Seven historic Glasgow buildings now used as restaurants

Glasgow Times

a day ago

From a multi-storey car park in the West End to the former home of The Herald in the city centre, learn the stories behind these historic Glasgow buildings that have been transformed into busy eateries.
The Battlefield Rest
55 Battlefield Road
Built in 1915, this distinctive building in the Southside of Glasgow was first used as a tram station and newsagents.
After being established as a B-listed building in 1981, it later came under threat in late 1990 when a demolition order was imposed by Glasgow District Council Building Control, who deemed the structure unsafe due to damage.
More than 1500 people signed a petition opposing the move, and the building was saved.
In 1991, it was sold to businessman Marco Gianassi, who two years later began a restoration project to return the space to its former glory.
In 1994, the Battlefield Rest was opened as a restaurant and is still going strong today after being sold to long-time staff member Alex Matheson and his wife, Jen Doherty, in 2023.
The Citizen
24 St Vincent Place
The Citizen restaurant and bar is located in the old offices of the Glasgow Evening Citizen, a daily newspaper first published in 1864, which went on to serve the city for over a century.
Designed by T L Watson, the building took four years to complete and is said to have been the first red sandstone of its kind in the city.
It was also one of the first buildings in Glasgow to be fully electric, with the newspaper linking to the Waterloo Street power station built in 1892.
In the present day, the restaurant honours its home's rich history with nods to the past at every turn.
This includes signage using the original Glasgow Evening Citizen font and a private function space dubbed the 'Editor's Suite'.
"If these walls could talk, the stories they'd tell," they said.
"Probably home to many a clandestine conversation over decanters of Scotch in years gone by, the old offices and printing rooms for the Glasgow Evening Citizen newspaper now tell a different story.
"Malts, signature serves, and the best pint of Tennent's in the city."
Sugo
70 Mitchell Lane
Sticking with a print theme, next up on our list is Sugo.
This fast-paced pasta spot might be best known as the sister restaurant to Paesano Pizza first opened in 2019, but the Mitchell Lane building it calls home has a history which stretches back long before then.
"As a young draftsman working for respected Glasgow firm Honeyman and Keppie in 1893, Charles Rennie Mackintosh put together designs for a newspaper office on Mitchell Street,"
"With his first public commission, a 25-year-old Mackintosh would seize the chance to leave his mark on what was essentially a warehouse structure at the back of the printing office of the Glasgow Herald.
"Completed in 1895, at a cost which would today be equivalent to £2m, the Category-A listed building now known as The Lighthouse would house the newspaper for the next 112 years until 1980, when new publishing practices created a requirement for more modern premises. "
Pictured: Ka Pao is located in a building formerly used as a car park (Image: Historic Environment Scotland)
Ka Pao
26 Vinicombe Street
From the team behind Ox and Finch, Margo and Sebb's, Ka Pao is located on the basement level of a former multi-storey car park.
Built in 1911, at a time when it was forbidden to keep motor cars on the street, the Botanic Gardens Garage just off Byres Road is said to be the city's oldest surviving purpose-built garage.
The Botanic Gardens Garage before its conversion (Image: Historic Environment Scotland) (Image: Historic Environment Scotland)
The building became vacant in 2006, with owners Arnold Clark then revealing plans to demolish it.
The structure escaped this fate in 2007, when it was upgraded from a category B listed status to an A, ranking it alongside nationally important sites like Edinburgh Castle.
Ka Pao opened within the distinctive green and white tiled building in 2020, and now shares the space with equally brilliant Crabshakk seafood restaurant, as well as a Nando's and a Pure Gym.
Pictured: The Òran Mór building was founded as the Kelvinside Free Church (Image: Newsquest)
Òran Mór
Byres Road
Standing tall over Byres Road in Glasgow's West End, the building now known as the Òran Mór bar, restaurant and event space was first established as the Kelvinside Free Church in 1862.
The church was based there until 1978, when it merged with the Hillhead Parish Church as congregation numbers dwindled.
The site then became derelict until 2002, when it was taken over by a group led by Colin Beattie with a view to transforming the space into a thriving cultural hub.
The Òran Mór, a name meaning 'big song' in Scottish Gaelic, opened in 2004 and later became famous as the birthplace of A Play, A Pie and A Pint theatre company.
One of the building's most striking features is a ceiling mural in The Auditorium created by the Glasgow-born writer and artist Alasdair Gray. It is one of the largest pieces of public art in Scotland and was commissioned for Òran Mór by Colin Beattie.
In 2022, it was announced that the Scotsman Hospitality Group had taken over the venue.
Pictured: Hutcheson's Hall is currently home to a brunch restaurant (Image: Newsquest)
Saints of Ingram
158 Ingram Street
The fascinating story of the Hutchesons' Hall building goes back to its construction between the years of 1802 and 1805.
Designed by renowned Glasgow architect David Hamilton, the Ingram Street site served as a hospital thanks to funds left in the wills of brothers George and Thomas Hutcheson.
The following centuries saw the space used as a school, a public library, a bank and even a filming location for Oscar-nominated movie, The Wife, after a £ 1.4 million renovation carried out by restaurateur James Rusk in 2014.
The Hollywood-approved spot continued to operate as Hutchesons City Grill until 2020 when a devastating failure to reopen after lockdown led many to question what the future held in store for the category A -listed building.
Pictured: A look inside Hutcheson's Hall from 2023 (Image: newsquest)
The venue was taken over by team behind Tabac and The Devil of Brooklyn 2023 and that summer opened as a cocktail bar and restaurant dubbed 1802 at Hutchesons' Hall.
The owners last year introduced a new concept, renaming the business as Saint of Ingram and serving a menu of brunch dishes.
Pictured: Miller & Carter in Glasgow city centre (Image: Miller & Carter) Miller & Carter
47 St Vincent Street
It was stamps rather than steaks you would be more likely to encounter at this city centre building before it was transformed into a Miller & Carter restaurant in 2016.
Until the year prior, the site had been occupied by a busy Post Office branch, though there's more to the story yet.
The building, constructed at the turn of the last century and occupying a prominent site at the junction with Buchanan Street, had previously been home to a number of banks, including the National Commercial Bank of Scotland.
Pictured: An archive photo from 2016 shows work underway at Miller and Carter (Image: Newsquest) (Image: Newsquest)
During the £1.5 million project to create a new restaurant space, construction firm Pacific Building reportedly had to drill through steel, concrete and sand floors as well as walls that were up to a metre thick and fortified with metal anti-drilling devices.
This dates back to the days when the building functioned as a bank and required protection from the threat of burglary.
Many of the interior features from its financial past have been retained at Miller & Carter, including the huge dome, clock and bank vaults.