Think Thursday

delicious food and drink at Parlour Cafe

rickshaw at City Square

Louise Kirby's interactive art mural

Last week we headed into town for the evening, to see what Think Thursday is all about. There’s so much happening on Thursday nights in Dundee now, with lots of local businesses and attractions open 5-8pm offering deals, events, and workshops.

I hopped on a bus to get a head start, David would be meeting me after work but I wanted to cram in as much as I could in the three hours. There are discounts on buses and £1 parking available after 4pm which is a great idea - though I don’t have anyone under 22 to travel with on the bus so that offer didn’t apply to me.

I’d had a look at the directory of businesses taking part and made a wee mental route to wander. I started at City Square where there were hourly performances by Shaper Caper, the Who Is The Designer? exhibition as part of Dundee Month of Design, the chance to add colour to murals by artists Whimsical Lush and Louise Kirby, bubbles and rickshaws! It was fab to see the spotlight on 18 local designers and I did manage to doodle a little on Louise Kirby’s artwork despite how busy it was.

The Botanist & The Bee

The Mantuary

Next up, I headed along to check out some of the shops taking part. The Botanist and The Bee (Whitehall Street) is such a lovely spot bursting with greenery, they were hosting a plant care and propagation workshop later that evening. Upcoming Thursday workshops include macrame, terrarium, and repotting. I went around past a couple of other businesses which were listed but unfortunately not open (I think they had workshops on later), so I thought I’d have a nosy at The Mantuary (Commercial Street). It’s such a cool space which I’ll definitely have to send David to so we can get it up on Wee Dundee.

Double Door Studios shop

marbled mirror workshop at Double Door

Spex Pistols

Spex Pistols

After that, I popped into Double Door Studios (Ward Road) where they are hosting a series of artist talks and workshops - the marbled mirror workshop which was on looked like a lot of fun! I then wandered along to the iconic Spex Pistols shop (Johnston’s Lane), their offer was 10% off for the evening and I was very tempted by some sunglasses. We also visited the Newport Bakery (West Port) where they had a vegan coffee cake that David bought for later - I forgot to take a photo but you’ll spot it in my reel on Instagram.

vegan mezze board at Parlour Cafe

The highlight of our evening was a delicious vegan mezze platter at Parlour Cafe (West Port). Instead of a menu, you simply let them know any dietary requirements/dislikes, and your food is freshly made. They are offering mezze and a drink for £15 per person - we didn’t have long so we had a condensed experience but it was such a treat. Just loads of gorgeous salads, dips, and flatbreads with falafel and some homemade vegan sausage rolls too.

rickshaws at The McManus

Can't You See the Sea Changing? exhibition at DCA by Zineb Sedira

V&A & RSS Discovery

The Adventure Begins... at Discovery Point

On the first Thursday evening of the month, you can grab a bargain with 50% off tickets to the Dundee Science Centre, Discovery Point & RSS Discovery, and the V&A. The McManus (which usually has free entry) will be open too with free activities and the DCA gallery is open late too. We had a quick look in at Discovery Point at the end of our evening but had run out of time to see the ship so it’s on my list to go back soon.

I’m amazed at how much we got done in an evening, it really made it feel like the weekend started early, and was wonderful for town to have a buzz about it. You can check out the Think Thursday website to find out what’s happening soon or take a look at @visitdundeecity on Instagram for weekly updates. Think Thursday will be happening every Thursday until 29th June so make sure you pop along to make the most of your city centre.

https://think-thursday.co.uk/