The framework for constructing a high-order, conservative spectral (finite) volume (SV) method is presented for two-dimensional scalar hyperbolic conservation laws on unstructured triangular grids. Each triangular grid cell forms a spectral volume (SV), and the SV is further subdivided into polygonal control volumes (CVs) to supported high-order data reconstructions. Cell-averaged solutions from these CVs are used to reconstruct a high-order polynomial approximation in the SV. Each CV is then updated independently with a Godunov-type finite volume method and a high-order Runge–Kutta time integration scheme. A universal reconstruction is obtained by partitioning all SVs in a geometrically similar manner. The convergence of the SV method is shown to depend on how a SV is partitioned. A criterion based on the Lebesgue constant has been developed and used successfully to determine the quality of various partitions. Symmetric, stable, and convergent linear, quadratic, and cubic SVs have been obtained, and many different types of partitions have been evaluated. The SV method is tested for both linear and nonlinear model problems with and without discontinuities.