The history of Rogano in Glasgow as restaurant could return after court settlement

In 1935, as the Queen Mary took shape on the Clyde, Rogano restaurant was fitted out in the same Art Deco style as the great Cunard liner and a classic of Glasgow hospitality was created.

On Friday 20th March 2020, 84 years of uninterrupted trading came to an end when the restaurant closed alongside other hospitality venues in the city for what was anticipated to be a pause, in line with government guidance at the time.

Rogano was active on social media and posting about future plans. Then between December 2020 and January 2021 something changes. After a period of silence it became clear in court document that damage to the restaurant left it unable to reopen.

The long-running legal battle surrounding Glasgow’s Rogano restaurant reached the UK Supreme Court in May 2026, marking a major turning point in a dispute that has kept one of Scotland’s best-known dining institutions closed for six years. However the expected showdown between the owners of the city’s oldest restaurant and their landlord, a company controlled by Spain’s richest man, Amancio Ortega, took an unexpected turn.

However the culmination of the legal wrangle did not, in the end, produce the courtroom drama that was expected as the senior judges were told that the parties, who had been at loggerheads for years, had settled the dispute on the eve of the case being heard.

It remains unclear now how the settlement will impact on the potential future for Rogano, but agreement could open the door for a comeback.

Here is the history of Rogano in Glasgow as the restaurant could return after court settlement.