Glasgow’s Syrian-Lebanese restaurant Damasqino wins prestigious award
Damasqino restaurant in Glasgow, named Best Lebanese Restaurant in Britain at the British Kebab Awards has been a valued family-run fixture in the Saltmarket local community for the last decade.
The owner of a Glasgow restaurant has spoken of his deep love for Scotland and how it became his new home. Mohammad Bashar Al Haj Ali of Damasqino restaurant in High Street says the city has been so welcoming of him and his family in the ten years they have been here that he feels he now belongs to Glasgow.
Bashar, as his friends call him, is keen to give back to the place he says has welcomed him with open arms after his original home in Lebanon was left in ruins after being bombed. Bashar, has brought a real family feel to this community in the city centre with his warm and inviting restaurant - the name means Damascus in Arabic.
He grew up in Syria before being displaced to Lebanon where the family ran a restaurant. He is the third generation of his family to work in hospitality. Our favourite dish in the restaurant is the shawarma, slices of fresh chicken marinated in spices, and served in Lebanese bread wraps or on a bed of rice.
The award win for the restaurant was announced at a ceremony in London: “The Deputy Prime Minister was there, very well known people. In the semi-finals we were picked from around 60 Lebanese restaurants from the whole of the UK. We went to the final and we were the only Scottish Lebanese restaurant.”
Bashar says the restaurant has been supported by the local community for the last ten years: “They love the food, a lot of local people come here and we have made many friends. The falafel is very popular and the hummus. We get people from the Lebanese community as well who travel from over Scotland to visit here. There are a lot of new types of restaurants that have opened in the last ten years in Glasgow and we are very happy to be part of that.
“Our family love Glasgow, we love Scotland. We feel we are part of this country, we're part of this culture, and we want to do our best to the local people, to the community, because the same way that they've given to us, welcomed us here, gave us the opportunity to open a business and be part of this community.
“It was really such an emotional moment for us, especially I was with my dad being there as well. It’s a big honour for us. I just want to keep going, work hard and prove more and more what our restaurant is about.”