In conversation with Gamba owner Mohammed Rehman
Mohammed Rehman and his sister Raheela own Glasgow restaurant institution, Gamba. Over a year in, how are they finding it? Just one of several questions Rehman answers in our first blog of many!
You've owned Gamba for over a year. What's been the biggest highlight so far, and what are you most proud of?
Enhancing Gamba’s reputation for excellent seafood, wine, and a warm welcome in stylish surroundings. We’ve been part of the Glasgow restaurant scene for 28 years this autumn, so it’s quite an achievement. Our regular guests have been coming to Gamba for decades, while new ones are discovering us more and more. I’m also really proud of what Raheela has done with our social media and organising our live music nights, where the tables always go quickly. Live music is a first for Gamba. All in all, we’re so proud to be part of something that has lasted this long.
What first attracted you to Gamba, and what made you decide it was the right business for you?
Where do I start! So many considerations. Gamba’s reputation and how it’s close to the hearts of so many Glaswegians, and guests from around Scotland, the UK, and overseas. It’s a beautiful restaurant, fine dining, but relaxed, and a warm Scottish welcome. Some customers from my other café business were also long-standing Gamba guests, and they enthused me about it, along with the previous owner’s passion for the business. I just knew it was the right business for us.
About your other businesses - has that experience influenced the way you run the restaurant, or is Gamba hospitality a completely different challenge?
Gamba is very different from my other business. In a great way. There are, of course, crossovers between any two hospitality businesses, like our work ethic and how we wish our guests to feel – making each one leave with the same smile I wear every day. It may have been a bit of a challenge to begin with, but we’re now well into our stride and putting our own creative stamp on the business. Long days, but incredibly rewarding.
How would you describe Gamba to someone who's never visited before? What makes it stand out from other seafood restaurants?
There aren’t many people who haven’t visited or haven’t heard of it! The heritage and name are part of Glasgow’s restaurant history. It’s a beautiful basement restaurant where as soon as you walk in, a sense of calm washes over you, and you wouldn’t know the busy city centre was on our doorstep. Our food is delicious. It’s a mixture of simple seafood cooking (and non-seafood dishes) with an imaginative twist. We treat guests like family, and want them to enjoy an experience.
Seafood is all about quality. Why is that so important to you?
We have a long-established relationship with our suppliers and trust them to source the very best seafood and steaks, chicken, vegetarian, DF and GF ingredients – we cater for all tastes. We never stint on quality – whether it’s the provenance of our seafood or steaks for our incredibly popular Wednesday Surf and Turf deal.
If a first-time guest only had one visit, which dishes would you encourage them to order, and why?
Our Fish Soup. We didn’t change the recipe, and it’s a staple of our menu. Try as they might, our guests can’t quite get the recipe at home! I’d also recommend the Monkfish and King Scallops – the big reveal from the paper and the aroma of flavours is an experience in itself. I’d also say the Lemon Sole Grilled. So simple but so very tasty.
Have your guests surprised you over the past year? Are there any dishes or experiences that have become unexpected favourites?
All the time. Many of them are so keen to get our recommendations. The Wild Halibut has perhaps become an unexpected guest favourite. An American couple last week who had never tasted Halibut before were curious about it. I suggested it, and they loved it. A lot of customers have surprised us with heartfelt compliments and have been so supportive of what we’re doing.
What have you learned during your first year as owner that you perhaps didn't expect before taking over?
It’s such a Glasgow restaurant institution and always so busy that it was slightly overwhelming at the start, but now we love it. Saturdays and Wednesday nights are particularly busy. We have a special Saturday lunch menu served from midday to 6 pm, and, as I mentioned, our midweek Surf and Deal. We also didn’t expect just how deeply our guests who’ve been visiting us for years care for Gamba and are happy knowing it’s in safe hands.
Looking ahead, are there any exciting plans for the restaurant over the next 12 months, whether that's new menus, more live music events or other improvements?
We would love to do a lobster night and expand the kitchen so we can open more days! We change the menus every quarter, and we have many more live music nights and other surprises up our sleeve. Watch this space.
What's the most memorable compliment you've received from a guest?
That Gamba was a gem of a Glasgow restaurant – ‘friendly fine dining’, is how they put it!
If you could invite any three people, living or dead, to dinner at Gamba, who would they be and what would you serve them?
It would be Gordon Ramsay, Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson, to try our fish soup, Wild Halibut and Lemon Sole. I’m that confident that they’d love them!
Finally, what would you say to someone who's been meaning to visit but hasn't yet? Why is now a great time to book a table?
You’ve got to come and see what we’ve done with Gamba. Yes, there’s continuity, but we have also introduced so much more to the restaurant and menus. With Christmas around the corner (our Christmas menus are now live), it’s a wonderful time to see what Gamba is all about.
We talk to Raheela in our next blog – stay tuned!
