Glasgow restaurant in historic building like a glamorous voyage to New York

When dining or having a cocktail at this restaurant/bar on St Vincent Street, there can be no confusion over what the theme is.

Walls are adorned with hundreds of vintage posters and memorabilia of a bygone era when Glasgow was a shipping capital of the world, and people embarked on glamorous voyages to New York City.

(Image: Kirsty Anderson) A gleaming marble floor marries perfectly with sophisticated wood-panelled walls to transform diners to the 1920s when this very building in Glasgow city centre was the booking office for sailings across the world.

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The Anchor Line is a seafood restaurant and cocktail bar bringing a touch of Art Deco glamour to Glasgow. It is one of the many projects of the Di Maggio’s Group with Mario Gizzi and Tony Conetta at the helm, but this one is particularly special as it is rich in history.

This office was completed in 1907 and designed by James Miller, representing a move towards more American-influenced white architecture rather than the typical red and blonde brickwork seen in Glasgow in the Victorian era.

Its stunning pillars met with archways made a beautiful setting for the Anchor Line shipping company’s headquarters.

(Image: Jamie Simpson) At its height, the firm was operating weekly services to New York, around the Mediterranean and even Bombay after the Suez Canal opened.

It was of great importance to the city’s economy, employing hundreds of shipyard workers and crew, and former Provost of Glasgow Patrick Dollan once said: “Every Scot thrills with pride and memories of the adventure and enjoyment of travel on hearing of the Anchor Line. When I was a boy, it was the ambition of every youngster to sail across the Atlantic on an Anchor Liner…”

(Image: Newsquest)

With the new shipping offices at the turn of the century came a new modernised fleet of ships, but after the war, the Anchor Line struggled to keep up with the times.

As flying gradually became a more popular and practical mode of transport, the idea of sailing on a liner – and taking longer to get to places – appealed less to people. The ships were withdrawn from service in 1980.

Mario Gizzi and Tony Conetta (Image: Newsquest) While travelling to 1920s New York on the Anchor Line’s ships is now a distant memory, two businessmen transformed the building into a restaurant which would resemble that experience.  

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The Di Maggio’s group restored the building in 2014 with a vision to maintain as many original features as possible and create a time capsule effect, so diners felt like they were eating and drinking in the roaring twenties.

(Image: Newsquest) In a £1.5m plan, they enlisted archive specialists to source old adverts, brochures and photographs from the Anchor Line as the décor and paid homage to the building’s original occupants with the Anchor Line logo displayed around the room, such as at the carved fireplace.

The Anchor Line is a sister restaurant to the Atlantic Bar and Brasserie, which is also inspired by Glasgow’s shipping history.

The restaurant which inspired the Anchor Line’s sister Atlantic Bar & Brasserie (Image: Newsquest) More specifically, the Atlantic aims to ‘continue the story of 1938’ when a restaurant that literally looked like a ship was built in Bellahouston Park.

While the shipping company is long gone and we don’t have regular sailings to New York, the experience is still there on St Vincent Street – minus any seasickness.