A new whisky bar from the Lazzurri Group team behind Tabac, Devil of Brooklyn and The Last Bookstore is to open in Glasgow city centre.
Promising ‘bottle-lined walls, sharing plates and a cosy late-night feel’, The Liquor Store is due to open next week at 80 St Vincent Street, taking over the former Il Pastaio site.
The new venue has been designed and fitted out by Paul Martin and the team at DSN79, who also worked on Devil of Brooklyn and The last Bookstore, with a look aimed at feeling ‘refined, inviting and relaxed’.
Inside, guests can expect a mix of high tables, booths and restaurant-style seating, with dim lighting and nearly 1000 bottles lining the walls.
The food offering is being led by Otello Calvert, who rose to fame on TikTok with his Inverness-based food truck, Tagliotello, while drinks are headed up by Lazzurri Group head bartender Mick Quinn, and front of house by general manager Euan Barker, who moves across from Tabac after more than eight years in the industry.
The food menu will focus on small sharing plates that put a Scottish twist on pub classics, while the drinks list has been split into house serves, classics and remixed cocktails. The team expect their whisky Spicy Margarita and their Talisker-based Aviation served with a black pepper caviar bump to be especially popular.
Quinn said: “Our goal is to honour the heritage of our national spirit while opening it up to a new generation of whisky drinkers.
“With a menu in three parts, we’ve made sure there’s something for everyone. Our House drinks are for those not quite ready to jump into drams, the Remixes bring whisky into familiar favourites as an easy way in, and we’ve got a list of Classic whisky cocktails for those who already love it.
“Younger drinkers are changing perceptions around whisky and making it feel more accessible,” said Quinn. “We know there’s a real place for that in the city centre, and we can’t wait to share it.”
Head chef Calvert said: “From day one, back when we were in the food truck, the focus has always been on making food that excites people. That hasn’t changed, it’s just taken on a new form here.
“The menu leans into familiar flavours, but with a bit more thought behind them, things people recognise, done in a way that feels fresh and worth talking about. It’s built for sharing and for sitting alongside the drinks, especially the whisky.
“We’ve kept it tight on purpose so we can really focus on getting it right, and it gives us space to change things up with weekly specials and keep it interesting.”
Calvert’s opening menu is described as a mix of comfort and creativity, from a colcannon patty with burrata to Aberdeen Angus tartare and chicken tikka arancini.
For dessert, guests can expect a cranachan tiramisu made with whisky toasted oats and whisky and coffee savoiardi.
The bread offering will also feature focaccia, shokupan and white loaf from Company Bakery.
