Side Dishes: April 2026
Donald Reid counts up a few of the new openings around Glasgow and Edinburgh
It’s something of a numbers game in Glasgow at the moment. What was previously The Gannet in Finnieston has been reopened and reimagined by chef-owner Peter McKenna and maître d’ Kevin Gow as Eleven Fifty Five at, yes, 1155 Argyle Street. An engaging Scottish-Irish bistro-like affair, it features smart dishes of seasonal produce at approachable prices. Meanwhile, along at 88 Dumbarton Road, once home of Two Fat Ladies and Eighty Eight (there’s a theme emerging here), Fergus McCoss has extended his Hinba operation with the opening of Italian-inspired Tusco. Then there’s news emerging that Edinburgh’s vegetarian institution Hendersons has taken over Seven21’s premises at (that’s right) 721 Pollokshaws Road with plans to open in the summer. It all adds up.
The new buzz in Edinburgh is over the ever-lively Paradise Palms on Bristo Square, where Antojitos Cantina has moved into the kitchen with a new all-vegan menu of zingy Mexican snacks, mains and sharing dishes. Also shaking up its offer is Lost Shore Surf Resort out by Ratho where their new Lost Food concept has four strands: Lost Kitchen, Lost Tacos, Lost Deli and Lost Market. It offers a range of food all day, every day, with pizza from Civerinos also part of the scene beside the inland beach and breaks. Finally, back in town, fans of farmers’ market stall Pie Dolly can now find Kelsey Garthwaite’s excellent savoury and sweet pies in her new bricks’n’mortar home of Jeannie’s Bakery on Morrison Street.
Picture: Danielle Bakkes.