Magnificent design and top marks for food at this welcoming boutique B&B ? all that's missing is attention to how guests use its handsome spacesMidway down a quietly magnificent hallway of pillars, tilework and ornate plaster, a staircase sweeps our gaze upwards to a half landing and the jewel colours of a stained-glass window. How could you not love a city that conceals such gems behind front doors?D and I are in a Victorian terrace at the edge of Kelvingrove Park, an easy walk from Glasgow city centre. We follow Laura McKenzie into the vast drawing room. Tall windows overlook a garden square.A simple row of pink plants adorn a pale mantelpiece. In the charcoal acreage there are two velvet sofas, a buttoned pouffe, a shabby chic sideboard and a lot of empty space."I'm finding it a bit relentlessly grey," says D, while Laura goes off to make tea. A perfectly laid tray arrives and Laura chats. TV's interior designers Justin and Colin live round the corner, and Joseph Lister once occupied number 17. Laura and husband Shane finally moved in with their family last summer, after a year of renovation, and immediately opened as a boutique B&B.Laura laughs when she tells us how she served one of her very first breakfasts in the dead of night. Ian McCulloch (Echo and the Bunnymen frontman) stayed, after a solo gig. "I handed him the breakfast order form, but he just said, 'There's no way I'm getting up for breakfast. So why don't you just bring me a full Scottish now?'"That's a point ? no tables and chairs in here. Where do we eat breakfast? It is served in the bedrooms, one of the latest boutique trends. Five rooms upstairs, and we are in The Burrell twin. It's at the rear but, hey, we have a loo with a bit of a view, and a separate shower room. Shower's leaking at the moment, Laura warns; she's waiting for it to be fixed.Mm, very quiet up here. Pale bathrobes hang on black velvet Amanda Wakeley hangers. Two Tunnock's teacakes ("So Scottish," says D with delight) are with the tea things which include a cafetiere of fresh coffee and V&A china. Pity the kettle lead won't reach a single power point unless I place it on the floor (on a magazine to protect the new carpet).We have a digital radio, a flatscreen telly and a rococo wardrobe, and D assures me the bedside tables are White Company. Nowhere to put our handbags though, and we could use a decent-sized table. "How are we going to eat breakfast?" asks D.Never mind that now. Laura has made us a dinner reservation at Crabshakk on Argyle Street, 10 minutes away. It is the smallest restaurant I've encountered. I spend half the evening practically on some bloke's lap, but no one cares a jot. "Best I've ever had," says D of pan-seared scallops with aged balsamic reduction, pancetta and pine kernels. She starts nicking my fries, which accompany a fish club sandwich of gravadlax, hot smoked salmon and smoked haddock. We would come back like a shot.Back to base, for a fine night's sleep. Top marks for breakfast ? brought at the appointed time. We take turns to sit at our tiny table to graze on fruit salad with three types of melon, blueberries and red soft fruit, thick smoked salmon and scrambled eggs.Warm, welcoming and so much nicer than a faceless city centre chain, 15Glasgow is almost there. What's missing is attention to how guests actually use the handsome spaces which have been created. Justin and Colin ? could you pop round?? Scallops from �7.25, club sandwich �10.25 at Crabshakk (0141-334 6127, crabshakk.com). For further information, see visitscotland.comGlasgowCity breaksRomantic tripsShort breaksHotelsSally Shalamguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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