The newly opened Saffron & Clay was an absolute pleasure to visit this weekend and is a must if you are in the Stirling area! Saffron & Clay is a café in Stirling that offers a range of food and drinks; however, what makes this place truly special is that they offer pottery painting.
A Rundown
When you first enter the café, you are immediately greeted by the sound of relaxing music, which is a great way to begin the pottery painting experience. You will then be shown to a seat and told how the whole process works.
At the table, there is a variety of paintbrushes, a cup of water, napkins and a paper plate that you add your colours to. You are allowed to pick up to five colours, and the number of colours that are on offer is amazing to see, in any shade you could imagine.
The first thing you do is select the piece of pottery you would like to paint, with prices ranging between £15 and £30. I would say the price is reasonable considering it covers the pottery itself, the paint, equipment and also the finish on your pottery.
Then you can get to painting! You can paint your item for as long as you need; I didn’t feel rushed at all whilst being in there.
Food and Drink
Of course, with it being a café, there are plenty of food and drink options available for guests. All your usual coffees are on offer, such as a latte, flat white, espresso and even matcha lattes. You can also opt for an iced coffee, iced matcha, hot chocolate, regular tea, decaf tea, or a soft drink.
I went for a hot chocolate with whipped cream on top; they even give u a little biscuit alongside it, which I found to be a nice touch. The hot chocolate itself was great and is nice to keep you going whilst painting, since it requires a bit of focus.
Now onto the food, unfortunately it wasn’t possible to try everything, but I did get some homemade pancakes to try. You are allowed to customise the toppings to make your own pancake. I chose to go for banana, Oreo crumb and chocolate sauce. One thing’s for sure: it didn’t disappoint. The pancakes were cooked to perfection, light, fluffy and just the right amount of pancake-to-topping ratio.
However, if you aren’t a pancake fan, they have a selection of other foods for everyone. This includes waffles, paninis, quiche and a variety of different cakes and sweet treats.
Staff
Moving on to the staff, who couldn’t have been any more welcoming, helpful or knowledgeable if they tried. The owner told us that one of the staff had only been working for 2 days, yet you’d never have guessed.
They already had all of the drinks on the menu memorised when asked about them and also did an excellent job of explaining the whole pottery experience.
Even the owner himself moved nonstop to make sure everything ran smoothly, and everyone had what they needed.
Conversation with the Owner
The owner himself was kind enough to sit down and chat with me for 5 minutes and allowed me to ask a couple of questions about his new business.
He previously ran a café in Aberdeen that also featured a soft play. When it first opened, it was busy but started to become less busy as time went on. Then his idea for splatter painting came around, which led to ceramic painting.
He also shared his future plans for the business, and it only seems to be getting better, with said plans including paint and sips, boozy brunch and cocktail events.
Saffron & Clay has only been open for weeks, but it has a bright future ahead! I would definitely recommend taking a visit.
Important Information
One thing that is important to mention is that Saffron & Clay is currently bookings-only due to the demand after opening; therefore, to book, you can either pop into the shop or you can contact them on their Instagram page to select a date and time.
The owner has also agreed to give Brig readers a 10 per cent student discount from Monday to Friday, but you must follow them on social media and also mention Brig Newspaper in order to get your discount!
Verdict
After visiting the café, trying their food, painting a ceramic and speaking to the owner, this was definitely a positive experience overall. If I were to rate Saffron & Clay, it would be 5 out of 5 stars.
Everything was smooth and straightforward, and the staff were lovely. It is a lot of fun, especially if you’re a student and want some relaxation in between all the stress. I’m sure lots of societies would love a social here!
Featured image credit: Brooke Duffy