Neighbourhood and community are at the heart of a new bar and restaurant in the West End serving authentic and freshly-prepared food. Nostrana on Hyndland Road opens its doors to customers on Thursday September 1. The opening marks the culmination of a six-month fit-out and transformation of the Pizza Magic takeaway and former Tabak local store next to Old Station Park in Hyndland.
Nostrana, meaning ‘local’ in Italian, will serve freshly-made handcrafted pizza, pastas, mains, snacks and desserts from noon to evening in a stylish and relaxed setting.
Fully-licensed and serving fresh coffee, draft beers, cocktails, and organic wines, offering a takeaway service as well as dine-in.
With seating for more than 100 people, the offering has a bright and airy modern interior and outside seating next to the park and fronting Hyndland Road.
Owner Marco Stevenson, who has traded at the location since 1989, said he is thrilled and delighted to be opening. “Hyndland and the West End have given me so much over the years and I feel privileged to be part of the neighbourhood.
“I have never lived here but I consider it my home because of the friendliness and warmth of my friends and the local community.”
He said: “We are really excited about what we have here. I have struggled to define Nostrana as just a restaurant serving good food – we want it to be a place where people can come for anything; drinks, a coffee, a meal, as a couple, as a group, or by themselves.
“However people experience Nostrana, they can be assured of a warm neighbourly welcome, a friendly smile, and quality food and drinks at reasonable prices.
“On price, we are serious about being realistic and affordable. We are fully aware of the pressures that our neighbours and friends are facing.”
Marco adds: “My wife Angela has been a huge motivation behind the restaurant and has encouraged me all the way. She should take all the credit for the interior design and look and feel of Nostrana.
“Neither of us have done anything like this before and it has taken a tremendous amount of work by a lot of people to get to this stage.”
Neopolitan pizza with dough made fresh daily to a traditional recipe will be available with speciality Nostrana Pizza – a handcrafted, rustic-style pizza made for sharing and served on bespoke boards – and pizza by the slice.
Pastas made with fresh and locally-sourced ingredients, haddock suppers and scampi are on the menu with Mac & Cheese, Loaded Fries and salads. Torta della Nonna, Tiramisu and a selection of Gelato are among the sweet offerings.
Wines start from £22.50 for a bottle or £5.50 for a small glass (Trebbiano, Terre Allegre – Puglia) and go up to £30.50 or £7.25 per glass (Primitivo, Electric Bee, Produttori Di Manduria – Puglia).
The new restaurant is a coming together of two units – Pizza Magic and Tabak – that were run separately by Marco. When the grocery shop closed in 2016 after Sainsbury’s opened nearby, Marco saw an opportunity to do something different with the businesses.
After a number of false starts and the disruption of Covid, he finally closed his popular pizza takeaway in February this year and set about the merger and transformation of the two units.
The fit-out had to be sympathetic to the elegant J C McKellar 1911 sandstone shop design and the wider Hyndland Conservation Area.
A steel fabricated bar with tiled frontage, modern pendant lighting, and reclaimed ornate mirror panelling provide elegant interior features. Large interior wall space will eventually tell the history of the area, reflecting the area’s railway heritage (Hyndland Station which stood next door was demolished in 1970).
Marco’s mother, who came to Scotland at 16 from Monte Cassino in Italy and later met her Scottish-Italian husband, gave her son a love of good food and hospitality.
“My family are everything to me and my mother was an amazing woman who led a remarkable life. She was all about people and caring. She was cooking for the family from an early age.
“I’ve taken what she taught me and run by businesses with a strong sense of community.” The new restaurant has created 25 full-time and part-time jobs.
Nostrana, 72 Hyndland Rd, Glasgow G12 9UT