of the castle, buses and everything else. read more

This was our favorite and most inexpensive afternoon tea of our entire 2 week UK trip! We randomly stumbled across this location after accidentally sleeping in on a rainy morning and needing something to do. First, the location is incredible on Princes Street, with direct views of Edinburgh Castle. Second, the price was amazing--many afternoon teas in London can run over £50, especially at the luxury hotels and restaurants. For pretty much the exact same experience, you can have an amazing afternoon tea with unfussy sandwiches, good scones, and your choice of cakes for only £19.95. (PS. The sticky toffee pudding was to DIE for!) Service was friendly and quick. This was easily our favorite afternoon tea, and we are so glad we stopped in! read more

We visited for the classic afternoon tea and the whole experience was lovely. The large bay windows overlooking the castle made for a really pretty backdrop and a special experience. The tea was very standard but very good. The 3 tier tray of sandwiches, scones and pastries filled me up way more than I thought it would! The sandwiches were very classic as well as the scones. The lemon tart and strawberry tart were very good and not too sweet. I think we could've switched up the sandwiches and I wish our server would've shared a little more information with us. And you could also switch out the classics sandwiches if you preferred one over the other, but again I didn't learn of that until after we were served. If you're looking for something elaborate with tons of food/pastry/tea options, this isn't the place for you. But for the price of this afternoon tea I think it's a great option! We didn't need something super fancy, but we did want the fun experience of afternoon tea so this fit that perfectly. read more

The Willow Tea Rooms - British Near Me - Glasgow, GLG

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We wanted to have a proper afternoon tea and this was such a wonderful experience! They had a wonderful selection of pastries that made it hard to choose, but the carrot cake was divine and I am happy about my decision. You get one free refill of your hot drink, so there's plenty to sip and chat. They have a standard or savory afternoon tea choice, and you can add gin and tonic or champagne to your selection. We loved our experience and the service! read more

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Made reservations for tea. Service was good, food was good. Packed up desert to take back to the hotel, jet lag was killing us.

I visited the tea room last week alone while traveling through with my husband for business. I ordered the afternoon tea service and was not checked on by the wait staff. I'm not sure if this was because I was by myself or the location that I was seated ( near the sweets case ). I would not recommend this place based on service alone yet the ambiance was beautiful and enjoyable. read more

Such a lovely tea house. Great ambience. Staff were friendly and efficient. We each had a different pot of tea. We ordered the French toast, avocado toast with tomato and avocado toast with poached eggs. Good size portions and delicious food. read more

Had such a great experience at the Willow Tea Room. Definitely make a reservation before you go because the place is really busy. The place features the high-backed Art Nouveau style chairs. You have a choice of ordering individual items from the menu or requesting an afternoon tea (they have two varieties -- one comes with pastries and the other is more savory). There's a lot of food so bring an appetite. Their Willow tea blend is really nice and smooth. read more

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Really everything was perfect. Choice of teas is extensive, they were very accommodating about switching out tea sandwiches (no salmon etc.). The food was hearty and delicious, even the gents in our party were fully satisfied. Highly recommend. read more

The tea, food, and service were spectacular; and the two lovely ladies at the reception area made us feel so welcome. It was a Classic English tea experience in the most iconic and beautiful setting, with an historical background that influences many of the tearooms we have visited throughout the world. read more

Everything. Wonderful food, service and history. A must do in Scotland. Fresh and hot food served with a smile

I and my wife really wanted to love this place as this was our first 'high tea' experience. It was a little disappointing though. We tried one of their savory and sweet afternoon tea platters each. Most of the sandwiches were just alright. Kinda dry. The lemon meringue was quite bad. Way too eggy. Not very tidy. The tables were sticky. Just another very touristy spot with not much to offer. The teas were alright. Nothing special. The tea with some rose was pretty decent. read more

We didn't have time for the afternoon tea, so ordered off the regular menu. We chose the steak pie, the (I think it was called) 1903 mince and mashed potatoes, ploughman's sandwich, and the pear and goat cheese salad. All were good! I had a lot of tasty meals on my trip, but the mince is the one that sticks out the most. It's definitely not pretty to look at, but it's excellent comfort food. As befits a tea room, there are multiple teas to try. We tried the Scottish chai and the 1903 tea made for Willow. I didn't think the latter was very flavorful, but my mom liked it enough to buy it from the shop next door. Service was a little slow, but we were also in a bit of a hurry. Staff seemed friendly and professional. Ambiance-wise, the room had a nice feel without being stuffy. read more

This place is the best! Visiting a tea room for the first time on holiday, and I must say it was a pleasant experience. Only £13 per person for afternoon tea (comes with sandwiches, scones with clotted cream + strawberry jam, shortbread, and cake of your choice). The breakfast tea comes with milk and hot water. The tea is loose so they give a tea strainer. They have brown and white sugar cubes. There are two floors. The tea rooms are designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the upper floor is Chinese inspired. We were running a bit late for our reservation and the lady on the phone had no problem holding the table until we arrived. We got a romantic and private corner table with a nice view of the city center. Would come here again. read more

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Excellent service! Delicious earl grey and jasmine green tea. The food was moderate but we were really there for the tea. Would recommend adding fans as it's a bit warm. Super cute decor! read more

The Willow Tea Rooms - British Near Me - Glasgow, GLG

Notwithstanding the traffic and insane parking garage it took up get here, the overall experience was good. We had a fish stew (I cannot remember the name), but it was sooooooo good. Besides the stew add on, our party of three opted for the tea service. The tea selection was a little limited, but everything tasted great. The sandwiches were tasty, and the kitchen was able to accommodate a vegetarian request too. We'd come if in Glasgow again. read more

This is my first time in Glasgow. I was told I needed to go to a tea room and my search led me here. It was my wife, daughter, and me. We made reservations for breakfast as this fit our schedule. They ordered traditional tea meals (as I normally expected for an afternoon) for breakfast, and I ordered the traditional breakfast (which comes with blood pudding! We really enjoyed ours meals. The atmosphere is casual, not formal at all. At home in the states I expected this would be treated as a formal setting, but this is casual, there is no music, but it is very conservation friendly. Really enjoyed it. read more

The Willow Tea Rooms - I love these high back chairs! - British Near Me - Glasgow, GLG

Took my fiancée here for brunch, and we both had the afternoon tea. The sandwiches were quite boring and bland. The egg mayo was in dire need of salt and pepper. The only sandwich that had any real flavor at all was the ham with peppercorn jam, the flavor coming more from the jam than the meat. The scones were alright. Nothing to write home about. The decor was nice and the staff (clad in French maid's outfits?) were friendly and eager to help. The ambience was harmed, however, by a very loud, jarring beep-beep that seemed to chime every time a staff member entered or exited the kitchen. This went off at least a couple of times per minute. All in all, an alright experience but this place seems to try too hard on their decor and ambience. They need to try harder with their food quality. And get rid of (or at least lower the volume on) that blasted door chime, for pity's sake. read more

The Willow Tea Rooms is one of those places in Glasgow that I always recommend to tourists but had never got around to visiting myself. Based on the designs of Charles Rennie Mackintosh it is absolutely gorgeous. Such lovely attention to detail and it is so timeless. It is a bright and airy venue split over two levels. Unfortunately it's up a steep flight of stairs with no obvious lift available. It frustrates me when places aren't wheelchair friendly. It annoyed me more having to lift my niece's pram up and down the stairs. Inside the restaurant there are gorgeous high backed seats. However due to its massive popularity they have squeezed in as many tables as possible. Means you constantly have to push your table in and out to let people past. We managed to get in just before the lunchtime tourist rush but from 1pm onwards there was a huge queue. The menu provides a lot of variety and being seated right next to the cake display meant we knew we had to chose wisely. My sister & I shared a mozzarella, tomato and pesto ciabatta. Sounded fab but there was a distinct lack of tomato - oops! Very glad I saved room for the lemon meringue tart. Paired perfectly with the Willow Tea Rooms blend tea. It was just divine and rounded off a bit of a disappointment of a lunch in a lovely but cramped venue. read more

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beautiful space with art nouveau chairs and ambience. nice tea selection. salmon sandwich on brown bread was delicious, soup was a bit bland. nice desserts. it does get crowded, I was glad we had a reservation. read more

The Willow Tea Rooms - British Near Me - Glasgow, GLG

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Feeling completely disoriented and jet-legged, hubby and I walked sheepishly on Buchanan st. I had previously read about the willow tea room on tripadvisor and was curious to try it. Well just my luck, we stumbled upon this tea room by chance as I recognized the funny font on the sign. The different tea rooms are cute. Only the main floor connected to the gift shop was open because there weren't too many people during the time of day we were visiting (Friday early afternoon). While it took some time for the waitress to recognize our existence and come over for our order, the muesli, meringue, and scone that we got were absolutely mouthwatering. The muesli was so good that I decided to bring this Scottish breakfast goodie back home to America with me. read more

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We wanted our daughter to experience a nice afternoon tea and this was a great place to do so. The price was quite reasonable, the teas were very nice and the food was very good, particularly the tart and scones. My husband had the Scottish chili which was very hearty and had a good flavor. We'd definitely come back. The only thing to avoid is the upstairs if possible. We were seated in a tight corner with an uncomfortable table and the top floor, which can seat probably 20-30, only had 1 staff member. This made service rather slow and her attitude was a little off. read more

The Willow Tea Rooms - Afternoon tea with strawberry tart. - British Near Me - Glasgow, GLG

Warning: not to be confused with "Buchanan" Tea Rooms just up the street close to Buchanan tube station. You'll find this Willow Tea Room across from the Bench Store. The Willow Tea Rooms is a Glasgow staple. The Buchanan Street location is an extension to the Sauchiehall location, which offers more space and a lovely White Dining Room as well as the Chinese Room one floor up (that's where you'll find the toilets!). The Tea Rooms feature work by Glasgow's homeboy Charles Rennie Mackintosh, which is filled with graceful high backed chairs. However, upstairs in the Chinese Room, you'll find a more muted dark theme, but still elegant. The food is subpar, and definitely not worth the money. However, I do enjoy the wide selection of teas. The service is very hit or miss, depending when you go. Most occasions you have to flag down one of the servers or hostess. Despite the bleh food, I do enjoy a nice cuppa when I've come here with Lumberjack, and had a few meetings with classmates. The overall atmosphere is nice, especially when escaping the hectic street below. Bottom line: I wouldn't dismiss this place completely. If you've got visitors in town, who may or not be Mackintosh enthusiasts, it's definitely worth a visit. Just don't bank on getting super tasty food; instead, savour the unique design, location, tea and people watching down below if you sit along the window. read more

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I was excited for an afternoon tea experience, but didn't get to savor it due to the the unclean restaurant and rude staff. My water glass was served with a black, gritty grime caked inside and outside. When I requested another, they gave me one that was just as dirty. My tea cup also had this grime, though only on the outside, so I gave in and just drank from it anyway. We were strong armed into buying two pots of tea because you "aren't allowed" to only get one, which left us with lots of leftover tea and spending more than we had planned. The avocado toast was decent and vegan friendly, but I was so grossed out by the time we got our food that I didn't want to eat anything leaving the kitchen. read more

Willow Tea Room does ambiance well. The tea is good though the food leaves a bit to be desired (otherwise it would be a four star). We ordered the traditional afternoon tea set (there's traditional and savory options). The set comes with a choice of tea (or coffee) and choice of cake. The tea was quite good, we ordered an Earl Gray and a Willow Tea Room Blend. Unfortunately the food was not as good as we hoped, with the sandwiches being a bit soggy and the strawberry cheesecake was runny. read more

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I was here on the recommendation of a friend - partly because I needed to do some work, partly because I was interested in Charles Rennie Mackintosh, whose designs had inspired the interior. The tea and porridge were fine, and I think this is worth a visit if you're strolling on Buchanan Street anyway. read more

All I wanted was a pot of tea. I came up here, and unless you have been here, you won't understand how busy it is. They have a sign for you to wait to be seated. Every table looked table. When I said to a customer, of how busy it is, she said you can never walk off the streets and get a table right away. I would imagine there are times when it's not as busy. But I think it's maybe a shop/tea shop, rather than the other way around. You see. I think this was a Rennie McIntosh Building, and they sell many things with the typical Rennie McIntosh look. I decided not to wait and go and find a place I could hear myself think. Even though I ended up picking a more busier Counting hours pub, it's less noisy than Willows. As for price and drinks, I'd hat to see what price they would charge here. Don't be put off, if it's not busy, maybe try it. read more

The Willow Tea Rooms - British Near Me - Glasgow, GLG

Great decor, the Afternoon Tea was good but not the best I've ever had. Excellent choice of teas. A bit pricey.

Worst Afternoon Tea EVER. SHOCKED, APPALLED, DISMAYED by incredible lack of attention/rudeness. @ best mediocre food. Even though not crowded and several wait staff walked by for ten minutes, I had to ask the Maitre D for a server. After food was served which half was a day or two old as well as soup served without a spoon, no wait staff ever came back to table. This place may have been renowned years ago but it has changed ownership the past few years all for the worst. Save 28 £ and go elsewhere. You've been warned my friends. read more

This place made me SAD. After taking the Glasgow School of Art tour the day before, I was hungry for more Mackintosh, so one of his tea rooms seemed to be the perfect answer. In theory I admire the entrepreneur who decided to REPLICATE the original Willow Tea Rooms. However, before going I thought this was the original - insert 10 minutes of baffled "he designed this, really?!" before reading the explanatory brochure on our table. Oddly the tea room is situated above a really dated jewellers, which you have to walk through to get to the tea rooms. This was badly explained and the nature of the tea rooms design meant that I had a prime view into the downstairs shop, and of empty shelving and a huddle of stone faced sales assistants who appeared pretty knarked-off about their impending unemployment. Not the most uplifting view! Reasons to dislike: It's a mix of passable replication fused with gawdy tourism e.g. the 'orrible cheap looking gift shop that greets you at the top of the stairs, the (handily purchasable) commemorative tea towels hung EVERYWHERE and the big hulking display fridges they've wedged into this very small space. The build is shoddy, the whole place could do with a lick of paint and if you're going to mimic one of your countries design icons at least do a ruddy good job! For example, Mackintosh is renowned for his detailing and it was heartbreaking to see that the decorative wooden edging running around the balcony of the white dining room was being used as a handy electric cable tidy!! Also it was dusty, the space isn't the largest and I imagine this is an authentic reference. But sitting next to dustballs is not what I want when eating. The food was fine, nothing to squeal about, but not complaint-worthy either. in contrast to the other reviewers, I don't think it was that overpriced (if the overall experience is improved). My final gripe is with the staff. We got to the tea rooms around 9.30am for breakfast only to be told that the bakery had yet to deliver so certain things were off the menu - this is not ideal but acceptable. However staff members then proceeded to trawl all of the cake deliveries through the restaurant and by the end of our meal three of them had set themselves up across two tables on the restaurant floor to clean and polish the cutlery! Service was slack and I ended up having to go and ask one of the cutlery polishing waitresses to allow us to pay for our meal. I was told that the tea rooms are hoping to takeover the downstairs tenancy, which would be a welcome improvement. But frankly space alone will not improve the disappointing experience of The Willow Tea Rooms. Show some respect please! read more

Real fun. You have to go! The finger sandwiches, the scones & tea are as good as they say. I was told don't be scared of trying the cheese scone & I'm here to tell you be scared. It wasn't horrible, but why? Stick with plain or fruit scones - delicious!! read more

When I first walked in to this place I was very impressed, I loved the decor and it was bright and airy and the cakes looked amazing! Sadly, that feeling didn't last! My mum and I popped in for lunch on a special treat day before heading to Mar Hall for a spa afternoon. As I said, it started off well, even when we ordered. Service was quick to begin with (although unfriendly throughout) and we loved the look of the menu and had trouble choosing! I thought I'd be coming back time and again to try various things in such pleasant surroundings! We were a bit confused with the design of the table which had a round top but a square bit underneath so the corners basically stuck into you (or if rotated, you had a table leg to deal with) which was hidden by a tablecloth so actually quite hurt when I discovered it! We both opted for the rarebit with bacon and I ordered a mocha. Mum and I both commented that the waitress seemed very unpleasant. The mocha was lovely! I admired the olive green stained glass and the Rennie MacKintosh designs. Our food arrived after quite a wait and things just kept going downhill from there. Both dishes were pretty cold, especially the bacon! The salad was limp, uninspiring and undressed. We were both very disappointed. We decided we'd have to have cake to cheer us up ;) Mum ordered the lemon meringue pie and I asked about the carrot cupcakes as they looked lovely. I enquired about whether they contain walnuts as carrot cake often does. I am slightly allergic to some nuts but absolutely fine with traces (luckily as that would rule out A LOT!) and walnuts make my mouth very itchy and unpleasant. She seemed a bit unsure but said there were no nuts in the recipe to which I replied that I would be fine then and ordered one. I also asked for the menu back to order another drink as I was quite thirsty having already finished my Mocha when our lunch arrived. She eventually returned with a menu and our cakes (it was a bit busier now but suddenly the service was VERY slow) and despite be trying my best to catch her eye from our corner, it took a full 15 minutes before I could order my drink! Mum eventually gave up waiting and ate her dessert but I knew my cake would make me even more thirsty so had waited. When I did eat my cake, it was pretty dry and the icing was very gritty. I only ate about half which was lucky as I soon started to feel that telltale, horrible tingling at the back of my mouth and my lips and tongue became itchy. Luckily I had my drink at this point to managed to ease my symptoms and take an anti-histamine. After another long wait trying to be seen, we eventually had had enough and just went to the exit to try to pay. We were served by the same woman and I informed her that I thought there were nuts in the cupcakes as I was feeling itchy and uncomfortable and she just said oh are there?! Unbelievably bad service - didn't care that she gave me the wrong information (which for someone with a severe allergy could be dangerous, although they'd maybe be more careful than I need to be) and didn't even apologise! Needless to say, we left no tip and couldn't wait to get out of there! read more

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What an utter disappointment. I basically forced my family to go, and I was subsequently punished for it. We sat up on the 3rd floor. At the time, we were only one of 3 tables up there. Upon sitting us, the server said the lentil soup was the special of the day. I told him, "Great! My favorite. I'll take that." My husband ordered a large meal. One kid ordered a hot chocolate and simple sandwich. The other ordered just toast and tea. I ordered tea and lentil soup. The server returned with our cutlery and drinks. No milk with the tea. He then made himself scarce. Asked another server for milk for our tea. She responded as though she would get it. The tea continued to sit there. About 30 minutes after ordering, they brought out the food. Again, I asked for milk. They went back to get the milk, and I watched as my family began to eat. The toast that one kid ordered came out completely dry, no butter or jam was offered. Had to request that, as well. Finally, the milk for our teas arrived, and only then was I informed that they were out of lentil soup! No apology or accommodations. I wasn't about to wait another 20-30 minutes for my plate, after we had been there so long and the restaurant was now busier. I wasn't given any assurances they would rush a meal out. They simply told me, as though it was no big deal. Other people had been sat later and their food seemed to come out much more quickly. I think it was our server who disappeared. Even getting the bill required hunting down a different server and having her delegating it to someone else who was not our server. Tl;dr: only after my family's food arrived 30 mins after ordering did they tell me they were out of my soup, no milk with the tea (had to ask twice), dry toast (had to ask for butter/jam), our server never came back to our table after delivery cutlery, long wait. Not worth it. read more

The Willow Tea Rooms - British Near Me - Glasgow, GLG

I enjoyed my visit to the Willow Tea Rooms, but It does feel like it could be so much more! The jewellery shop in the window front is a little confusing and then there is a sort of museum towards the back of the ground floor. The tearoom is squeezed onto the first floor (which is balcony). Considering the Tea Rooms once covered all five floors of the building, it seems a shame that they don't open it up a little more. The scone with clotted cream and jam was very nice and I enjoyed my pot of white tea (although I confess to pouring it without the strained on at least one occasion). It was cheaper than I have come to expect from these tourist tea rooms too. I'd recommend going if you need to rest your feet and fancy a sweet treat. read more

I had heard of Willow quite a while back and had wanted to check it out after seeing some pretty favourable reviews on other websites. The decor is really cool, I have to admit! It may be worth a visit to check that out... but maybe just drop in and visit the gift shop rather than have some tea and cake. I love tea, but Willow's tea is just ok. I was rather disappointed. If you're into an ok pot of tea in a unique setting, then you may enjoy it. Otherwise, if you take away the decor then there's not much to offer. Their baked goods are just average. With so many other choices in Glasgow I have no need to revisit, nor any plans to do so. read more