How did the music and flavours of Rio de Janeiro end up on the Trongate? We went to Boteca Do Brasil to find out. They are celebrating their seventh year as a friendly neighbourhood bar on Friday 20th January with a live performance from Bahia Sound System and dancers, DJ Juan Salgado, carnival make-up, a prop beach and special cocktails.
Their reputation has been founded on colourful drinks, entertainment that includes local bands, salsa classes and Latin American themed nights. You’ll also discover an eclectic menu with tapas, Italian dishes, Latin American cuisine and bar snacks.
They open seven nights a week till 3am and, alongside Maggie May’s, they’ve put the Trongate back on the city centre bar circuit. You’ll also find Boteca Do Brasil in Edinburgh – a popular venue during the festival – but it all started right here.
We met owner Luigi Aseni for a chat about how it all came together.
I know that the seventh birthday is coming up and I’m interested in the fact that this is a Glasgow story. How did Italy and Brasil land in The Trongate?
In 2009 I was the leaseholder of the Classic Grand and I thought that there, as a music venue and a nightclub was a little bit too much so I was looking to find the perfect location for running a pub. This unit came up but we really didn’t know. Historically, people who ran this unit before didn’t have success. At the same time, we started seeing the changes in the Merchant City start to take roots.
It was very early days for a lot of the redevelopment down here, so did you see it as a bit of a gamble?
It was very risky, everything did start as a gamble. The first name option was Bodegita. So, always Latin American but we tried to identify something different. Just on Bell Street there was one Spanish and one Mexican place. We wanted to try to find a flag that would complete this puzzle. Next door is Scottish, there’s also a few Italians.
So Brasil was next to join this United Nations?
I had a few connections with the community of Brasilian people in Glasgow and we started to meet up to try the food. It was around six months of research before we signed the lease. Then we decided “let’s do it!” and we opened on 18th January 2010.
The official opening was a week after. Then we celebrated Mardi Gras which is a big part of Brazilian culture and a chance to focus on the food we are providing. Then a big help came in July 2010 when finally we got the late license to open til 3am with the condition to offer entertainment, which we were doing anyway.
We managed to find the right formula to consolidate a business that is now not only the Trongate but there is a sister unit in Edinburgh, which is open for three years. Then there is the new baby, Mango on Sauchiehall Street, which is an evolution of the concept.
The amazing thing is you’ve found a way to bring Glasgow and Edinburgh together – all it needed was some salsa dancing.
[Laughs] Not just salsa music, there is samba, reggaeton… Now the M8 becomes mate.
So, where do you go from here?
There are lots of ideas. My brain doesn’t really stop. If I had a twin, maybe we would be all over. I think I’ve got a good team. You see people who believe in the concept and work hard. We’re still a family business at the end of the day.
When you look around at the Trongate, are you glad you decided to open here. You’re part of the reason the area is more popular now.
When we arrived at the Trongate, people would try to scare me, they would say that’s a very bad area. I think between Boteco and the previous owners of Maggie May’s we’ve done a pretty good job of taking what was maybe considered a dark area of Glasgow and turning it into a bright area of the city centre. Different cultures, different music every day of the week.
Yes, I’m happy. I’d like to see the same kind of evolution in other areas of Glasgow. I always think that Glasgow can be better. It’s down to us. The community can make this happen. It’s in all our interests to make sure that areas are safe for everyone. Not just at night-time, any time.
Alongside locals, is Boteca a bit of a hangout for people from different backgrounds?
We are a place for people from different cultures. You can see that we are friendly with the Latin America or the Spanish or the Italian community. We try to involve all the locals too. This is the best place to try different flavours of food or hear new types of music.
You can find more details on Boteca’s birthday celebrations here. Remember to try a Caipirinha cocktail.
Boteca Do Brasil
62 Trongate
Glasgow
G1 5EP
Tel: 0777 284 7311
Email: management@botecodobrasil.com
Glasgow G1 5EP, UK
