Ox and Finch team to launch new Glasgow restaurant, Ka Pao

Tanwen Dawn-Hiscox

Tanwen Dawn-Hiscox

Deputy Editor

The team behind acclaimed Glasgow restaurant Ox and Finch is set to open a new venue, Kao Pao. 

The restaurant, due to launch in January, will be located in the city's listed Botanical Gardens, and will specialise in modern South East Asian cuisine, following a successful residency at Acid Bar at SWG3 last year as well as several pop-up events.

The menu, according to the group's announcement on Facebook, will likely include dishes such as "messy prawns, orange, tamarind and palm sugar caramel; squash and potato curry, cardamom, cumin and coconut; slow-cooked pork cheeks, shiitake mushrooms, star anise and galangal.

At the helm in the kitchen will be chefs Jonathan MacDonald and Ox and Finch head chef Daniel Spurr, with Andy MacSween managing the front of house across both restaurants. While many of the team have been recruited internally, they are currently looking for sous-chefs, chefs de partie and front of house professionals.

On the decision to take the menu down the South East Asian route, Jonathan MacDonald said: “I have had an enormous amount of respect for the approach to food in South East Asia for as long as I have been cooking. The fascination was really ignited when I spent a lot of time working and travelling in that part of the world in my twenties. Living and working in Melbourne was also a big inspiration, as South East Asian flavours and influences are uniquely interwoven in Australian cooking.

Some of my most memorable cooking and eating experiences have been in Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand: sometimes in impressive restaurants, but more often on plastic stools by the side of the road.” 

The team's message on Facebook, meanwhile, expressed their excitement at launching the new venue.

"We hope that you will enjoy Ka Pao as much as we have enjoyed welcoming you to dine at Ox and Finch during the past five-and-a-half years. We are very grateful for such amazing support. We look forward to welcoming you to Ka Pao in 2020 and, of course, throughout the year at Ox and Finch too." 

 

 

In these challenging times…

The Staff Canteen team are taking a different approach to keeping our website independent and delivering content free from commercial influence. Our Editorial team have a critical role to play in informing and supporting our audience in a balanced way. We would never put up a paywall and restrict access – The Staff Canteen is open to all and we want to keep bringing you the content you want; more from younger chefs, more on mental health, more tips and industry knowledge, more recipes and more videos. We need your support right now, more than ever, to keep The Staff Canteen active. Without your financial contributions this would not be possible.

Over the last 12 years, The Staff Canteen has built what has become the go-to platform for chefs and hospitality professionals. As members and visitors, your daily support has made The Staff Canteen what it is today. Our features and videos from the world’s biggest name chefs are something we are proud of. We have over 500,000 followers across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and other social channels, each connecting with chefs across the world. Our editorial and social media team are creating and delivering engaging content every day, to support you and the whole sector - we want to do more for you.

A single coffee is more than £2, a beer is £4.50 and a large glass of wine can be £6 or more.

Support The Staff Canteen from as little as £1 today. Thank you.

Tanwen Dawn-Hiscox

Tanwen Dawn-Hiscox

Deputy Editor 6th December 2019

Ox and Finch team to launch new Glasgow restaurant, Ka Pao