{"id":20276,"date":"2025-04-14T21:53:12","date_gmt":"2025-04-14T21:53:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/20276\/"},"modified":"2025-04-14T21:53:12","modified_gmt":"2025-04-14T21:53:12","slug":"beloved-glasgow-restaurant-under-threat-as-bosses-say-use-it-or-lose-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/20276\/","title":{"rendered":"Beloved Glasgow restaurant under threat as bosses say ‘use it or lose it’"},"content":{"rendered":"

A TOP Glasgow restaurant is facing closure due to rising costs.<\/p>\n

Japanese eaterie Mikaku has posted an impassioned plea to diners to help bosses save the venue with a 30-day campaign to turn round its fortunes.<\/p>\n

\"Mikaku<\/a><\/p>\n

1<\/p>\n

The restaurant opened its doors in 2019<\/p>\n

And to entice customers, the popular spot is offering 20 per cent off everything – food and drink<\/a> – throughout the month. <\/p>\n

Mikaku opened on Queen Street in 2019 offering a ‘little piece of Tokyo in the heart of Glasgow<\/a>‘.<\/p>\n

The interiors<\/a> are seriously impressive with a full size cherry blossom tree, street art and neon signs giving it the feeling you’re in the backstreets of the Japanese capital.<\/p>\n

It serves up izakaya style food, from gyoza and karaage to ramen and katsu curry, as well as signature cocktails. <\/p>\n

And there’s even a mini soft play in the back for kids to play in.<\/p>\n

But despite being popular with loyal city diners, bosses say they are being hammered by forces outwith its control.<\/p>\n

Skyrocketing costs, unreliable public transport<\/a> and city centre parking struggles have all piled on the pressure \u2014 and now the Employer National Insurance rise is tipping the balance for many independents like Mikaku.<\/p>\n

Director Nathan Sparling said: “We\u2019re lucky to have an incredibly supportive landlord and a brilliant community around us.<\/p>\n

“But the rising cost of simply existing as an independent hospitality venue \u2014 especially in the city centre \u2014 is now overwhelming. This campaign is about more than saving one restaurant<\/a>. It\u2019s about fighting for culture, creativity, and fair opportunity in Glasgow.\u201d<\/p>\n

The team says the Scottish hospitality and night-time sectors are currently facing significant challenges, marked by a concerning trend of venue closures and economic pressures. <\/p>\n

Recent data reveals that between March 2020 and the end of 2024, Scotland experienced an 11.9 per cent decline in licensed premises, reducing the total from 10,541 to 9,283 venues.\u00a0<\/p>\n

First look inside revamped hit restaurant that was forced to close during covid<\/p>\n

The Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) further highlights a 34 per cent reduction in Scottish nightclubs, decreasing from 125 venues in 2020 to 83 in 2024. <\/p>\n

And a survey by the Scottish Licensed Trade Association (SLTA) shows six per cent of Scottish licensed hospitality venues are considering closure due to escalating costs and economic uncertainty. <\/p>\n

MY VIEW<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I AM a big fan of Japanese food.<\/p>\n

In my 20s I lived in the country for a couple of years and, because of that, it’s probably my favourite cuisine in the world.<\/p>\n

But it’s not easy to get the delicious, authentic flavours of Japan in Scotland.<\/p>\n

That was until Mikaku opened in 2019. Since then it’s become my absolute favourite restaurant in the city and it’s the place I recommend most often to pals or people visiting Glasgow.<\/p>\n

The food is exceptional, the atmosphere is second-to-none, the service is as warm as their steaming bowls of noodles and it’s also great value to boot.<\/p>\n

A half bowl of ramen with some pork gyoza and their signature furikake fries is an ideal meal for me, any day of the week.<\/p>\n

So I popped in with the family over the weekend, keen to show my support and help save this brilliant venue.<\/p>\n

Three of us ate and drank until we were fit to burst – with a brilliant bento for my five-year-old, complete with ice cream and a toy.<\/p>\n

And with the 20 per cent off it came to just over \u00a345. <\/p>\n

You can’t argue with that.<\/p>\n

So whether you’re a long-time fan or first-time diner, I add my plea to those from Mikaku’s bosses to get down there, eat a good meal and help keep the doors open.<\/p>\n

In response, on April 11 Mikaku launched a 30-day campaign to save the space with daily specials, exciting events and limited-run dishes designed to bring people together and showcase what\u2019s at stake.<\/p>\n

Nathan said: “It\u2019s our way of saying thank you \u2014 and giving people a reason to come out, bring friends, and help us keep something amazing alive in the city centre.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A TOP Glasgow restaurant is facing closure due to rising costs. Japanese eaterie Mikaku has posted an impassioned…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":20277,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7826],"tags":[748,487,786,918,4884,2122,712,895,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-20276","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-glasgow","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-cost-of-living","10":"tag-food-and-drink","11":"tag-glasgow","12":"tag-great-britain","13":"tag-japan","14":"tag-scotland","15":"tag-section-moneynews-money","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114338543945534570","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20276","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20276"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20276\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20277"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20276"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20276"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20276"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}