The Duke's Umbrella, a brand new gastropub, has opened on Argyle Street.
The new food and drink spot, which replaces the former Trader's bar in the heart of Glasgow, promises 'the best fish and chips in the country' alongside Sunday roasts and delicious-sounding weekend brunches.
Staff welcomed in first customers for walk-ins on Friday, while its first bookings will arrive on Monday.
We headed along to Argyle Street earlier today for a first look and to get a flavour of what we can expect from this stunning new venue, with the space full of original character and old-world charm. For the tour around, press play in the video player above.
The team behind The Duke's Umbrella say: "After lockdowns 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0, the team are poised to welcome and offer customers a casual and a warm ambience to celebrate the many missed milestones over the past year – whether it’s a celebratory family dinner, lunch with friends or brunch at the weekend.
"The Duke’s Umbrella will be open 7 days a week, from 10am for weekend brunch, lunch, dinner, Sunday roast, bar snacks, a glass of champagne or a Scottish cask ale or cocktail.
"It’s been 8 months in development under the helm of General Manager Craig Mckay and the menu is the brainchild of John Molloy, one of the country’s most successful and burgeoning talents."
Ahead of the opening, Craig said: "We’re incredibly passionate about every detail of The Duke’s Umbrella and we’re focussed on delivering a superb experience for all of our guests whether you’re joining us for a quick pint to watch the rugby or having brunch with mates, it’s a warm and welcoming environment."
As part of his role as Development Chef at Base Scotland, John Molloy has a love of developing new ideas and he’ll continue to work on new dishes for The Duke’s Umbrella, one of which is the Laphroaig ice cream cone which celebrates the simplicity and coolness of his vanilla ice cream paired with the warmth of the medicinal, smoky flavour of Laphroaig whisky which makes it an ideal dessert.
John told Glasgow Live: “We’re focused on giving Glasgow a gastropub which has a relaxing, welcoming atmosphere, where you can pop in for a pint, or for a bite to eat. It’s unpretentious and honest food, familiar pub favourites, given the attention to detail that they have been missing for years.
“We’ve curated a menu from the finest produce using the best local suppliers like Bernard Corrigan’s fishmongers who’ve been in business since 1949, they’re a stone’s throw from us, the quality is without doubt.
“We’ve given the great Haddock from Corrigan’s the batter it deserves and gone to great lengths to make it that little bit extra special, served with tarragon mayo, lemon, vinegar powder and triple cooked chips. Pair with a glass of Petit Chablis and it’s all you could want from fish and chips.”
“My favourite dishes on the menu include our Sunday Roast, our fish and chips and The Duke’s Cheese Board, who doesn’t love cheese? Our sticky toffee pudding is served with homemade ice cream and an Auchentoshan Three Wood toffee sauce”.
General Manager, Craig, added: “We’re expecting our Sunday Roast to be a huge hit and we’ve already had many enquiries about food and wine pairing experiences in our private dining area.
“We’ve spent months carefully curating our drinks menu and two of my personal favourites are The Duke’s Signature Bloody Mary made with Isle of Bute Oyster Gin served with a fresh Cumbrae oyster, and Any Port in The Storm which is barrel-aged Makers Mark, Martell VS Cognac, Grand Marnier, 10-year-old Tawny Port and Black Walnut Bitters”.
Duke’s Martini is described as both a showstopper in style and taste and a must for any cocktail lover. You can take your pick from either raspberry, plum, cherry or rhubarb liqueur paired with smoky oak notes of Laphroaig Scotch Whisky, shaken with pineapple juice. And if you’re not drinking, there’s an eclectic mocktail list featuring Cucumb-here often? and a range of soda spritzers made with homemade syrups.
There’s also series of collaborations brewing, one of which is made with Clydebank based Italian Aroma Coffee and Auchentoshan Whisky. Marco Giambastaini from Italian Aroma Coffee has come up with a secret process to combine Auchentoshan Whisky with the roasting of coffee beans to make whisky coffee, available only at The Duke’s Umbrella.
For more information, including the full menu and to book a spot, you can visit https://www.dukesumbrella.com.
