Highly rated Glasgow small-plates specialist Ox and Finch is closing tomorrow night for a six-month overhaul, allowing the team behind it – Jonathan MacDonald’s Scoop – to launch two separate restaurants at the same address in the city centre.
First up will be Margo, described as a “bigger and bolder” version of Ox and Finch, which opens on Monday 28 October in Miller Street. It will be followed in November by a funky basement venue called Sebb’s.
Ox and Finch, on Sauchiehall Street in Kelvingrove, has just celebrated its 10th anniversary and wins consistent high ratings in the Harden’s guide for “innovative and tasty” food, often serving 300 customers in a day. Scoop followed up four years ago with Ka Pao, an Asian-inspired restaurant with branches in both Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Margo will accommodate up to 138 guests in its large dining room and upper mezzanine, with banquettes and booths as well as a dining counter overlooking the open kitchen. Locally born head chef Robin Aitken, who was part of the original Scoop team, has put together a menu which includes dishes such as sirloin with Café de Paris butter (see picture).
Scoop MD Jonathan said: “Margo will be an evolution of our first restaurant, Ox and Finch. Both restaurants share the same ethos of being relaxed, accessible and fun, alongside a focus on quality.
“Whilst retaining lots of the features that have made Ox and Finch so popular for the last decade, Margo will be bigger and bolder. We’ll be pushing things further in the kitchen, baking our own breads, making fresh pastas and also doing some in-house butchery.
“There’ll also be a larger, more adventurous wine list, which the team have been sourcing from a range of great suppliers. We’re very excited to be able to share what we’ve been working on with Glasgow, and we’ve also got some exciting plans coming up for Ox and Finch later in the year.”
Sebb’s, in the basement below Margo, is being billed appropriately as an ‘underground’ restaurant with an adventurous menu from head chef Danny Carruthers, who loves cooking over live fire and has worked at well-known London outfits including Acme Fire Cult, Le Gavroche and Lyle’s.
Danny said: “The food at Sebb’s will be very bold and packed full of flavour. Full-on, in-your-face deliciousness. Our main hobby outside of the kitchen is to eat good food made locally, and a lot of the dishes are just things we all really enjoy eating but with a bit of our own identity.
“High-quality ingredients, excellent suppliers, great service, attention to detail and simplicity will always be at the forefront of everything we do here. I’m very excited for Sebb’s to open and represent what food in Glasgow is all about.”
