New ‘Salt & Chilli’ Chinese restaurant opens for service in Glasgow’s southside today

Salt and Chilli Oriental, the Glasgow based street food brand, has today opened its first proper sitdown restaurant in Glasgow - making it the second restaurant in Glasgow under the Salt & Chilli name - and the third of its kind in Scotland

Described as ‘a mash-up of East and West, old and new, and salt and chilli’ - the new restaurant opening in Southside is set over two floors and offers Glaswegians a taste of Hong Kong’s thrill-free street food. The Cantonese restaurant and bar, that also offers takeaway service, is open six days a week in Shawlands.

The 60-capacity restaurant includes a bar, street style window seating, and mezzanine dining. Neon-lighted signage, vintage Japanese pop art, wall flower decor, dark brick surfaces, softly illuminated decorative lanterns, and a colour scheme that combines warm neutral tones with punchy pink and ocean blue are among design elements all interwoven into the venue’s quirky modern design.

The restaurant’s lighting incorporates the kitsch and culture of many Chinatowns from around the world. Salt & Chilli Oriental Southside serves Cantonese street food that has been reimagined, remastered, and given a playful twist, as well as comforting Chinese classics and fusion concoctions that combines traditional Hong Kong street food with a strong dose of modern Scottish attitude.

The takeaway Salt & Chilli restaurant on Kilmarnock Road offers guests the option to sit-in or takeaway with a capacity for up to 60 guests. The family friendly venue also offers private dining and function space on the upper level. From Spicy Chicken Satay and Tangy Peking Ribs to Pulled Aromatic Duck and Bao filled with Katsu Chicken, the signature ‘Salt & Chilli Menu’ offers choices of Chicken, King Prawn, Crab, Calamari, or Tofu Salt & Chilli, all served with Yutaka Slaw.

The homey and hearty Cantonese food on the Salt and Chilli Oriental menu, which is available for lunch, dinner, or takeout, includes Katsu Chicken Curry, Beef Brisket Curry with Mooli, and Honey Chilli Tofu. Small bites including Chilli and Salt Wings, Curry Hawker Fish Balls and Zing Zing Ribs are also available from £6.

Chef and owner Jimmy Lee said: “This is our most exciting Salt and Chilli to date. From a takeaway concept in Partick to a marketplace restaurant at Edinburgh St James, our first stand-alone restaurant and bar location has opened in Glasgow Shawlands - a location recently named as one the coolest neighbourhoods in the world.

“It’s a part of Glasgow buzzing with activity and a multicultural community at its heart and with the opening of Salt and Chilli Oriental Southside, I hope we add something new to the incredible amount of food and entertainment options the area has to offer residents and visitors alike”.

Following on from the success of the original site in Glasgow’s West End, Salt and Chilli Oriental Edinburgh at St James Quarter and a pop-up venture in Glasgow Hamilton, Salt and Chilli Oriental Southside is the third permanent Scottish outlet for the award-winning chef’s expanding brand.

Earlier this month, Glasgow-based Salt and Chilli Oriental was named ‘One to Watch’ at this year’s R200 Awards. The annual awards, organised by Restaurant Magazine, recognise excellence in the multi-site restaurant space as voted for by industry peers.

The Salt and Chilli Oriental concept was named ‘One to Watch’, with owner TV Chef Jimmy Lee receiving the honour. The restaurant brand was the only business from Scotland to win a prize with other category winners including Pizza Pilgrims, Nandos, and Dishoom.