Gordon Ramsay eyes Glasgow and Edinburgh openings

06-Jul-2016 - Last updated on 08-Jul-2016 at 08:59 GMT

Gordon Ramsay with former head chef Clare Smyth

Gordon Ramsay could be set to open a new restaurant in Glasgow 12 years after his Michelin-starred venue Amaryllis closed its doors in the city.

The Scottish-born chef told fans that he would ‘definitely’ return to Glasgow and was also eyeing a site in Edinburgh in an online question and answer session on Reddit.

Ramsay opened Amaryllis in 2001 with the restaurant gaining a Michelin star seven months after opening.

But the venue had a turbulent run, eventually closing its doors in 2004 following the death of head chef David Dempsey in 2003.

Ramsay later admitted that the restaurant was ‘haemorrhaging money’ and that he lost £480,000 over its three year opening.

But when questioned by fans last week the chef was optimistic he would return to Scotland.

Ramsay said: “I will definitely go back to Glasgow. We are currently looking at a site in Edinburgh and a site in Glasgow. It means a lot to me to go back there. Losing my head chef from that restaurant broke my heart, so I can’t wait to open up again in Glasgow. It would be a dream come true again. Definitely!”

When BigHospitality contacted Gordon Ramsay Group (GRG) for further comment it confirmed that it was ‘looking at further expansion across the UK’ but was unable to reveal specific details.

GRG – which runs 29 restaurants worldwide and holds six Michelin stars – announced earlier this year that it was planning to launch a series of regional UK restaurants in the next 18 months following a rise in sales at the firm.

Revenues at the group rose to £50.3m in the year to 31 August 2015 after it opened two new Maze Grill restaurants and Heddon Street Kitchen in London.

Ramsay is also reportedly considering sites in Manchester, Leeds and Birmingham as part of the ‘next stage of development’ for the group.