Jestico + Whiles has recently completed a new steak and gin restaurant located in the atmospheric catacombs of Glasgow's Central Station.
Alston Bar & Beef restaurant is the first to open up under Glasgow's busiest railway station and boasts a dramatic wall mural visible to passers-by. Jestico + Whiles commissioned and worked closely with Timorous Beasties on the beautiful wall mural to add unconventional touches of Scotland to the stairway art work.
Jestico + Whiles' design integrates the rich historic layers of the city while adding contemporary elements, creating a brand new state-of-the-art venue that is efficient, innovative and highly atmospheric. The design draws on the rugged history of the station, along with the wider context of Scotland to create a calming retreat that is full of oblique references and layers of interest.
"Our design for Alston draws on the history of the station together with the wider context of Scotland to create a relaxed atmosphere," commented James Dilley, Head of hospitality and interior design at Jestico + Whiles. "We have created a unique space featuring a dramatic interior environment and distinctive ambiance. This has been an exciting project to be a part of from our work on the interior design, right down to the branding and visual identity of the restaurant."
Visitors to the restaurant are met by a soaring mural of over scaled native Scottish wildlife; magpies and hawk moths, playing against a backdrop of huge thistles. These interlayered illustrations produced by local design studio Timorous Beasties define a route down into the previously derelict undercroft of the 18th Century station.
On descending to the foot of an industrial, blued steel staircase studded with underlit lenses, a zinc framed window and pass reveals glimpses into the kitchen, the heart of the restaurant. Three cast glass pendants made of old railway electrical isolators define the division between the kitchen and front of house service.
Beyond the kitchen, the subterranean setting of muscular brick arches and oxidised steel bracing of the robust, honest and workmanlike railway architecture has been enhanced by contrasting it with the careful placement of new elements. A clean, white marble bar, and sparkling chandeliers made from crystal decanters sparkle in the twilight.
Photos: Will Pryce