Partenope
Partenope is the Greek name for the settlement that became Naples, and in Glasgow it is a corner focacceria in a Shawlands tenement block, not the pizza restaurant the name suggests.
Why go
Toni moved from Italy around 2015 wanting to open a bakery, and in 2021 he and Sara took the former YZ Stores newsagent on the junction of Hector Road and Tassie Street to do it. Sara's account of the split is the whole business in one line: Toni makes a fab wee loaf of bread and focaccia and I enjoy making coffees and having a chat with customers
(Glasgow Live, via syndication). Toni bakes the focaccia and the bread on the premises each morning, and the cakes, soups, sandwiches and salads come out of the same kitchen. The Neapolitan thread runs through the pastry rather than through pizza: the Scotsman's pick here is a sfogliatella, the shell-shaped ricotta pastry that is Naples' own, with a Kimbo coffee, Kimbo being the Naples roaster (The Scotsman).
Order this / avoid
- Order: a filled focaccia, because that is what The List singles out:
an airy lunchtime spot where it's all about strong coffee and fantastic, bubbly focaccia that they bake in-house
1. Bubbly is the operative word, since an open, blistered crumb is the test of a focaccia and it comes from a long, wet, slow-proved dough. Then the sfogliatella with a Kimbo coffee, which the Scotsman passed on from the bloggers Foodie Explorers. - Avoid: going in expecting Neapolitan pizza and a city-centre dining room. This is a counter among the flats on Tassie Street, shut by four in the afternoon, and it takes no bookings.
What locals & experts say
- The List, eight places to eat in Shawlands:
Hiding amongst the flats on Tassie Street, Partenope is an airy lunchtime spot where it's all about strong coffee and fantastic, bubbly focaccia that they bake in-house.
Drawn from Eat & Drink 365 Glasgow, The List's sister magazine, alongside Paesano's Shawlands Cross site, Cafe Strange Brew and Deanston Bakery.1 - The Scotsman (Gaby Soutar), on Scotland's best coffee-and-pastry stops:
If you're a fan of Italian pastries, try this place. Bloggers, Foodie Explorers, recommend you order the cafe's Kimbo coffee and a sfogliatella.
The only other Glasgow entry in the piece is Broken Clock.2 - Sara, co-owner, on deciding to open in a pandemic:
When he moved over from Italy six years ago he wanted to open a wee bakery but I was a little apprehensive and then last year, you know, during a global pandemic! we just decided to go for it!
3 - Local rec: Jeff's save. He left no note on it.
Good to know
- Timing: as published in directory listings, Monday to Friday 7.30am to 4pm, Saturday 8.30am to 3pm, Sunday 9am to 3pm. The restaurant does not publish them itself, so check before a late run.
- Booking: none taken. Sit in or take away.
- Where: 75 Hector Road, on the corner with Tassie Street, in among the flats. It is a few minutes from Shawlands Cross, where Paesano has its Southside site.
- The name: Partenope was the Greek settlement that became Naples. The Neapolitan pizza restaurant called Partenope that fills search results is in Dallas, Texas, and is unrelated.
- Take home: the original plan included jars of jam, granola and fresh pasta to cook at home, per the owners in 2021. Worth asking whether that survived.
- Hygiene: the Food Hygiene Information Scheme rates the address a Pass, inspected 30 April 2024.4
Verdict
should-visit — Toni came over from Italy wanting to open a bakery, and in 2021 he and Sara took a former newsagent on the corner of Hector Road and Tassie Street in Shawlands and turned it into a focacceria. He bakes the focaccia and the bread every morning, she runs the coffee. The List's line is that it is 'all about strong coffee and fantastic, bubbly focaccia that they bake in-house', and the Scotsman's pick is a sfogliatella with a Kimbo coffee, which is the correct Neapolitan pairing for a place named after Naples. It is a counter in a tenement block, no bookings, shut by four. It stays off the top rung because it is one small shop with no award and no full review behind it.