Accento

The Sardinian café that brings joy to a hungry Glaswegian’s soul.

I don’t do fancy very well.

A few years ago I bought a pair of ghille shirts so that I could circumnavigate the complexities of wearing a kilt on a wedding day. The idea of attending a game of football in a suit as a pre-requisite of my enjoyment after already paying for the privilege is one that I don’t fully comprehend and as far as I’m concerned any pub, bar or nightclub that has a dress code that doesn’t include “one of your cleanest t-shirts and the shoes found closest to your door” as part of it’s entry requirements is probably not for me. Well, not unless I’m incoherently inebriated anyway.

This desire for comfort often translates to the places I love to eat food. A desire heightened by solo trips abroad and a long held belief that things taste better when they are delivered to your mouth straight from your hands. All of which got me thinking about Accento Cafe.

I recently changed job, it was an opportunity that I had to take and, at the time of writing, still feels like one of the best decisions I’ve made. However one of the consequences of this change is that my regular trips to this intensely welcoming little cafe just off the main Finniestion drag in Glasgow’s west end are now, sadly, more difficult to come by.

My memory has become hazy in relation to how my first visit came around. I think — but I say with no guarantee that this is the absolute truth — it was during a spell in which I had concluded Friday lunchtimes would be used as an excuse for a culinary adventure within walking distance of my office. Each place would only be visited once. That’s what I told myself, but with Accento, I became a regular.

It would be easy to wax lyrical about their sandwiches and don’t worry I will, the salivation has already begun at the mere thought of sharing their beauty with anybody who has ventured this far, but no panino is complete without the hands who forged them.

Sisters Alessandra and Francesca, along with Francesca’s partner Riccardo arrived in Glasgow in 2014 with a desire to bring a little slice of Sardinia to Scotland’s largest city and in that regard the venture has proven to be a huge success. The natives have taken the trio to their hearts as to have their fellow Italians as often, whilst you scan the produce laden walls wide-eyed and ever more hungry, you notice a vibrant conversational air with orchestral hand gestures and a Mediterranean hum that echoes the buzz of the trattorias and osterias of their island home.

The panino though, oh my those panini, so good that in moments of tastebud tingling euphoria I have announced, on more than one occasion, that what I was eating was “the best in Glasgow”. The signature Franco range, named after Alessandra and Francesca’s father, has a level of culinary artistry that the cafe’s modest surroundings belie. The ciabatta baked fresh each and every morning acts as host for a cornucopia of direct from source Italian ingredients, often accompanied with a layer of Chicken Milanese that I guarantee with have you reaching for more.

I’m a Spicy Franco enthusiast, spicy salami paired with the crisp breaded chicken, cheese and lettuce, a heady combination that I’m not ashamed to say I’ve leaned on to get me through some of those tougher days. The menu changes though, with seasonality also key to ensure the panini on offer remain the best around whilst the recent addition of potato croquettes to the specials list has been a true joy to behold.

Last year they launched a re-usable coffee cup campaign, a trend that many were soon quick to follow. I still carry mine everywhere and their kindness to those locals who don’t really have a care as to what a trend is doesn’t go unnoticed. A kindness immediately reciprocated following a break in at the cafe.

There is ambition behind the easy homeliness that the Pili family have forged too though, and with a plethora of awards to throw behind their name they recently completed a first evening service. It was, of course, a huge success, and as I devoured my Franco XXL in the drivers seat of my car, glad for this now rare opportunity to say hello to some friendly faces, I felt a sense of contentment filter down towards my soul.

Forza Accento.