The four eye-catching openings that give Glasgow’s food and beverage offering a boost

On the one hand, making a profit has never been harder, especially if you factor in the hike in national insurance contributions, high utility costs and the rise in minimum wage. Yet, on the other, Scotland’s largest city has continued to thrive, with some 38 new F&B openings in the city centre last year alone, totalling 87,000 square feet of accommodation. This is the highest volume of transactions since 2018, and 10 per cent above 2024’s total.

Looking back on a successful year, four deals, in particular, have caught our attention. Dishoom, Sticks’n’Sushi, Kloud and Scran + Roadie, have all taken space over the past 12 months or so, providing an interesting insight into the ever changing trends in the sector and what it may mean for Scotland’s largest city in 2026.

Dishoom

The iconic British chain of Indian restaurants opened its doors in Glasgow in August last year, occupying the former stock exchange building on Nelson Mandela Place. Dishoom had been looking for a suitable site in Glasgow for seven years – and they were prepared to wait to find the perfect A-listed heritage building in a location that captured both daytime and evening trade.

Savills is presently tracking ten new restaurant requirements for Glasgow, and, like Dishoom, many of them have a preference for traditional, character buildings. Glasgow is blessed with an array of Victorian architecture and this kerb appeal should not be underestimated. The challenge for landlords is to provide a sizeable, open plan layout in these buildings, which can sometimes be tricky to reconfigure. If they can, there are already operators waiting in the wings.

Sticks’n’Sushi

Denmark’s Sticks’n’Sushi opened on George Square in December. With more than £20 million of investment going into the George Square redevelopment, the public realm is set to be fully transformed upon its completion in late 2026. This is undoubtedly already acting as a draw for occupiers looking to take advantage of its excellent location and exciting new look.

This letting signals that international F&B brands have Glasgow in their sights, which is a great vote of confidence for the city. With its strapline of “Scandinavian cool coming to Scotland”, the chain made it clear that it saw Glasgow as a key destination and not simply an extension of its UK operations. Given its reputation as a big night out location, we can expect more large international names to look for space in Glasgow in 2026.

Kloud

Glasgow has some great independent entrepreneurs in the F&B sector and Kloud has proven to be a huge hit since opening its doors in September in Merchant City. With more than a hint of Dubai shaping the interior ambience, the business has created one of the coolest spots in the city centre with a really interesting twist. Coffee and matcha by day – then morphing into a cocktail bar in the evening, no other F&B business in Glasgow has created such a chameleon of a venue as effectively as this.

Independents specialising in coffee and matcha are biting into the market share of the more established operators in the sector, and we see this trend continuing in 2026 with more openings expected. The team behind Kloud are a great example of ingenuity at a local level, which is encouraging to see.

Scran + Roadie

Another local independent brand making a name for itself is Scran + Roadie. The brunch/lunch concept started life as a food truck, but now has a permanent home in another more off-pitch location on Saltmarket. Having grown its popularity through the use of social media, Scran + Roadie is now looking to build on its success, and with new financial backing are on the hunt for new sites.

This is a great example of how a less conventional location can work for a brand, along with appetite amongst customers for “something different”. For 2026 the message to landlords is to be aware of the growing number of independent brands looking for space in Glasgow city centre – with quick service and grab & go operators expected to be one of the strongest sectors this year.

Looking ahead

At present, Savills predict this will be another very active year of F&B openings in Glasgow, with the Ivy and Ivy Asia already set to open later in 2026. We will also see Glasgow’s shopping malls (St Enoch, Buchanan Galleries and Princes Square) enhance their catering offer with two major F&B openings expected in St Enoch before the summer. This, together with increasing demand from quick service, fast food operators and small format, grab & go occupiers points to a busy year of transactional activity.

It won’t be without its challenges, though, with the 2026 business rates revaluation due to come into effect from April 1, bar operators, in particular, are alarmed at the proposed increases in property taxes on the horizon. For some, this could even trigger closures. Operators in Scotland are anxiously waiting to see if the Scottish government will follow the climbdown outlined in England for affected properties.

Overall, however, things remain positive. Watch out for some very high-profile potential arrivals to the sector, along with further growth from the ever entrepreneurial home based operators drawn to the city for its large catchment population, student presence and renowned shopping thoroughfares. What’s clear is that something exciting is happening in Glasgow and the F&B market will be at the forefront of this trend.

John Menzies, director in the retail team at Savills Scotland