Grosso Glasgow is set to open at 424 Duke Street. The Italian-American spot is the latest product of Simon Ferry (known as Si Ferry).
The assistant manager at East Kilbride, 37, announced his plans for the eatery earlier this year.
And Si has revealed that it will be open before the end of September, with the “first dining events for invited guests taking place next weekend,” according to Glasgow World.
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Si told the site that he was especially keen to open a spot on Duke Street, he said: “When I lived in Dennistoun, this is the type of place I was looking for, somewhere everyone can come, really affordable, good food that folk will love. I want this to be for local people and I want people to come to Dennistoun for breakfast, lunch or dinner and go to some of the other bars as well.”
“I live in the West End now, but I come back here all the time. Dennistoun is my favourite neighbourhood in Glasgow. I want people to come to the restaurant and see what Dennistoun is all about.”
He also revealed that he met one of the award-winning chefs who’ll take to the stoves through a fellow former footballer.
He said: “I met Aiden McGeady, just by chance, and said I was thinking about opening the restaurant. When I said it would be Italian, he said Chris Rouse is your guy.
“Chris actually played at Celtic with me when he was a young kid. I didn’t remember that, but I did remember him from when he was at Celino’s. I tried a couple of his pasta dishes, and I just fell in love with his food. The three of us have got together and we’ve come up with this concept of Grosso.”
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The restaurant will serve a delicious variety of pizzas and pastas and will encapsulate everything Si loves about his food.
He explained: “I’ve three loves in my life. It’s my kids, my football and my food. This is something I’ve always wanted to do.
“I want to have a Glasgow restaurant where people can come in and have a good time with friends and family.
“Anyone who has listened to the podcast knows I talk about food more than I talk about football. I love New York restaurants, and Italian American dishes are one of my main influences when it comes to food. That’s been part of the inspiration for the menu.
“Food was a big part of what happened in my football career. I was always overweight when I played football.
“I was told to stay on a strict diet but we had an Italian restaurant at the bottom of the road when I was at Swindon, Fratellis.
“I ended up being really good pals with the owner, I still speak to him now, they had a chicken and asparagus risotto that would blow your mind – full of cream and butter, I was eating that about four times a week.
“That’s probably the reason my football career went the way it did – fantastic Italian food. So I may as well make a new career out of that. I think, for footballers, you live such a rigid life with food Monday to Friday, maybe on a weekend you get some pizza or pasta and it’s something to look forward to.
“Friends I have in football like Scott Arfield and Charlie Mulgrew, they are excited about the restaurant. I’ve asked Slaney to talk to Kieran Tierney about visiting.
“I’m actually doing a bit of training now to help out front of house.
“It will be nice to have people I’ve known for years coming in with their families and enjoying the food. Most of all, I’m looking forward to the people who live here in Dennistoun seeing what we are going to do.”
We reported how plans were revealed for the new restaurant in the East End in April 2025, when a planning application was submitted to Glasgow City Council for the venue.
The site was previously occupied by a Lloyds TSB bank, which closed in 2021. Since then, the unit has been vacant.
The plans revealed the eatery would have a pizza oven and a pasta machine. They also unveiled that it would seat around 36 diners.
Dining and Cooking