With O Sole Mio, Glasgow’s oldest Italian restaurant, among the five businesses due to close in February making way for a multi-million-pound hotel, I took one last visit to the Italian eatery.
The first time I visited O Sole Mio was with my family in June 2018, after my graduation ceremony. It was a Thursday afternoon/evening, so the restaurant wasn’t overly busy, the meal was lovely and so were the staff - one of the waiters even paused their service to oblige us in taking a couple of photos to mark the occasion.
O Sole Mio, 2018
Though, keen to visit as many new restaurants and bars as possible, I hadn’t gone back again until last week, and, sadly the reason for my return was to visit the restaurant for the last time.
Positioned at the corner of Bath Street and West Nile Street in Glasgow city centre, in a block which also hosts The Iron Horse Bar and the Blue Lagoon, the restaurant’s premises and the other businesses on the block are owned by George Capital, an investment firm who seeks to flatten the site in favour of building a hotel.
And while this is due to create 100 new jobs, a number of jobs have already been lost between the five businesses as has a core part of Glasgow’s city history.
Here’s a little ‘cheers and well done’ review of the restaurant for ol’ time’s sake!
Espresso Martini, O Sole Mio
Credited with introducing Glasgow to the sheer delight of a classic Italian pizza – O Sole Mio is the proud owner of Scotland’s first wood-fired pizza oven – there’s no shortage of choices with around 15 types of pizza available, including a few ‘white’ pizzas (without a tomato base).
Margarita Pizza (front), lasagne (behind)
I opted for the old faithful – a margarita pizza, with Bruschetta Napoletan to start. Light and crispy, and well presented, the pizzas are cooked to perfection; aren’t too oily, or too thin.
Bruschetta Napoletan (front), pate di pollo (behind)
They seem to have gotten it all right – the food, the location, and the atmosphere.
From the second you step in the door (once you pass through the restaurant’s red curtain) until the moment you leave, you feel welcome; the waiters and waitresses wait just the right amount of time before taking the order, serving the food, checking everything is ok and then clearing the empty plates – and the ‘family business’ vibes is what really makes it a really cosy space… if you close your eyes and just listen to the Italian music, the sound of wine glasses clinking and chefs working the pizza oven, you’d think you were in Italy.
A much-loved Glasgow institution, and rightly so… let’s hope it’s not the last we see of O Sole Mio!
(Image: facebook/osolemioglasgow)