Italian kitchen-brewery concept Doppio Malto whose CEO and founder is Giovanni Porcu opened its first UK venue today (Friday 13th August) in Glasgow’s George Square on the site of Jamie Oliver’s former restaurant. Doppio Malto’s goal is to open 100 restaurants throughout the UK with a second restaurant planned for Newcastle before the end of the year, followed by Edinburgh in 2022 and possibly Dundee and St Andrews thereafter.
The 8000 sq ft space will house an 80-cover restaurant and bar with 15 types of craft house beer, Italian staples plus BBQ meats cooked to order on a charcoal grill.
Giovanni Poccu said, “Next week is a significant milestone for Doppio Malto; our first foray into the UK since we opened our first restaurant in 2016. We are incredibly proud to be in a position of growth despite a tough 18 months and we cannot wait to open our doors next week.”
He added, “At the very heart of Doppio Malto is our motto “un posto felice” – a “happy place.” Everything is designed around feeling good – from the food and beer to the service and physical space, and we are so excited to bring this unique concept to the UK.”
Highlights from the menu include Doppo Malto’s fried ‘Pizza croccante’ – after 36 hours of natural leavening, the pizza slices are fried and topped with a rustic tomato sauce, served with grated Bella Lodi grana cheese and fresh. basil leaves.
Carlo Andreucetti has opened Amici di Carlo in Bearsden. The restaurant and delicatessen not only provides a dine-in experience but also provides over-the-counter Italian cooked meats, cheeses, cakes and many other delicacies together with pizzas, salads and fresh Italian coffee to eat in or take away. Carlo told DRAM, “After being away from the restaurant business for some time, my partner and I decided to design a new outlet majoring on good quality, fresh Italian ingredients.” He continues, “We came across a former baker’s retail and café premises near Bearsden Cross in the heart of the community. We set about transforming it into an authentic Italian dining experience with the help of Robert Campbell of QED, the catering equipment specialists. I knew that I could trust Robert and his team to deliver a project that matched our vision for Amici di Carlo.”
Luigi Aseni, the man behind Boteco du Brasil has created a new Italian restaurant called Piccolino in Edinburgh at High Riggs St. The new restaurant which translates as ‘little one’ is serving up freshly prepared, pasta and risotto dishes as well as a selection of meat and fish dishes too. Says Manager Giorgia Deiana, “Piccolino Edinburgh is the perfect little spot to enjoy great Italian food and after work drinks. It provides an experience of classic and contemporary tastes in a warm dining atmosphere.”
Paesano has unveiled its much awaited West End outlet on the site of the old TSB Bank on Great Western Road, and created an Art Deco inspired 100 cover restaurant. The site of the new Paesano – which more recently housed a Costa Coffee – joins the original Miller Street venue that opened in 2015. However the design couldn’t be more different, even though it has been designed by CM Design who also designed the original site.
Paesano’s owner, Paul Stevenson, hadn’t decided on a clear design vision for his second outlet until he saw the building. But with the help of Mark Brunjes of CM Design they came up with a design that really utilised the great architectural features that the original building had. Says Paul, “The building had so much design potential.”
The new West End outlet, borrows from the rich heritage of the Trustee Savings Bank, and still retains the original windows with the name of the bank etched into them.
When you enter you are greeted by Paesano’s now trademark lit sign, which takes up most of the facing wall. As the building had fallen into disrepair, a new entrance had to be created, and the eye-catching parquet flooring needed repair.
When I visited it was a nice spring day, and the three skylights and windows on the other two walls offered a pleasant natural glow. When darkness falls, three tall fluorescent lights – two at the door as you come in and two along the street wall., light the way. These, I am told are genuine ship’s lights that hail from the Ark Royal in the 30s, while five bell-designed hanging lamps reign over the pizzeria. While the others may be salvaged from a historic warship, these five hanging lamps travelled from Budapest for their role. The building also has four original stained glass skylights, which are lit with LED lighting when it gets dark. The result is a nice, contemporary contrast between old and new with art-deco and marble.
The marble Paul admits cost a fortune to bring from Italy, but he says, “I’m very passionate about authenticity, and I wanted this location to look like it’s always been here, so ensuring the skylights’ stained glass glazing was perfect, replacing the wooden panelling was very important to me and getting genuine Italian marble was essential.”
Two high posing bar-tables that would seat eight are matched with high captain’s chair backs opposite the front entrance. Clearly designed to create a waiting area – Paesano doesn’t bookings – this seating is in contrast to the mix of dining tables that are either topped with marble or dark wood. Each table has a captain’s-chair or a bentwood chair, in matching dark wood.
Around half the circumference of the restaurant, there are comfortable ribbed leather banquettes, in rich, ruby red leather, this aside from the lit sign, is the only other colour contrast. Behind the posing tables there is a long, marble fronted counter, used for the coffee machine, different storage and to house the drinks fridges and also their draught lager, Birra Moretti. A top the counter is a high shelving unit for wine, which still leaves ample room for the sign!
The restaurant can seat comfortably 100 but Stevenson is confident that he could squeeze in another 20, if needed. He says, “I really wanted to start with all the seats a decent distance away from each other, but as we progress, we may add more. Having different designs of seating adds to the impossibility to date the restaurant. ”
The back wall, to the right of the pizzeria, is white, with an inlet that is covered in white marble. The ruby red seating continues on this wall, with a mix of tables for four, six or eight. On the wall, as you approach the stairs to the toilets, there is a quirky, massive roll of brown paper hanging on the wall, which advertises Paesano’s desserts, changed and ripped off as the desserts change I am assured by Paul!
Transforming the disused building took a mammoth amount of work, with CM Design having to oversee nearly two months of construction work. An internal staircase was removed to create a fluid wall linking the wine shelves that face you when you walk in, to the open plan pizzeria kitchen. There are three pillars in the centre of the restaurant, and Paul admits that moving one of the original pillars and the stairs to create the kitchen area was a big job. He says, “That was where we wanted to have the kitchen, so we had to create a supporting structure to take away the pillar. Costa Coffee had never used the basement area, except for toilets, while we wanted to make a better use of it. We ripped out a lot of the adjustments they [Costa] had made.”
The new resulting stairs which lead to the toilets and basement is now on the far side of the room, and are painted pristine white, with Italian-inspired photographs lining the walls. Toilets apart, the rest of the basement is for dishwashing and storage, and its juxtaposition to the street entrance allows for deliveries during the day with little disruption.
The pizzeria sits behind a white marble fronted worktop with a glass splash back, and offers a good six foot by ten foot area for the team of chefs to work in and also for their trademark pizza oven which is clearly visible to the entire restaurant.
Paul’s unending obsession with all things Italian stems even to the cutlery holders that are made out of old tins of Strianese tomatoes, which are used on the pizzas. Everything bar the very fresh ingredients are sourced from Italy, clearly a throwback to his days of running The Italian Kitchen and Café, which he sold in 2003 and 2016, respectively.
In its first weekend, Paesano sold 3,500 pizzas and – as area manager Gerry Blues tells me as I’m waiting – their take away service is going great guns with over 300 takeaways in 3 days.
Not content with two bustling Glasgow’s Paesano’s Paul is already planning his first Edinburgh foray with a Paesano set to open there at the beginning of next year.
DRAM caught up with R Group restaurant and bar owners Rahul and Pravesh – A.K.A Bubbles – Randev to hear all about their latest venture – The Larder in Bearsden. Rahul and Bubbles Randev’s newest venture at Kirk Lane, right in the centre of Bearsden’s bustling little town centre, The Larder, brings the number of venues the brothers operate to five and includes outlets in Bishopbriggs, Lenzie and Milngavie.
Rahul explains that this time they wanted to do something distinctively different from their other offerings, “There was already a pub, a bistro and an Italian here. There was no point in doing something that was the same. So, we came up with the idea of a restaurant based around small plates.”
Before it became The Larder, the venue was formally Spanish restaurant Las Ramblas. The brothers admit to having had their eye on it for quite some time. Rahul explains, “It’s funny because we tried to buy this place back when it was a Chinese restaurant and owned by Sanjay Majhu of Harlequin. We met him at a football game and tried to buy it, but we couldn’t do a deal on it. He then took it back from the leaseholder and turned it into Las Ramblas. Last year I met him in the street, and said ‘if you’re ever thinking of selling it then we are interested. We must have caught him at the right time because he said ‘right here’s what I want for it’ and once discussing it with Bubbles we agreed on a price.”
The venue took six months to develop which included ripping everything out. From the new front-facing windows, to the terrace, all the ceilings, walls and floors. This time the brothers used Iain MacLeod for the design, who previously did the design for the pair’s Milngavie restaurant Garvie & Co. But as Rahul explains, “We do have input in to all of the designs for our venues. This was no different. But while at Garvie’s we invested in an abundance of wood panelling and tiled floors and marble bar tops, The Larder’s design is more stripped back.” It is almost as if they have taken the fuss away, as seen in the small plates, and used this for the design too. The brothers confess that over the years they have learned hard lessons about designing their venues. Says Rahul, “We have learned a lot over the years when he comes to designing our places. For instance, when we did The Richmond (which is now leased out to Tribeca) we had custom made doors and when we went over the costs we realised we spent £30K on them. Doors? People don’t care about doors. We could have spent much less and still put in decent doors and painted them. We realised you don’t need to go to that expense with the details. Most people just see a general space. You learn as you go and you don’t tend to repeat your mistakes.”
The new restaurant is bright and light with solid herring style oak flooring, and oak-like tables. Severino’s did all the flooring, supplied the fixed seating and the tables and chairs. The tables and the floors, and some of the chairs, all have a varying degree of grey tinge which makes it all look very tonal.
Above the tables there are Edison light bulbs which are linked via orange cabling. The orange theme is continued in the soft leather banquettes and booth seating, but this time in a more muted burnt orange. Classic Brentwood chairs spray painted grey fill in the spaces and manage to make a classic pub staple look invitingly chic. Large round lights loom down from the ceiling and Bubble’s admits that it was meant to be skylights, but they didn’t like the glass when it came and changed it to these frosted panels, that give a gorgeous soft glow of light when it is dark.
Mirrors all around the walls and leafy, green plants complete the design, with almost something quite ‘Pinterest’ about the entire aesthetic. All of the metal and glass, we are told, are provided by Glass and Metal Fabricators who Rahul and Bubbles say they always use.
The entire menu is made up of small plates and is described on the menu as minimally as the food – with just the ingredients being listed. However, the minimalism doesn’t mean it’s skimpy and the dishes pack a real punch in terms of flavour. Rahul explains: “It’s for people who are into their food. It’s not fine dining, but it’s good strong flavours. We recommended three plates at the start, but now we’ve upped the portions after getting feedback from the customers”.
And, from the way that Rahul describes the desserts you can certainly tell that he is a believer in his own food, “The desserts are to die for, and I’m not just saying that because it’s my place. They are actually the nicest things. The set raspberry, cream and honey is absolutely exquisite. The chef makes all his own ice cream and accompaniments.”
Throughout talking to the Praveshe’s it is clear that both of them have a real passion for the locality. The pair talk about their activism for local investment through Rahul’s position on East Dunbartonshire trade board. Indeed they could almost share the title of ‘The Kings of Suburbia’.
Nonetheless, life in the suburbs is not always ideal. Says Rahul, “We experienced great success with Garvie’s & Co at the beginning, but then there was a little bit of a lull. Now it has picked up again. I think a lot of suburban restaurants experienced a bit of a lull when the alcohol limit for driving in Scotland changed. Most of our places are suburban and people who would normally come on a weeknight and have a glass of wine and dinner were deciding not to, because they couldn’t drive the next morning. They weren’t really drinking during the week anymore, then at the weekend they were probably going into town. We’re in Bishopbriggs, Lenzie, Milngavie so across our whole estate we did see that locally people weren’t coming out during the week.”
But it isn’t all doom and gloom, as the dip seems to have only been temporary, Bubbles adds: ‘The lull seems to be over as we have picked right up. It was always our strong point that we were busy during weekdays and we’re definitely busy again.”
So, what’s next then for the dynamic duo? The former Carriages in Lenzie has been going through a 10-month revamp and is expected to open next month as The Grove. The project has taken longer than both expected as they are putting on a roof terrace and have had issues with accessibility. After that, it’s looking towards the big city for the pair as they finally are starting to think about the Café Mao site that they have in Glasgow.
Walking into Bar Luca, the recently opened venture from Peter and Julie Di Ciacca, the couple behind Riva Restaurants, is like walking into a slice of Italy in the 1920s. From the stunning mosaic on the floor of the entrance which was imported specially from Italy, to the luxurious décor, the Di Ciacca’s have put a definite touch of their home country of Italy, but haven’t made it into an Italianesque homage.
Bar Luca is the reincarnation of The Riverbank, a large, sports-oriented pub in Kilmarnock’s town centre, but bears very little resemblance to its predecessor.
Gone is the barn-like feel, community pub, replaced instead with a more comfortable boutique restaurant ambience. The company has invested over £350,000 in the premises, which it bought last May, although speculation wouldn’t be wrong that the final cost was more when you see the finish. Originally a predominantly weekend retreat for Killie drinkers, the couple have re-floored the entire pub, leaving only a small section in the restaurant that could be saved with some TLC.
The entrance – which originally opened up in to a cavernous building – has been blocked off with the use of some stylish dark wood and a metal decorative grill, with the design influence coming from both Peter and BSD Design.
Brian Shields of BSD Design said, “We were tasked with creating a space that would not only cater for restaurant dining but would also have the ability to become a late night cocktail bar venue. The existing B-listed building had several original features that had to be enhanced to realise the full potential of the space. We designed the feature wine display wall and an intricate laser cut polished brass screen to create a visual break at the entrance with the introduction of concealed lighting to highlight the arch ways, fibrous plaster cornice work and decorative fittings to make an impressive statement.”
Customers who come in are greeted by a glass display of 16 wines – one from every Italian region – before being met by a member of staff. With all Riva’s restaurants, the Italian influence is clear, and this one’s name was inspired – we’re told – by Gianluca, the owners’ five-year-old son.
When it was the Riverbank, it was all open plan, however, as Bar Luca is predominantly a restaurant with a bar, in order for it to have good flow, they decided to section it off. “To have it open plan, we’d have had to have staff in each section, and that wouldn’t be feasible,” said Rory Watson, operations manager at Riva Restaurants.
A main feature of the venue is the bar centre piece. Shields said, “We were tasked with creating a space that would not only cater for restaurant dining but would also have the ability to become a late night cocktail bar venue. A cross section of high level fixed seating,antique brass screens, circular white marble table tops with feature copper lamps and a bespoke polished copper chandelier suspended over the centre makes an impressive statement.” To give customers privacy in the main bar tables, Concept Metals created foot high, copper grills to attach on top of each banquette back, and also complementary metalwork in the rest of the restaurant.
The lighting was one of the most costliest things about the refurb as it’s entirely powered by LED lighting, which – while giving the manager complete control over the dimming of lights – is also very cost-efficient. Each section has a different style of light, with wall-attached lights focussing on the bar main area, with individual copper-topped lights at each table, but a more art deco lampshade style consisting of white circles at the front windows, which opens the bar up with natural light. Lighting companies Lights 2 and Chantelle Lighting worked together on the project. Lights 2 concentrated on the LED lighting, while Chantelle Lighting created the mood with the different styles and sizes of lampshades.
High bar tables with alternating white and black ceramic tops are used in the bar area to seat thirty odd people, whereas the tables for eating are lower, dark wood tables and are laid out for dining at all times apart from Friday and Saturday evenings, when the bar area is mainly for drinks. A lovely sable coloured leather is used on the banquettes, complemented by an olive coloured leather on the high chairs in the middle oasis. The tables by the window in the bar, are matched with bar chairs covered in the sable leather but with an aqua blue back covering, which pulls out the blue of the rest of the decor.
The colour scheme is something that shouldn’t work about Bar Luca, but does perfectly. A gorgeous vibrant aqua velvet covering, from Lecs Upholstery, is used on both the wall and the chairs in a secluded twin tabled section before you get to the restaurant, which is parallel to pillars painted in a serene olive colour. The wallpaper in the raised bar area is a green foliage pattern that Rory admits could have been dismissed as too busy, as it would have looked too much on a roll, but in the nearly twenty-foot high room, looks amazing.
The building itself was the former Ayrshire headquarters for the Bank of Scotland, so enjoys high ceilings, with intricate cornicing, and ceiling centrepieces. All of these, including the details at the top of the pillars that support the roof, have been picked out in contrasting colours. The bar front is tiled in a similar colour scheme to the entrance mosaic, and after ripping out the bar fittings, BSD put in place four x four window shelving to display wine and spirits. The LED lighting, by Lights 2, plays a big part in the back gantry, with a changing colour dependent on the time of day.
Jamie Ballantine of Lights 2 said, “The gantry was my favourite remit of the project. Our job was to glorify the grand scale of the bar gantry which sits underneath the traditionally tall ceiling found in buildings like this; Here we developed a unique colour changing back-light feature to silhouette products displayed on the hybrid brass and glass shelving in front. The light panels are each capable of individual and multiple appearances and moods, changing automatically throughout the day and in conjunction with ambient daylight.” Behind the bar, a wire hanger display for wine glasses was also constructed, with a glass covered shelf above, to store extra wine and spirit stock.
The banquettes in the main bar back on to a raised area where a wooden break replaces what was a metal balustrade. To add some sparkle, the top third of the wood is covered in sparkly copper covering that is reminiscent of a 1920s flapper dress.
The main restaurant consists of two sections. One is cleverly secluded by partitioning, and could easily cater for 20/25 people. The part near the front of the restaurant is more open, and could seat the same. Again both sections’ banquettes have a tan coloured covering, but the secluded area has a different wall covering, this time, vibrant tropical birds. With this in mind, the buttons on the banquettes have been customised to reflect the colours. The window section is flanked on one side with glass, on the left with glass panelling, and opposite, three large mirrors. Brian Shields said, “In the restaurant dining area, it was important to keep diners comfortable in what is a large space. We felt that by creating the walnut stained timber screen with polished brass hexagon metal work and antique mirror gives the restaurant its own focal point. The overall combination of rich finishes with the variety of lighting techniques creates a warm enjoyable atmosphere that makes you feel comfortable in the space.”
To the back of the pub, there is a conservatory, which is used at the moment for overspill from the bar at weekends, but lends itself to a meeting room or private area. Underneath the conservatory, is a function room, with its own private bar, which Bar Luca has already taken a booking for. Although the private room opens out to a cobbled area, it actually doubles up as a car park for the pub, but Bar Luca has a license for tables and chairs at the front of the restaurant which catches the sun perfectly in the middle of the day.
Riva has big plans for its Kilmarnock operation. With such a big venue, it has also broken through into the floor above that had been used as a dumping ground for the previous owners, but Riva has refurbished it to a high commercial office standard and has a company of lawyers already in as tenants. Currently Bar Luca doesn’t serve breakfast, but that’s ‘in the schedule’. Watson said, “We hope the conservatory will attract some of the local businesses for meetings.”
Watch this space for more Riva openings as we’ve heard Gianluca’s little sister is grumpy as she hasn’t got a restaurant named after her yet, so the Di Ciaccas haven’t stopped yet.
The Scottish Bar and Pub Awards has a new sponsor on board in the shape of Disaronno, the famous Italian liqueur distributed in the UK by Wm Grant &Sons. Disaronno, The brand is sponsoring the Cocktail Bar of the Year category with the aim of increasing awareness of Disaronno and the Disaronno Sour and providing the tools to help the trade deliver the perfect Disaronno Sour.
Richard Glover, UK On Trade Sales Manager comments, “I’m delighted to be involved with the Scottish Bar and Pub Awards. We are putting a lot of energy into promoting Disaronno Sour this summer, a refreshing cocktail served in a special Sour Jar with a Disaronno Kick, and the awards provide us with a perfect opportunity to raise awareness of this modern serve.”
He continues, “I’ve been involved in the licensed trade for many years and it will be good to get out and about and see what Scotland’s cocktails bars have to offer.”
Says DRAM Editor, Susan Young, “Those that have enjoyed a drink or two with me know my fondness for Disaronno, and I am absolutely delighted to have the brand on board.”
Andrea Zecchino and Nino Caruso the duo behind Italian wine cafe brand Veeno, have announced plans to open in Edinburgh. The cafe, will as the other five do, champion the Italian Aperitivo culture which focuses on gatherings with friends and family to enjoy drinks and food. Veeno also have cafes in Manchester, Leeds, York, Liverpool and Nottingham.
It’s been a busy month for restaurateurs Tony Conetta and Mario Gizzi, not content with launching The Atlantic in Glasgow the duo also opened Italian pizzeria Tutto Matto (love bug) on Nicolson Street in the capital.
The new venue specialises in stone baked pizzas – some 26 varieties in total, but it also offers pasta bowls, sharing boards and more.
CAU opened its new Glasgow restaurant at the end of November. This, the group’s first Scottish venture, in the glass-fronted 110 Queen Street building, has already proved a hit with Glaswegians.
The 108-seater restaurant, which features a mezzanine level, available for private dining and business meetings, as well as a cocktail bar area, offers an eclectic mix of dishes inspired by Buenos Aires culture, with Spanish and Italian influences.
A prominent feature on the CAU menu is Argentinian beef, which comes from grass-fed cattle, which incidentally started life in Scotland – the first Aberdeen Angus beef was introduced to Argentina from Scotland in 1879.
Charley Springall, Head of Marketing at CAU Restaurants said, “We are delighted to be part of Glasgow’s busy restaurant and night life scene. The city has recently been voted a must-visit destination by National Geographic Travel, and the city is quickly establishing itself as a foodie destination, so we know we are in good company. It’s a great time to be a restaurant! in this vibrant and dynamic city and we are very excited about our most recent addition to the CAU family.”
CAU is the sister restaurant to the successful Gaucho group, which operates 15 restaurants in the United Kingdom.
Scotland’s first CAU, Carne Argentina Unica, restaurant will open in November at CONNECT11ONS in Glasgow’s Queen Street, opposite Royal Exchange Square. The new restaurant in the glass-fronted £70m building will cover 2,650 sq ft on the ground floor and 1,400 sq ft on the feature mezzanine.
CAU features a menu inspired by Spanish and Italian cooking alongside the finest Argentinian beef. Small plates such as empanadas and antichocos, typical street food, and Belly of Pork Tempura and Flatbread are available. The menu offers the classic cuts as well as speciality cuts including the Tira de Ando – a spiral cut of rib eye which is dubbed the king of steaks.
Graham Hall, MD of CAU said, “After a series of successful new openings throughout the UK over the last 12 months we are very excited to be opening our first site in Scotland. Glasgow is a dynamic, expanding and thriving city, and we feel CAU will be a great addition and fit in seamlessly.”
Italian restaurant chains ASK and Zizzi have been sold by a European private equity firm, Cinven, for £250m. The company which has three ASK restaurants in Scotland and 10 Zizzi’s, has sold the business to Bridgepoint and this completes the company’s exit from the Gondola group of restaurant brands it acquired seven years ago. Earnings at ASK and Zizzi have grown 22% over the last three years. Meanwhile ASK have just signed a 25-year lease on another property on Shandwick Place in Edinburgh. The new restaurant will cover 4,000 sq ft.
Massimo’s in Glasgow was the venue for the launch of Italian brand Menabrea, which is now being distributed and marketed in the UK and Ireland following an exclusive distribution agreement with C&C Group. Franco Thedy, Managing Director of Menabrea, came to Glasgow to launch the beer which has been brewed in the Piedmont region of Italy since 1846. Menabrea is well known throughout Italy, especially in its northern heartland, but currently has minimal distribution in the UK and Ireland. A family owned business, employing 33 people, it is managed by the fifth generation of the Menabrea-Thedy family, headed up by Franco Thedy.
Located in the burgeoning Quartermile area of Edinburgh, which lies south of The Royal Mile, Enzo is a multi-faceted venue that aims to bring a touch of Italian style to the hospitality, retail and residential development. The new bar and restaurant is owned by Michele Civiera, Barrie Brown and Robert Reid, who are keen to stress the venue’s versatility, and have positioned Enzo as offering something different for the locality’s diverse population of office workers, students and tourists.
Although Enzo only opened at the beginning of August, chances are that you may have heard of it already. Four months ago the style bar and Italian restaurant began a social media campaign that featured people from all over the world posing with the Enzo monograph in front of famous landmarks and destinations. Michele told me, “Our agenda was that by the time we opened everyone in Edinburgh would know what the Quartermile was, who we were and what we did.”
The three men each live in the Quartermile area, and used to pass the vacant site that would become Enzo every day. Eventually they made their move. Says Michele, “The project took 18 months from the lease being secured to opening day. We were looking to recreate the spirit of a 90s style bar but with an Italian flavour and sense of purpose.”
The bar’s main entrance is on Lister Square, overlooked by the surrounding residential and commercial properties that comprise the Quartermile. The building is essentially a glass cube, and the symmetry of the exterior is maintained throughout Enzo’s design. Speaking of the challenges that his company faced when conceiving of Enzo’s interior design, Roddy McLean of Form Design says, “The original brief was to create a high-end, quality restaurant that provides something that hadn’t been done before. It was just a space, a large, double-sided cube, and the challenge was trying to fit a bar and restaurant into it while maximising the volume of the room.” The main contractor for the property conversion was Craig Murie’s SJS Property Services.
The signage above the front door is minimalist, a feint print of the Enzo name and logo. Michele told me that they had sought to feature the Enzo monogram as much as possible in the venue’s layout, as a means of solidifying the brand. There are two outdoor seating areas for al fresco dining. The first, by the entrance way, features a series of black, square tables with black and white seats alongside some raised round tables and red and black bar stools. The second sits a few feet away in the middle of the square, and is a real sun-trap. The same square tables and black and white chairs sit upon a stretch of artificial grass, The area is surrounded by large plant features, matching the small plant pots that adorn each table.
The entrance leads you straight into the bar area, a stylish, comfortable environment. The space is divided into two halves by the staircase to the restaurant, and in keeping with the theme of symmetry and angles, both halves of the bar replicate each other. Each has an identical cocktail lounge, featuring aqua-blue banquettes and walnut wood panelling. LED cube lights hang above the tables, which also double as foot stools, and grey, acoustic foam panels have been arranged in a rectangular fashion above the seating.
Two thin, black raised tables sit directly opposite the bar, lined by hand-made, monarch orange, leather bar stools, which like all of the seating in Enzo were imported directly from Italy. The walnut bar top stretches the length of the room, with eight of the aforementioned bar stools arranged in mirrored, angled rows of four at either end. An LED wine rack imported from Canada is the focal point of the back bar, and the numerous spirits are housed in a walnut, cubed gantry.
The staircase that leads up to the restaurant dominates the ground floor. The adjacent pillar has the Enzo monogram patterned throughout, with fitted reflective lights adding character and illumination to the monolithic structure.
The 60 cover restaurant greats you at the top of the stairs, a modern, minimalist space that overlooks the Lister Square courtyard. Each of the walnut tables are north-facing towards the sunset, maximising one of the advantages of being housed in a glass building. The row of tables that line the windowed wall are faced by yellow, leather banquette seating encased in a walnut, wooden border. The table settings continue the angular structure of the room. Says Michele, “Everything from the cutlery to the wine glasses were chosen to replicate the straight angles. We wanted the restaurant to be quite stylised and contemporary, which is juxtaposed with the authentic Italian food offering.”
A row of three, black, spherical lampshades hang above the banquette; the rest of the room is lit by spot-lighting, and another LED wine rack adds its own particular form of illumination. Behind the banquette is the open kitchen; when I visited the strains of Italian chefs working away were clearly audible, lending further authenticity to the Enzo experience. Michele had made a point of telling me that everything in Enzo felt quality to touch, and the walls at the far end of the restaurant are no exception, being as they are papered in suede.
Enzo is a very sharp, modern and stylised venue that’s accentuated by the site’s unique, glass cube space. Although it had only been open for a week when I visited Michele was extremely pleased with how trade was going, and he told me that going forward the plan was to emphasise Enzo’s flexibility. He said, “Our main focus is to turn it into a London city bar midweek for the surrounding residents and businessmen, then a destination venue at the weekend. We’re open from 8am to 1am seven days a week, we’re ticking as many boxes as possible and stressing the venue’s versatility.” Given Enzo’s locality and stylishness, they won’t have many problems attracting people to the site.
It’s all happening in Edinburgh this month. Ben Dantzic and James Forrest, owners of Burger Meats Bun in Glasgow, have brought the concept to Edinburgh, with a new venue opening on Forth Street. Another burger restaurant, Just Burgers and Beer, has also opened on the Royal Mile while Carina and Victor Contini have also chose the Royal Mile for their new Cafe called, not surprisingly Contini Caffe. They are also offering something a bit different… a porridge bar! It will open nearer the end of the month at the same time as Enzo, a new Italian style bar restaurant. It’s at the Quartermile development.
Meanwhile CBRE Hotels EMEA has been appointed to sell the Doubletree by Hilton Edinburgh City Centre Hotel (formerly trading as The Point, Edinburgh) on behalf of a private seller. The hotel has only recently undergone a renovation, and features 138 bedrooms and suites, the Bread Street Brasserie restaurant and the Monboddo Bar. It also boasts three meeting rooms including a penthouse suite meeting area, a popular venue for weddings and corporate functions. The sale will also include the freehold title to the Chanter pub on the ground floor and basement.
Rahul and Bubbles Randev’s newest venture at Kirk Lane, right in the centre of Bearsden’s bustling little town centre, The Larder, brings the number of venues the brothers operate to five and includes outlets in Bishopbriggs, Lenzie and Milngavie.
Originally a predominantly weekend retreat for Killie drinkers, the couple have re-floored the entire pub, leaving only a small section in the restaurant that could be saved with some TLC.
To give customers privacy in the main bar tables, Concept Metals created foot high, copper grills to attach on top of each banquette back, and also complementary metalwork in the rest of the restaurant.
Behind the bar, a wire hanger display for wine glasses was also constructed, with a glass covered shelf above, to store extra wine and spirit stock.