Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Scone Spy: Our cake expert checks out Cafe Twenty Eight in Coatbridge

Cafe Twenty Eight
Cafe Twenty Eight

Do you ever find the best things in life are those that take you by surprise?

In my experience, it’s when you stop looking for things that they show up. And that very thing happens to me when I stumble upon Cafe Twenty Eight.

I’m wandering down a street of red sandstone terraced houses on a sunny morning when I realise one of them has been transformed into a cosy little cafe and, of course, as scone spies do, I decide to pop in and see if they have any home-baked goods to sample.

This cute little eaterie, decked out in wood and tartan, has a limited number of tables and I’m lucky that someone has just left, freeing up a booth at the back. I slide in and browse the menu. Breakfast has never seemed so appealing…there’s waffles, eggs, French toast…it all sounds delicious.

© SYSTEM
Cafe Twenty Eight

Today, my sweet tooth is craving something tasty, so I opt for the house waffles with golden syrup and a nice hot coffee on the side.

When it arrives, I am blown away. The portion size is huge…but they’re so delicious and fluffy I manage every last bite. It’s a struggle not to lick the plate!

I do wonder if I’ve filled myself up too much for the main event but, when the beautiful scone is plonked down in front of me, I decide to give it my best shot.

Accompanied with a trio of little pots filled with butter, cream and jam, this fruit-filled number has my mouth watering. Cutting into the scone, it has the perfect consistency…firm exterior and nice and soft and crumbly inside. I decide to mix it up, smothering one half in butter and jam, and the other cream and jam – and boy, oh boy, what a combination! Every bite is like a step into scone heaven.

It comes as no surprise when I learn the owner of the cafe has worked in restaurants at some of the most iconic hotels in the country, including The Ritz and The Dorchester, before setting up his own foodie venture. It looks like London’s loss has been Scotland’s gain.

And, with that, I bid a fond farewell and head back on my merry way. Finding a hidden gem is never a bad start to the day!

Scone score

Huge and hand-baked with love. 9/10