Where’s Good for Food?

Words & photos By Jenny Watson

One of my favourite local places for good food is the Pavillion Café in Levengrove Park, Dumbarton.

Enjoying wholesome, tasty treats in a vibrant setting helps me relax and be thankful for living in such a beautiful part of the world.

On my last visit I ordered a latte, ham & cheese toastie, and a slice of carrot cake.

The coffee is their own blend, it is mellow enough for those new to the beverage but also bold enough for us aficionados.

Cheese lover’s dream is the best way I could describe the toastie - I did request the melty goodness be sandwiched between brown bread for the healthy balance of course!

The dish of the day however was the doorstop-sized wedge of carrot cake delivered to my table.

Light, spongey, fresh, and jam-packed full of those nutty spice flavours carrot cake is renowned for. Imagine my surprise when I found out it was also gluten-free.

The menu is well balanced with options for various dietary requirements and staff are accommodating to requests.

More Than Just A Café

The Pavillion is more than just a café!

Funded by Heritage Lottery Funding and managed by West Dunbartonshire Health and Social Care Partnership and WDC’s Greenspace, the café is used as a training facility for adults with learning disabilities, autism, and those in recovery from mental health issues and addictions.

The aim is to help develop employability skills and gain work experience.

Not only have they recently celebrated their third birthday but also their first successful client-to-employee transition in the café.

Colin has been with the service since 2016. He showed such great progress that when a role opened for a catering assistant, he felt confident enough to apply – and was successful.

“It’s been great learning. I’m looking forward to doing more as time goes on.” Colin told me.

I personally am looking forward to trying more tasty treats from this little gem in the park.