It's been less than a week since one of Glasgow's newest restaurants opened its doors on Miller Street, with Margo fast becoming one of the most talked about launches of the year.
If you're wondering what all the fuss is about, we've put together a handy guide with all you need to know ahead of a visit, from menu highlights recommended but The Herald's food critic to an exciting new project opening downstairs next month.
Who is in charge?
Margo is the latest venue to form part of the Scoop Restaurants group family alongside Ox and Finch, Ka Pao and Baba.
Inspired by the group's first restaurant, Ox and Finch on Argyle Street, Margo serves a menu of snacks, small plates and larger sharing dishes "cooked over fire".
There's a focus on seasonality, allowing the menu to evolve regularly and highlight produce sourced from the finest growers and makers.
Led by head chef Robin Aitken the menu showcases Scottish seafood, meat butchered in-house, and bread and pasta made from scratch.
He is joined by general manager Paige Wilson.
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Managing director at Scoop Restaurants, Jonathan MacDonald said: "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’re very excited to be able to share what we’ve been working on with Glasgow.”
You can read our interview with MacDonald from June this year, as he marked a decade of Ox and Finch in Glasgow here.
How do I book?
To secure a table at Margo, located at 68 Miller Street, you can give them a ring on 0141 739 0882 or visit margo.restaurant to book online.
The restaurant is open between 12pm and 3pm, then 5pm to 10pm, from Monday to Thursday.
On Saturday and Sunday, opening hours are 12pm to 10pm.
What is the space like?
Margo seats 138 diners across an expansive main dining room and upper mezzanine.
The team has collaborated with Stuart Black of Mosaic Architecture and Design, who is said to have curated a group of local craftspeople to create bespoke furniture and carpentry for the space.
Architectural metalwork and traditional clay render are mixed with ceramic and terracotta tiles and salvaged light fittings, creating a warm and welcoming space with an "industrial edge".
A large open kitchen with counter seating gives diners the opportunity to watch Margo’s chefs at work, while banquettes and booths offer a more intimate dining setting for groups.
What to order?
The Herald's food critic Ron Mackenna was amongst the first to put the menu at Margo to the test, predicting that the restaurant will go on to become 'a huge hit' in his Saturday review.
A standout dish for Makenna was the half creedy carver duck, liver parfait, marmalade and toast which he described as "not only spectacular to look at - the breast seared, the skin bubbled, cross-sliced, not too pink, loads of it - but well seasoned and juicy. Frankly? Brilliant."
Read more: 'New Ox and Finch' Margo will be a huge hit - but I have issues
Having visited myself and ordered the very same, I wholeheartedly agree and urge you to give the duck a try alongside a side order of crispy ratte potatoes saturated in garlic butter.
A seafood offering includes hand-dived Uist scallops, sobrasada and haricot beans, west coast crab tart with bitterleaf salad or whole lemon sole in prawn butter sauce.
Over on the cocktail list a freezer door martini, gin or vodka, is the perfect sipper while you peruse the menu while a banana date old-fashioned or pomegranate yoghurt punch will appeal to sweeter tooths.
There's an extensive wine list that takes a while to get through, so don't be afraid to ask for recommendations. The servers are friendly and extremely knowledgable when it comes to selecting the right glass, carafe or bottle to go with your dinner order.
What's going on downstairs?
There's more to come from the Scoop Restaurant team next month as they prepare for the launch of Sebb's cocktail bar and restaurant downstairs at 68 Miller Street.
The new venue will seat 68 with a further 12 covers in the private dining room dubbed ‘The Record Room’.
Pairing a dedicated cocktail kitchen with a menu focused on food cooked over fire, Sebb's is set to offer "a destination for daytime sessions and late nights sound tracked by a rotating programme of DJs playing vinyl".
Kieran McKay, Sebb’s general manager, and Scoop’s head of drinks, Alasdair Shaw, will head up the cocktail programme, having developed a comprehensive list of drinks to be batched in the mixology kitchen, including spritzes, sours, and signature ‘sippers’.
Read more: Team behind Ox and Finch to open new underground bar and restaurant
The kitchen will be led by head chef Danny Carruthers, whose experience at local institutions such as Le Chardon d’Or, combined with his time staging at Acme Fire Cult, Le Gavroche and Lyle’s, has resulted in a "vibrant and flavour-focused cookery style", anchored in precision and French-style technique.
Of the menu, Carruthers 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."
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