Design: The Crabshakk, Vinicombe Street, Glasgow

crabshakk seating

There’s now a big sister to Finnieston’s ‘wee’ Crabshakk on Vinicombe Street, in Glasgow’s West End, and it is already a runaway success.

Owned by John and Lynn Macleod, the new 100 cover bar restaurant, on the site of the listed Botanics Garage, has, said architect John, “Been one of my most challenging projects ever.”

John collaborated with Jim Hamilton of Graven, to come up with a design that both complements the building and carries on the ethos of the original Crabshakk although this is a totally different experience from the wee Crabshakk.

John says, “From day one I was pretty clear about the possibilities for the space – for instance, I wanted a long bar and knew where the kitchen was to be. Jim Hamilton and I had some really good conceptual chats and he helped me with a lot of technical issues. We had an excellent contractor in the shape of BJM and Sculpture Studio. Simon Hopkins and Pat Moran in particular are all over the unit – the timber, bar and metalwork.  Neil Hickey of BCC kept the project on track”

However, he smiles, “I was always going to keep my hands on the tiller, but it was definitely challenging,possibly the most problematic job I have ever done.”

The aim of the design was to create a walk-in, casual feel at the front window which acts as a holding area before or even after dinner, but of course you can have the full menu throughout the restaurant. This is certainly what has been achieved.

When you walk through the door – you can immediately see the venue is all on one floor. There is a sunny front room on the left, due to the fact the venue is south facing. You can sit at a long wooden mantel which looks out onto the street and watch people go by or at high long tables made of reclaimed wood and black steel which seat eight to 10.

Reclaimed wood lines the back wall in the front room and fresh greenery adds colour – incidentally, this has been curated by Karen Harvey, who is soon to open a plant and flower shop adjacent to Crabshakk and she has also been responsible for unusual Scandinavian candle holders and other furniture for the venue. This front room will cater for walk-ins, which will also be welcome at the bar.

While the front room is sunny, the brightness dims as you walk further into the restaurant. Says John, “ The sunshine is the front room, then there comes a dark, moody restaurant in behind. The daylight gradient falls quite quickly – but the mirrors at the back reflect the sunlight. It’s a bit like sitting in the sun in a cafe and then you go inside to go to the bathroom and it is much darker. But you know that if you come back later this would be where you would be. The restaurant here has got that happening. I did think the sunshine would be deeper – but the more I covered the white box with raw black steel it became a quarter sunshine and three-quarters, not sunshine. Jim and I did reflect on this.”

Key design elements have been used throughout – reclaimed wood, white Corian, black raw steel smoked mirrors, exposed brickwork and pewter. And of course elements of the original listed garage are visible in the brightly painted yellow and white steel pillars and exposed roof and the listed frontage.

The restaurant has a polished concrete floor, the gantry is all black raw steel and glass, while the bar is a two-level bar with a pewter top accompanied by bar stools, upholstered in olive green leather. The walls are clad in reclaimed wood, while the tables in the restaurant are all white Corian, with pin spotlights – created by long vertical black lights which hang discretely over the tables, says John, “The lighting on the Corian gives the impression of white table cloths.”

There is not an abundance of artwork but what artwork there is has stand out appeal – from the original neon artwork curated by artist France-Lise Rose McGurn from a sketch by her late mother, Rita, to the outline of St Monan’s, where Head Chef, David Scott, hails from. There is another of the harbour on Lewis, where John was born. Both are backlit with blue neon. There is also another piece of abstract polished stainless steel by Evy Mackenzie to go on the ceiling.

The lighting, sound and temperature are all controlled with the help of technology. The flexibility allows John and his management team to control these aspects from their phones.

The temperature controls are certainly appreciated by Head Chef, David Scott, who presides over the spacious, well-designed kitchen. He worked with Mark Rodden at RH Morton and Andy Mitchell, who has been acting as a consultant in the earlier stages and now kitchen manager.

Says David, “The space is great, and I love the fact that you can see the whole restaurant from the kitchen. You can just look up and see everyone eating and drinking. There is not a bad seat in the house.”

General Manager, Lily Brown, also loves the layout, “In terms of running the restaurant – because it is all on one level – it is very visual. This allows everyone to have their own clear section and it is very easy to see what is going on. Although my favourite space is probably the front room. On the opening night, it was just buzzing and everyone looked beautiful.”

John too loves the front room but on the launch evening, he enjoyed the whole experience. It was just as he had been endeavouring to create. He says, “I was sitting watching everyone from the side across to the whole bar and kitchen wall as we were just about to wrap up service. It looked so smooth – a pretty convincing show I thought.”

Category: Design, News, Restaurant
Tags: Crabshakk, Glasgow, John MacLeod