A new era beckons for Ardnamurchan

The duo are aiming to open the doors this spring following a £430,000 refurbishment, 70 per cent funded by landlord Star Pubs & Bars, the UK pub division of brewing giant Heineken.

Mr Douglas owns Café Antipasti in Sauchiehall Street with wife Julie, while Mr Mcaneney is the owner of bars such as Cottiers and Ad Lib under his Baby Grand Group. The project stemmed from the relationship between Mr Mcaneney and the father of Mr Douglas, who have collaborated on other ventures.

Mr Douglas, who has run Antipasti since 2006, said the “hands on” day to day operation of the restaurant would be handled by his wife and himself. He revealed that Ardnamurchan takes its name from the west Highland peninsula, where Ms Douglas comes from, noting that the venue will have a major focus on produce from that region.

The business owners will seek to take advantage of the venue’s location directly opposite the recently refurbished Theatre Royal, close to the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, the Tesco Bank office and, slightly further away, Glasgow Caledonian University.

Mr Douglas, who hopes the restaurant will add some “sparkle” to a part of the city which has been “overlooked in recent years”, said such organisations offer Ardnamurchan the basis for lunchtime, pre-theatre and even graduation trade. “We’ve got Mamma Mia in the Theatre Royal this December, so we are expecting December to be sold out fairly quickly,” he said.

Mr Douglas said Ardnamurchan will be launched in the spring following a 12-week refurbishment, underway now, which will involve significant restoration work on the fabric of the building. And it will see the kitchen double in size, allowing the restaurant to offer twice as many covers, 120, and cut back on the drinking space compared with its previous incarnation. The interior will be designed along contemporary Scottish lines, with the walls strapped back to expose original stonework and fabrics such as Harris Tweed deployed.

Mr Douglas said the menu will give prominence to Scottish ingredients such as wild venison and langoustine, while a relationship has been made with luxury whisky firm Adelphi, owner of the Ardnamurchan Distillery. The distillery opened in 2014 and has still to release its maiden Scotch, but the venue will stock the spirit when it becomes available. Around 50 whiskies will be offered, as well as Scottish gins.

Mr Douglas said: “We don’t really feel the west of Scotland is that well represented in Glasgow, specifically given Glasgow is seen as a gateway for a large percentage of the tourism that goes to visit it. And also in the other direction – it’s a gateway for an awful lot of young people that come to Glasgow to work.”

Noting that Ardnamurchan will use as much produce from the west coast as possible, he said the venue would adopt a stag as its logo.

Mr Douglas added: “Scotland has some of the best farming and fishing in the world yet very few restaurants in the city major on Scottish cuisine. We believe it’s time it had more prominence. Julie’s family goes back 10 generations in Ardnamurchan and we’ll be using those links to bring some outstanding produce to Glasgow.”

The lease on the premises has 13 years to run, but Mr Douglas said he and Mr Mcaneney are renegotiating the terms of that agreement. Asked whether he had any qualms about leasing from a major pubco such as Heineken – the Dutch giant is involved in a controversial deal to acquire Punch Taverns with Patron Capital – Mr Douglas said: “They’re very hands off and their involvement is that they want to use us a route to market. They want our product to be as polished as it can be. They are certainly happy to let us do that.”

Lawson Mountstevens, managing director of Star Pubs & Bars, said: “We’re pleased that two such talented and well-established Glasgow operators are joining forces with us to bring new life to such a great building. Their plans are superb and Ardnamurchan will be a very distinctive addition to Glasgow’s thriving pub and bar scene.”