A Glasgow institution which reopened its doors just days before lockdown has transformed to allow people to enjoy their food at home.
The team at Zique’s, a popular West End restaurant which was previously known as Cafezique, had been gearing up for their relaunch just before Christmas, but then had to deal with the sudden lockdown from December 26 last year.
With a new menu planned for the restaurant in Hyndland, they had to go back to the drawing board and revamp its hotly anticipated small plates menu.
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Like many restaurateurs, Mhairi Taylor has had to think on her feet to allow her restaurant to thrive during lockdown and has created a takeaway and delivery friendly menu.
She said: “We have grand plans to be a small plates restaurant, but those dishes don’t travel well so we had to start our menu from scratch.
“We landed on a range of curries and parathas. The parathas in particular have proven to be incredibly popular for breakfast lunch and dinner.
“It’s becoming quite a trend and it’s something we landed on completely by chance. The normal rules don’t apply and we have really had to roll with the punches. Hopefully everyone who’s enjoying our takeaway menu will be convinced to come and try our full new menu once we’re able to open. It will look different but the main thing is that we’re able to serve good food to our amazing customers. “
Mhairi worked with award-winning Glasgow designer Mark Brunjes, the man behind the epic interiors of Glasgow institutions Paesano and The Anchor Line, on a £50,000 revamp of the restaurant’s interiors. So far, customers have only been able to see inside through a hatch.
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Among the new dishes are flaky flatbreads loaded with exciting vegan, veggie and meaty toppings - from purple beetroot hummus to halloumi to braised lamb shoulder.
Next week, the Scottish Government is set to publish its roadmap out of lockdown. Ms Taylor is hopeful that this will provide some certainty for the sector.
She said: “As much as I am delighted that our customers are so happy with the food we’re able to offer by delivery and takeaway, it’s heartbreaking to not be able to welcome customers into the restaurant that we’ve worked so hard on.
“In one way it’s quite exciting to be constantly forced to come up with new ideas - but we can’t go on like this forever. The anxiety of uncertainty is putting an incredible weight on people in our industry.”
As well as parathas, the restaurant serves a whole range of exciting dishes developed by the Zique’s kitchen team, which includes Ms Taylor and her sons Nicky and Jamie who are both chefs at the venue.
Westenders can also visit the neighbourhood restaurant for coffees from Glasgow’s Dear Green Coffee Roasters, and baking from sister venue, Bakery by Zique.
Zique’s full menu, which includes butter chicken, smashed avocado shredded pork and lamb parathas, as well as super healthy broths, is available to order ahead at ziques.com, on deliveroo and soon on Uber Eats.
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