Mosaic Architecture + Design, one of Scotland’s most experienced practices, has delivered the interior design for Scoop Restaurants Group’s stylish Margo Restaurant on Miller Street in the heart of Glasgow city centre.

Marking the latest in a series of restaurant interiors Mosaic has provided for Scoop, the result is an elegant and natural space with earthy charm complementing the restaurant’s modern and sophisticated atmosphere.

Margo, named after the chef’s mother, seats 138 diners with a main dining area and mezzanine, offering a range of dining options including the chef’s counter bar and plentiful seating options.

Stuart Black, studio director at Mosaic, said: “We have created a thoughtful design that complements the culinary aesthetics of the restaurant and showcases some of the unit’s unusual architectural features.

The interior has an industrial edge where architectural metalwork, bare brick and traditional clay render are mixed with ceramic and terracotta tiles. We worked with a group of local craftspeople to create bespoke furniture, lighting and carpentry for the space.”

He added: “A large open kitchen with counter seating gives guests the opportunity to watch the food in preparation. The mezzanine area offers a view over the restaurant, and it is here that you can look over and truly appreciate the geometry, the reclaimed features, and the blend of the design.

We purposely restricted the decoration to half height to make the area more intimate. And given the restaurant’s proximity to the Clyde, we introduced a theme and a colour scheme inspired by this.”

Stephen Mallon, director at Mosaic, added: “When I first viewed the space with Stuart it was an empty white box which had been used as an art gallery and when we stripped away the white plasterboard, we were very lucky with the architectural heritage we uncovered and were able to work into the design.

Constructing a mezzanine was important in reducing the scale of the space and providing intimacy while allowing the full volume to be appreciated. Arranging this longitudinally was key to endowing the restaurant with an exciting visual depth.”

Owner Jonathan MacDonald said: “We have now completed five restaurant projects with Stuart and the Mosaic team. We always strive to create restaurant spaces that are beautiful and comfortable with a unique aesthetic but are also highly functional with an efficient workflow and built to cope with the rigours of serving a high volume of guests seven days a week. 

Our Miller Street project was far more than a typical restaurant fit out. The site was an empty shell which required change of use, planning permission, listed building consent, building warrant and a new license.”

He added: “We had to make structural changes to the building, install a lift, staircases and a new mezzanine level in the restaurant. Mosaic was the ideal practice for the project as it was able to handle all the technical, architectural and application side of a complex renovation and fit out as well as creating a beautiful, contemporary restaurant interior for Margo.

Stuart really understands the personality of our restaurants – we aim to deliver great quality, but in an approachable, democratic, confidently understated way, without any extra fuss or bling. Stuart’s designs really echo those values in all our restaurants.”