Chelsea Market

Chelsea Market – Finneston’s stunning new place to be seen

Combining vintage style comfort, industrial chic and with an elegant touch of faded grandeur, Chelsea Market is a stunning new bar and restaurant in Argyle Street, Finneston, Glasgow.

The venue is owned by Glasgow entrepreneurs Lawrence McManus and Simon Green, who also own a number of other successful eateries.

The restaurant is named after a famous New York tourist attraction which features an enclosed food court/office space located in a former biscuit factory in the Chelsea area of Manhattan.

The new venue was created within a space formerly occupied by a skateboard shop, with the new interior design being created by Mark Brunjes of CM Design Consultants.

Mark Brunjes said: “Finneston is the perfect location for the new bar/restaurant as it has been voted ‘the hippest place to live in the UK’ – ahead of even London’s trendiest locations. Years ago the area was run down, but has now become extremely trendy.

“The internal space is relatively large compared to other properties in the vicinity and has a high ceiling, which the interior design enhances to maximum advantage.

“Most of the shops within the area have long narrow interiors and high ceilings – many of which have had mezzanine floors installed. The difference with this building, which has a four and a half metre high ceiling and no mezzanine, is that it is a on a corner site and the interior is almost a perfect square and fairly spacious. We decided to keep the high ceiling as a feature of the design.”

The venue’s location on a street corner combined with the high ceiling means that there are high windows on two sides which flood the interior with light and maximise views of the Sandyford Henderson Memorial Church opposite.

Numerous huge backlit glass antique mirrors (including one which is 3m wide) and distressed glass panels add to the overall effect, and at night the windows on two sides also serve to showcase the illuminated interior when viewed from the street.

The interior colour palette is quite subdued and includes black, burgundy and dark green upholstery and walls painted in warm shades of grey.

A large bespoke oak-topped feature bar with hardwood mouldings and an impressive free standing wood and glass gantry dominate the internal space. The bar frontage also features striking yellow and black handmade bricks encased in timber panelling, with curved bricks at the corners. The bar also incorporates steel and glass cabinets displaying glasses and bottles at either end.

A series of raised booths in aged crackled glazed painted wood has been installed along one side of the interior, with the remainder of the space including tables with banquette seating on one side and wooden chairs on the other, and seven free standing two seater tables.

Banquettes are upholstered with a mixture of materials including William Morris floral prints and crackling black leather.

Another striking element of the interior is the four oak-topped dining tables with reclaimed slatted bench seating covered with quilted red leather with cast iron feet. These are complimented by bespoke white and grey square tiled flooring laid in a mosaic pattern in this section of the interior, with the remaining flooring being in wood timber veneer on plywood stained in a grey shade.

The highly decorative coffered ceiling has been created from antique pitched pine of various shades split into five different sections, with each section being of a different design. The varied colours of pine were achieved through a combination of staining and beeswax.

Lighting is also bespoke and features old school style opaque glass three and five light pendants.

A new fully fitted catering kitchen, other back of house facilities and toilets are located on the basement level.

“The venue is doing very well and already attracting favourable reviews,” said Mark Brunjes.