Side dishes

Suzy Pope reports on the latest news and openings as Glasgow’s cocktail scene continues to flourish

It’s been in the works for months, but it seems Banca di Roma, a flashy new Italian in Glasgow’s Royal Exchange Building, will finally open this month. Elsewhere, cocktail aficionados have a lot to celebrate in Glasgow at the moment. The team behind Gulp, which closed in 2020, have opened new venture Daddy Marmalade’s on Pirnie Street, embracing Mexican flavours in tequila milkshakes and chilli gin, with nachos to soak it all up. The signature cocktails at August House on Mitchell Street certainly look the part, too, and the menu of small plates comes by way of Thailand and Japan, while new bar Malo on Bothwell Street has an entire section of the menu dedicated to negronis: hooray! Over in Edinburgh, Vittoria Restaurants opened another Italian joint in December in place of La Favorita on Leith Walk. Antonietta is an assault on the senses, with riotously colourful interiors and a breaded yolk-topped signature pizza that defies the norms of texture. Awardwinning street-food vendor Junk has moved into permanent premises on South Clerk Street with upscale restaurant plating for their elevated junk food. And, after folk queued for hours outside his new pizza joint, there are more Ramsay rumblings in Edinburgh with Street Burger opening in the St James Quarter and a second Street Pizza on Henderson Row.

Finally, in List news, we’re launching a new section dedicated to, well, lists. Themed round-ups of our favourite eating and drinking spots in Edinburgh and Glasgow can be found in our new tipLIST section each issue.