Why choose Patter&Scran?

Authentic local cuisine

Our food tours focus on Glasgow. While food in the rest of Scotland is incredible, and though we do occasionally feature dishes from elsewhere in Scotland, we love to highlight our city’s specialities, the dishes that reflect the city’s working-class history and that Glaswegians have loved for generations.

Led by a local chef

Our tours are led by a working Glaswegian chef who’s intimately familiar with the local food scene and, as the expression goes, “knows how the haggis is made”. His experience in professional kitchens has deepened his appreciation for the traditional Glasgow dishes he grew up on and for the family recipes he now makes himself at home.

We’re a small business

Many food tours are run by large companies and offer a generic experience that isn’t particular to Glasgow. That’s not us. Our two-person business is a personal affair. We are run from Glasgow, and our only guide is also the owner. We take every opportunity to tailor each tour to our guests’ needs and preferences, and we keep our tours small. With Patter&Scran you won’t be part of a group trailing behind a guide holding a flag.

We’re foodies ourselves!

Steven has worked as a chef for more than two decades and Lina is a passionate home cook who has written about food for CNN, BBC, and South China Morning Post, among other publications. Our relationship has always been about eating and food discovery, and Patter&Scran allows us to share our keen interest in the local cuisine with like-minded travellers.

Global experience, local knowledge

Steven, who leads the tours, is Glasgow-born and his family has lived here for generations. But he has also lived abroad, in countries from Australia to Cambodia, giving him a unique perspective on the city he calls home. His experience with cuisines and cultures around the world gives him insight into what makes Glasgow and Glaswegians so special.

We love food tours

We’ve taken food tours in cities from Naples to Shanghai, and we know what makes a food tour great. Our first food tour company in Cambodia was inspired by a Hanoi tour we took in 2013, led by Tu Van Cong. It showed us how food tours can be a delicious window into the people and culture of a place, in a way that a bus tour or cooking class never can be.

We keep it personal

We’re delighted by the fact that so many of our guests have left reviews saying the experience felt more like being shown around the city by a “well-connected local chef friend” than being on a tour. Steven draws on his experiences in the kitchen and growing up Glaswegian to bring personal storytelling to every tour, rather than rote, recited facts.

Tailored to your needs

We can accommodate a wide range of dietary restrictions (although not gluten-free or vegan due to the nature of traditional Glasgow cuisine). Is there something you desperately want to try? Or to avoid? We can usually accommodate you. And if you book a private tour, we can adjust our start or end times to better fit your schedule. If you book directly through our site, we will also provide a list of recommendations for things to do and eat in Glasgow and are happy to provide further recommendations if you’re looking for something specific.