Ottoman Coffeehouse CIC

Ottoman Coffeehouse CIC The Ottoman Coffeehouse, Your Local Neighbourhood Community Hub Is The Laid-Back Alternative To The Tidal Wave Of Brash City Centre Coffee Chains.
(2)

Offering A Lot More Than Freshly Made Espresso-Based Beverages. We aim to create a haven of quiet in the heart of the city; a community coffeehouse which has a flexible space suitable for a wide variety of community uses. Running the community caféis only a small part of what we do. Come and join us for a cup

13/08/2026

I took a wee break, but instead of switching off, my brain decided I clearly wasn’t stressed enough. Didn’t help that we also checked out a few coffee shops in Edinburgh! so that just fuelled the fire. Spotted a gorgeous Jaguar E-Type classic parked up too, had to take that as a sign.

So I was thinking, let’s open another Ottomans, we’ve got the best coffee, the best hospitality, and the best selection of beans on offer. It’s never been purely about the money, though I could certainly do with more holidays, and a Jag e type, and that only comes with growth.

Since the guys who made my dream come true are the reason I’m here, I figured I owed them. I put it out there, most said, Go for it. But naturally, there are mixed feelings locally, residents are worried about parking and noise, valid concerns. Others rightly want the building kept as a church, which I completely respect. There are those who fear we’ll turn it into a mosque. To be honest, the thought did cross my mind, the engagement would be great for Instagram, But that’s not the actual plan.

The truth is, we’re only interested in going ahead if we can do it without offending the congregation from that church, that wouldn’t sit right with me. We’d also want to sit down with the locals who aren’t keen. We aren’t Costa; we don’t go where we aren’t welcomed.

For anyone planning to put in a bid, the closing date is the 21st of August. If you’re looking to change the premises or demolish it, it should be listed, even though it isn’t, please preserve the heritage. If it does get knocked down, I’ll be pointing the finger at those who didn’t want us there, because we would have preserved it. Just look at the Glasgow Musicians’ Social; my brother and I poured our wages into that for over 20 years.

We’ll keep you updated on whether we actually place a bid. And if anyone out there has a couple of hundred thousand pounds lying around, we’d pay it back, obviously, then I’ll gladly share my sort code and account details. Thanks!

What do you guys think? Ottoman Coffeehouse 2.O
12/08/2026

What do you guys think?

Ottoman Coffeehouse 2.O

What do you guys thinkOttoman Coffeehouse 2.0
12/08/2026

What do you guys think

Ottoman Coffeehouse 2.0

09/08/2026

It’s 1902.

The fog rolls in from the Clyde, thick and gray, clinging to the gas lamps along Berkeley Street. The air is raw with coal dust and the distant clamor of shipyard hammers.

Amidst the soot stained sandstone stands 73 Berkeley Street.

Push open that heavy door, the city’s roar falls away, the air is still, thick with the scent of polished wood and old paper. The curtains are drawn, free from trams and shouting newsboys. Carpets swallow your footsteps. In the concert hall, a pianist’s fingers hover over ivory keys. Men in stiff collars and dark waistcoats sit in silence, not a place for idle chatter.

Women are nowhere to be seen. It is warm, but it is closed. For a chosen few.

Now, 2015.

The fog has lifted. Pale sunlight paints the sandstone in hues of honey and rose. Trams are gone, replaced, the city is gentler now.

You approach Berkeley Street, door is open, light spilling onto the pavement like a welcome mat. The scent that greets you is warmer, roasting coffee, cardamom.

Same high ceilings, strung with lanterns from Istanbul, same wooden floors. Portraits of sultans gaze down, their eyes holding centuries of stories. Chess sets wait for players. Students, families, friends. Voices rise and fall, a symphony of accents.

Glasgow today is a city of the world. People from across the globe find their way here. Different faiths, tongues, stories, all sharing the same warm space, same steaming cup.

Not everyone welcomes this change. There are voices, sharp and bitter, Why are you here? Go home. Attacks on minorities. Whispered slurs. Some see this transformation as a threat, not a gift.

But there is a difference between those born to this city and those who chose it. One is birthright. The other is a gift freely given. Both are worthy of respect. When someone crosses an ocean to sit in your coffeehouse, to learn your language, to share their stories, they are not taking away. They are adding.

The walls remember their past. The crest of the Glasgow Society of Musicians still watches over the door.

It is the same building.

Every space, no matter how closed, has the potential to open its arms.

We love you Glasgow, home of the best people in Scotland ❤️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
07/08/2026

We love you Glasgow, home of the best people in Scotland ❤️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

05/08/2026

When we opened Ottoman Coffeehouse, the Ibrik was always part of our plan. It was our golden bullet. A risk, yes, but risks carry the biggest rewards. While everyone else dialled in their espressos first, we went the other way, the Ibrik took priority, then the pour overs, and finally the espressos.

To other coffee shops, that brass pot was probably just a curiosity. A gimmick. A museum piece.

Turns out, they were the maybe right.

No UK roaster gave it a chance. No traditionalist in Istanbul would’ve backed us. Even we didn’t see what was coming. But within six months, while the espresso machine hummed and the V60s dripped, the regulars kept ordering the Ibrik. Not for the theatre, for the hit.

Over the next decade, we never stopped tweaking it. We brought in ice balls and chased upgrades, because even a minuscule improvement was worth it. We upgraded our pour overs and espressos alongside it. Ottoman Coffeehouse today barely resembles the one that opened ten years ago, and that’s the point.

Five hundred years ago, this vessel was buried in hot sand over charcoal embers, boiled three times to tame the bitterness, and sipped slowly while men played backgammon for hours. Slow. Deliberate. A lounge ritual.

Glasgow doesn’t lounge. Glasgow runs. It rains sideways and your break is fifteen minutes. So we adapted. We grind specialty Panama and Sidra finer than any traditional recipe dictates. We invested in the best grinders, an EK43T and a PK100 lab grinder, and we time every second of the boil. Cross that traditional line, even by a heartbeat, and it tastes burnt.

You drink it black in two or three hits, stopping the instant the sediment scrapes your teeth. No milk. No sugar. Just syrupy, uncompromising caffeine cutting straight through a grim Scottish morning.

This pot wasn’t supposed to launch a specialty coffeehouse. It was the underdog. A liability. Yet here we are, over a decade in, pouring it daily for builders, lawyers, and students who never expected to be sipping Ibrik coffee in Glasgow.

Come visit, Only at Ottoman Coffeehouse.

There is something quietly beautiful about this room.Most of our customers walk past it on their way to the grand concer...
04/08/2026

There is something quietly beautiful about this room.

Most of our customers walk past it on their way to the grand concert room beyond, drawn by its scale and bustle.

This room has had many names, reception , quiet room.

The rich timber panelling carries the warmth of generations. The ornate Victorian cornices meet a deep terracotta ceiling. Up cycled furniture sits with the confidence of objects that have outlived trends, while Ottoman lanterns cast a gentle light onto the back wall, where the names of the presidents of the music society are engraved.

The walls have so many stories to tell, Portraits, calligraphy, maps and heirlooms quietly weave together two histories, cultural legacy of the Ottoman coffeehouse and the remarkable past of this B listed building, once home to the Glasgow Society of Musicians. East and West don’t clash here; they converse. Scotland is like that, not everything that doesn’t belong has to be thrown out.

Perhaps that’s why this room is so often overlooked.

In life, we naturally gravitate towards where everyone else is. We seek the busiest table, the loudest room, the place that appears most popular. But some of the most meaningful experiences happen away from the crowd.

This room reminds me of that.

It’s where books are finished, ideas are born, friendships deepen, my business plan for this coffeehouse took shape, and silence becomes something comforting rather than awkward. It has the atmosphere of an old library, a private study, and a traditional kahvehane all at once, a place where time seems willing to wait for you.

The first Ottoman coffeehouses that emerged in Constantinople in 1554 were never simply places to drink coffee. They were places to think, to reflect, to debate, to create. They became known as the schools of the wise because people left with more than they arrived.

This room carries that same spirit.

Not every beautiful place demands your attention. Maybe it just needs the right people to notice.

Perhaps the finest seat in a coffeehouse isn’t the one everyone wants.

It’s the one that quietly changes the pace of your day.

02/08/2026

Perfectly brewed. Slowly sipped. Welcome to Ottoman Coffeehouse.

His name’s Zayn. Just Zayn. No code number. Licence to chill, preferably with a ceramic cup in hand.

While other agents reach for the whisky neat, Zayn reaches for something far more dangerous; a single origin pour that hits smoother than a silenced Walther. No martini. No stir. Where the only thing getting shaken is the espresso shot, and the only thing stirred is, well, still the espresso.

Elegance is permanent. The coffee is temporary. Pop in before 7pm, before the credits roll.

Ottoman Coffeehouse, Where every sip is a statement, and every seat is the best seat in the house.

01/08/2026

In 1554, the world’s first public coffeehouses emerged in Istanbul’s Tahtakale district. They were never just places to drink coffee. They became spaces where merchants, poets, scholars, travellers and neighbours came together to exchange ideas, challenge perspectives and build community. A simple cup of coffee became the centre of conversation, culture and connection.

Centuries later, that same spirit found a new home in Glasgow.

In 2015, we opened Ottoman Coffeehouse with a simple vision, to resurrect the atmosphere, hospitality and craftsmanship of the original Ottoman coffeehouses for a modern generation. We travelled to Türkiye to study the traditions, embraced the centuries-old art of brewing coffee in the ibrik, and combined it with the very best of contemporary specialty coffee.

Today, every cup we serve is a tribute to a tradition that has connected people for more than 470 years.

We are honoured that this journey has led to Ottoman Coffeehouse being recognised as the No. 1 coffee shop in the United Kingdom by European Coffee Trip. But awards are only part of our story.

Our greatest achievement is seeing strangers become friends, conversations turn into ideas, and guests from around the world gather around the same table, just as they did in the coffeehouses of 16th-century Istanbul.

Established in 1554. Resurrected in Glasgow in 2015.

This is more than coffee. This is the continuation of one of the world’s greatest coffee traditions.

29/07/2026

Some things just never go out of style, like knowing when to park the chaos and just be.

Address

73 Berkeley Street
Glasgow
G37DX

Opening Hours

Tuesday 8am - 7pm
Wednesday 8am - 7pm
Thursday 8am - 7pm
Friday 8am - 7pm
Saturday 10am - 7pm
Sunday 10am - 7pm

Telephone

+447768312417

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Ottoman Coffeehouse CIC posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category