Restaurant group set to open first Scottish restaurant in Grade A listed building
A THAI-themed restaurant group is preparing to open an opulent new venue in Glasgow city centre.
Chaophraya, which already operates restaurants in Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield, will take its first step north of the border next month when the new restaurant opens in Glasgow’s Townhouse building.
The company says it’s spent £2 million restoring the property, which will be Chaophraya’s largest venture to date, covering four floors and 22,000 square feet. It will cater to more than 400 covers and include two bars, The Palm Sugar and a Champagne bar, as well as provide private dining rooms.
“The building itself is enormous and lends itself to catering for all experiences,” business manager Richard McCandless told SLTN.
“So we’re looking at everything from the affluent diner who’s interested in cuisine and culture through to people who want to hold larger functions and parties and also the couple or shopper who want to enjoy real, authentic Thai cuisine and culture in a great setting.”
McCandless, who is formerly of Macdonald Hotels and Gleneagles, said the aim will be to establish the ground floor Palm Bar as an entity in its own right. It will offer a ‘tapas’ menu – featuring smaller versions of the restaurant’s a la carte dishes – as well as cocktails, wines and more than 100 whiskies.
Authenticity is also a key consideration. Rungot Tammakeysar, executive chef of the Chaophraya group and a Thai himself, will head the kitchen at the new restaurant, and the majority of his kitchen brigade will be Thai nationals. But broadly speaking the staff will be drawn 50/50 between Thais and those from Scotland, England and Europe.
The building itself is enormous and lends itself to catering for all experiences.
Dishes will include Panang beef curry with lime leaves and coconut milk (£9.95), chicken pad Thai noodles with egg, beansprouts, carrots and spring onion (also £9.95) and Thai red curry with tofu cooked with Thai herbs, mixed vegetables, bamboo shoots and sweet basil (£8).
McCandless hopes customers “will leave the building having experienced a dining element (they) have probably never seen in Glasgow before”.
The Chaophraya group was founded eight years ago by Kim Atcharaporn Kaewkraikhot and is run by Kaewkraikhot and partner Martin Stead.
Images: The Townhouse building in Glasgow (top) and the interior of Chaophraya’s Liverpool restaurant.
