Chef Eric Avenier leads new restaurant as part of city centre development

The head chef of a new restaurant set to open in Glasgow city centre next month says it will bring something ‘new and exciting’ to the city’s culinary scene. Eric Avenier has been appointed head chef at Hazel, which will open on the corner of John Street and George Street, just off George Square in October. He joins from The Scotsman Group, where he worked across restaurants including The Corinthian Club, Scotsman Hotel, and Bothy Brasserie.

The 51-year-old chef has spent more than two decades working in and leading hotel and restaurant kitchen teams in his native France and Scotland, including six years as head chef at city centre favourite The Atlantic Bar and Brasserie, and two years as executive head chef at Mar Hall Hotel between 2012 and 2014.

Avenier, a former International Chef of the Year runner up, says Hazel will offer fresh and exciting plates influenced by Mediterranean flair, created using only the very best Scottish ingredients, and adding something ‘exciting’ to the city’s culinary scene.

The new restaurant, part of the new AC by Marriott Glasgow hotel, is named after a tree from the legend of St Mungo that forms the centrepiece of Glasgow’s coat of arms. A focal point of the restaurant will be a Hazel tree in the centre of the venue.

The stylish 100-seater restaurant is open to hotel guests and the public and will operate over breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

An express lunch menu will also be available to cater for shoppers as well as office workers returning to the city centre in their droves as the modern hybrid world of work evolves post-pandemic.

Avenier said: “It’s been a long time since Glasgow city centre had such an exciting and quality addition to its heart and I am very much looking forward to being part of its success.

“I’ve successfully run many restaurants in Glasgow and I love the vibe of the city, but my passion lies with hotels and I couldn’t be happier to be able to bring my skill set together to work in a fantastic reputable hotel in the heart of Glasgow’s city centre.

“It’s an especially exciting time as Hazel is the first of many reputable partners to join Glasgow’s Love Loan development, which will completely transform the city centre as we know it.”

Hazel is the latest high-profile addition to the £100 million Love Loan development, following the recent announcement of Soho House’s plans to enter the Glasgow market and the 245-room AC by Marriott Hotel, and Avenier believes Hazel will only add to the excitement around the development.

Craig Munro, General Manager at AC by Marriott Glasgow, said: “Hazel is an exciting and unique concept combining Glasgow’s affinity for excellent independent restaurants with the wide-reaching romanticised appeal of the classic hotel bar.

“These usually contrasting concepts come together in Hazel to create an exceptional experience for everyone from urban explorers and solo business travellers to Saturday shoppers, and busy city workers.”

The Love Loan property development project – from Edinburgh-based private investment and real estate firm Chris Stewart Group – will transform an area close to George Square into a leisure and residential space including bars, restaurants, health and well-being facilities, and other ancillary uses.

The development arrives as Glasgow City councillors recently voted through an ambitious master plan aimed at repositioning the city centre for the next 30 years with a focus on leisure, residential, and living.

hazelglasgow.co.uk