First look inside the new Malletsheugh as family-run restaurant in Newton Mearns re-opens after 1 year refurbishment

A family-run restaurant has reopened in Newton Mearns after taking a year to refurbish the hospitality venue.

Now back in the community, The Malletsheugh run by the Birk Family has opened on Ayr Road in Newton Mearns - bringing three generations of hospitality experience to the suburb town south of Glasgow.

The fresh restaurant brings a double menu - bringing together Scottish and South Indian cuisine and culture, you can expect deep-bodied curries and sumptous steak pies, fish and chips, and even steaks. You’ll also find an extensive vegan and children’s menu.

The family hope to offer a new food offering in the heart of the Newton Mearns community, Co-owner Pav Birk said: “Our family have incredible passion for hospitality, food and people. We love sharing our lives with our guests, who become our friends.

“Our grandfather was an amazingly talented chef but just as importantly had this incredible desire to look after people – and our parents, then my brothers and I, have all grown up with that ethos at the heart of everything.

“That’s why the Malletsheugh means so much to us. We saw this iconic building which was for so long the heart of its community but had lost its way in the wrong hands.

“We want to set that right and bring back the heart of the community, restore what this place was for more than a hundred years – a place people came for food and drinks, yes, but more importantly where they came to relax, to meet friends, to be among like-minded people and take a break from life for an hour or two.”

The Malletsheugh comprises both a bar - the Mal Bar - and a restaurant - the Taj Restaurant - named in tribute to the family’s Taj Mahal, the restaurant opened by their grandfather and later run by their father, before the current generation took over.

Pav continues: “Our family’s food heritage is very rich, it’s become the family business as well as a real passion for us all.

“My grandfather set the tone for us with his love of Indian food and growing love of Scottish cuisine too.

“This was all passed to our father who took over our original family restaurant the Taj Mahal, and eventually he passed it on to our hands, so we really have carried my grandfather’s dishes, his enthusiasm and dedication, in everything we do.

“Serving the very best food made with premium ingredients is vital to us. But so is serving it to you in the right way – for us, our service, care and hospitality are as important as the food itself. We pride ourselves on treating your family like our family.

“That is what we bring to The Malletsheugh – it’s ours, but it’s just as much yours.”