a day ago
- Entertainment
- Glasgow Times
New restaurant opens in Glasgow bringing a taste of Algeria to city
Located on Allison Street in Govanhill, Louisa, who is half Algerian, says she hopes the restaurant will bring something new to the city.
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(Image: Colin Mearns) She said: 'As far as I'm aware there isn't anywhere [serving Algerian food in Glasgow].
'I know there's a Moroccan place in the West End but I've only ever managed to go to one Algerian restaurant in the UK and that's been in London.
'Algerian people, we're a displaced people, we're all over the world and there seems to be more and more Algerians in Scotland now as well so I'm just trying to bring that kind of food into Glasgow to show people what we're about.'
(Image: Colin Mearns) With a frequently changing menu, Qasba - which means fortress in Arabic - serves a variety of dishes such as tagines, brik – a filo pastry stuffed with meat and potatoes - and lamb sausage.
Ingredients have also been sourced from North Africa as well, such as olive oil from Algeria and harissa from Tunisia.
Louisa's dad – who she describes as the 'tagine king' - is originally from Algeria and her grandmother was Syrian and she says as she has gotten older, she has reconnected with her roots.
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(Image: Colin Mearns) She explained: 'When my dad first moved here it was more about assimilation, there wasn't as much space to hang onto your culture, but I do think things are so different now.'
She continued: 'I'm really proud of my mix, we're Scottish, Irish and North African and I really wanted to share it with people.
'It's been a nice talking point between me and my dad, he's been giving me a lot of advice and tips on how to make the food and it's given me an insight into what his life was like before the UK.'
(Image: Colin Mearns) As well as bringing a taste of North Africa to Glasgow, Louisa also opened Qasba as she believes the hospitality industry 'needs a bit of a change'.
Having worked in the industry for years herself, Louisa feels staff, who are often younger, can be treated 'pretty bad' but wanted to create a 'safe space' for them to work.
The 36-year-old said: 'Coming from a diverse background, I wanted to create a space that reflects the value of community.
'It's only a small space, but I think now more than ever it's important to help hospitality move forward.
'We get a bad rep, sometimes for good reason, but I think the younger generation deserve better.
'The biggest reason was for me to have the opportunity to spend more time with family, and I want to encourage a better work/ life balance with the people that work in Qasba as well.'
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Louisa, who has lived and worked in Govanhill for around 10 years, says the community have been 'incredible' in their support since she opened.
She said: 'People just really want to get involved and I feel very lucky and very loved.
'That's been a really beautiful experience and from what I've heard people have been enjoying the food which has meant a lot.'
She continued: 'I'm very lucky to live where I live.
'Govanhill itself has the biggest mix of people in Scotland; there's over 300 languages here so it's a really amazing environment to be in.'
Qasba is located at 21 Allison Street and is open Thursday to Monday.
