Taco Mazama founder opens Italian pasta restaurant in Glasgow

Glasgow Times

22-05-2025

Allan Bell's newest venture in the West End blends fresh ingredients with casual dining at an affordable price.
Pasticcio, located at 378 Byres Road, officially opened its doors to the public earlier this month.
Bell, who doesn't have previous experience working in Italian restaurants, told our sister title The Herald:
'I really love eating Italian food, and pasta in particular. I've always felt that there is a shortage of accessible and convenient pasta that is also really fresh.
'There seems to be very little between the supermarket instant pasta salad and the full service dine-in meal, so we wanted to do something where it would be really easy to get something for lunch or a meal on the go which is both convenient and has high quality ingredients.
'We really are going for a casual feel. We want people to be able to pop in and have a pasta for their lunch, as well as coming in for a nice meal in the evening.
Pasta is fresh-made on-site. (Image: Pasticcio Glasgow)
Bell said that it takes his team around ten minutes to shape and cook the fresh pasta and sauce, something which lends itself to convenience and efficiency.
The University of Strathclyde graduate, who founded Taco Mazama in 2009, has 15 years of experience in the Glasgow dining scene.
The Californian-inspired burrito franchise operates locations further down Byres Road and on Renfield Street in the city centre; as well as a branch in Thessaloniki, Greece.
Taco Mazama's Sauciehall Street location closed in January after three years of operation.
Asked why he believes the area would suit his new venture, Bell said: 'I'm based in the West End myself. I feel like I know the area really well. We've been looking for something here for some time now.
'It's quite a busy area. Byres Road in particular has so many kinds of customers.
'There are students coming from university, people from local businesses, tourists that are out and about, and it has also got a huge residential market so there is lots of room to tap into home deliveries.'
It's not the easiest time to open a new business in the West End, with high business rates forcing some long-time restaurants in the area to close.
Soul Food Kitchen in Finnieston ceased operations in March, while the Marigold Cafe on Park Road closed last December. 33 Irish Kitchen on Ashton Lane shut its doors in January, after being open for less than a year.
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Taco Mazama shut a city centre location earlier this year.
Indeed, the building Pasticcio now occupies has hosted a range of businesses in recent years, leading one social media commenter to call the unit 'jinxed'.
Peri-peri joint Burger Cartel served fried chicken and cheeseburgers between 2020 and 2024, preceded by Parisian cafe and patisserie Matilda's between 2014 and 2019.
At Pasticcio, customers can order a range of traditional pastas and other Italian street food specialities, ranging from freshly prepared linguine egg pasta to wholewheat fusilli and vegan pappardelle.
Sauces include carbonara, arrabbiata, and aglio e olio; while beef ragu, pesto and mozzarella, and sundried tomato and mozzarella arancini are also on offer.
Cannoli and tiramisu are available for purchase.
News of the opening was met with a range of reactions from social media users.
''Pasticcio' means 'mess' in Italian. Let's hope it's not', Laura Harper quipped.
Jim Greenway said: 'Good luck but Byres Road is a difficult trading area now due to rates, rent, water and parking costs.'
Linda McKellar added: 'Italians are very passionate about their food and I'm sure it will be very busy. Look how many cafes there are in Byres Road now, and they are always full.'
Asked for the reason behind the restaurant's Italian moniker, Bell told The Herald: "Our designer Alessio came up with the name: 'because it is a messy Italian menu and in Italian we say 'pasticcio'. Also, because 'pasticcio' sounds like pasta."
Pasticcio will be introducing an offer where customers who post content related to the venue and tag the restaurant's social media pages will earn a free espresso or cannolo.
The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner service, as well as takeaway orders, between 12pm and 10pm during the week, and 11am to 11pm on Saturday and Sunday.