Review: The Loveable Rogue

The Hebridean may have gone, but Keith McIntyre is in love with its replacement – The Loveable Rogue in Glasgow. WHEN it was announced at the end of August that The Loveable Rogue (TLR) was replacing The Hebridean in Glasgow’s West End, the accompanying press blurb stated that new owners Joe Lazzerini and Amalia Colaluca would…

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A Week in Whisky: ‘Pat’s’ collection goes under the hammer

THE largest whisky collection ever to come up for auction starts going under the hammer today. More than 9,000 bottles have been assembled by “Pat”, an anonymous collector, and are together expected to fetch $5 million (£3.9m). The first batch will be on sale at WhiskyAuctioneer.com until 5 October. Iain McClune, the website’s founder, said:…

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Why The Wine Society is ‘backing its best’

Peter Ranscombe finds out how The Wine Society, a long-running club owned by its members, is supporting small producers hit by the pandemic lockdowns. FEW businesses have been left untouched by the coronavirus pandemic – and winemakers are no exception. On top of the disruption caused to the harvest in the southern hemisphere, the closure…

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Restaurants get 100,000 free glasses of wine to tempt customers back

As the UK Government’s “Eat Out to Help Out” scheme ends, wine importer Hallgarten is giving restaurants and bars a helping hand – and Peter Ranscombe picks some exciting bottles from its warehouse. MANY restaurant owners have hailed the “Eat Out to Help Out” scheme as a massive success, bringing customers out for early week…

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NHS heroes enjoy weekend hotel stays

MORE than 380 health service workers and their families stayed at Crerar Hotels’ seven venues for free last weekend as part of the “Scottish Hospitality for NHS Heroes” initiative. Paddy Crerar, the company’s founder and chairman, took some guests on boat trips, while others tucked into locally-sourced food and drink. The chain spent more than…

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de Burgh Wine Merchants delivers restaurant quality at home

WHEN the hospitality industry was shut down in March due to the coronavirus pandemic, de Burgh Wine Merchants was faced with losing 95% of its business overnight. Such a seismic shock provided the catalyst to accelerate the company’s plans to expand its web shop and home delivery service. “People have been drinking our wines for…

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Harvey Nics among eateries reopening

DEPARTMENT store chain Harvey Nichols will reopen the “Forth Floor” restaurant in its Edinburgh branch on 29 July as Scotland’s hospitality venues continue to return. A one-way system has been introduced in the restaurant, which will have fewer tables to allow for social distancing. On the other side of the city’s St Andrew Square, tomorrow…

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Local Selects boxes boost Scottish food and drink

A GIFT box project launched during lockdown has unveiled plans to continue promoting Scottish food and drink. Local Selects was set up by The Start-up Drinks Lab, a business in Port Glasgow that helps brands develop and bottle new products. Much of its work focuses on bars, pubs and restaurants and so the company had…

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Scots dream of parks, history and Outlander as tourism and hospitality reopen

GARDENS, views and television series Outlander are just some of the themes about which Scots have been dreaming during lockdown, according to the early results of tourism agency VisitScotland’s #HameTownTourist campaign. As many of Scotland’s restaurants, bars and tourist attractions begin to reopen today, the marketing bureau has shared some of the social media posts…

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