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Globe pendant lights hang above an empty restaurant dining room, potted plants lining a partition wall between rows of tables.
Glasgow

Ka Pao

South East Asian cooking for sharing in the basement of the Botanic Gardens Garage, from the team behind Ox and Finch, open every day from noon.

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Welcome

Down a green door on Vinicombe Street, below the white-tiled Botanic Gardens Garage, Ka Pao cooks food influenced by South East Asia for up to 120 people at a time.

Visited and photographed by Simon Hird

It comes from the team behind Ox and Finch, the Sauchiehall Street restaurant they opened in 2014, who tried the idea out first as a residency at SWG3 and a string of pop-ups before opening here, in the basement of the restored, category A-listed garage, in 2020.

The room is big and bright, with plants spilling from shelves, globe lamps, red walls and wooden booths, and the kitchen is open along one side, where the chefs work the woks. The dishes are for sharing; the first menu brought messy prawns in orange, tamarind and palm sugar caramel, squash and potato curry with cardamom and coconut, and slow-cooked pork cheeks with star anise and galangal. There is a separate bar for cocktails. Ka Pao opens every day from noon, and there is a second in Edinburgh's St James Quarter.

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Before you go

Ka Pao opens every day from noon until midnight.

Book ahead, especially at the weekend.

Hours
Daily, 12:00 to 24:00.
Where
26 Vinicombe Street, G12 8BE.
Also
St James Quarter, Edinburgh.

Opening hours

Their website
Monday
noon–midnight
Tuesday
noon–midnight
Wednesday
noon–midnight
Thursday
noon–midnight
Friday
noon–midnight
Saturday
noon–midnight
Sunday
noon–midnight

Eaten here? Tell others what to order and when to go, and the best go on this page with your name.

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Did you know

A sign reading 'Ka Pao' with a downward arrow is painted on a shop window beside a tiled corner building and a dark green door.
Did you know

It is in an A-listed garage.

Ka Pao fills the basement of the Botanic Gardens Garage on Vinicombe Street, a category A-listed building converted for restaurants.

Globe pendant lights hang above an empty restaurant dining room, a shelving unit of potted plants dividing the tables from a red-fronted bar.
Did you know

The name is holy basil.

Ka Pao takes its name from the Thai word for holy basil.

A man in an apron leans against a tiled wall beside a sign reading 'Ka Pao' and a dark green door.
Did you know

It comes from the Ox and Finch team.

The same team opened Ox and Finch on Sauchiehall Street in 2014, and runs the kitchens and front of house of both.

A tall brick railway viaduct with repeating arches catches warm evening light above an open field lined with hedgerow.
Did you know

It started as a pop-up.

Before opening, the team gave diners a preview of Ka Pao with a residency in the Acid Bar at SWG3 in 2018 and several pop-up dinners.

Globe pendant lights and paper snowflake decorations hang above an empty restaurant dining room, a shelving unit of potted plants dividing the tables from the windows.
Did you know

It seats 120.

The basement holds 120 diners, with a separate bar area.

Ben Lerwill

From our guide to Glasgow

Red curry of sea trout, coley and langoustine? Jungle curry of Shetland mussels and Ramiro peppers? Southeast Asia meets Scotland at this colourful restaurant, which sits in a converted garage close to the Botanic Gardens. The name translates as ‘Holy Basil’ in Thai.

Read more
A man in a chef's apron stands smiling beside a green door on a tiled corner building.
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Where it is

26 Vinicombe Street, below the Botanic Gardens Garage in the West End.

Close byRound Byres Road.
  1. The counter at 1841, pale wood and a coffee machine under hanging lamps, shelves of coffee bags behind.1841The West End café of Thomson's, Glasgow's roaster since 1841, on Vinicombe Street.Under a mile 1 min by road
  2. Copper leather banquettes, brick walls and hanging plants.The ParlourA cocktail bar with a beer garden on Vinicombe Street, by the top of Byres Road, serving beer, cocktails and tacos, with DJs at the weekend.Under a mile 1 min by road
  3. A box of decorated donuts under Nic's pink lid.Nic's NYC DeliAn American-style deli at the top of Byres Road, with a cabinet of doughnuts, pressed New York sandwiches and pancake stacks.Under a mile 1 min by road
  4. Cresswell Lane in the West End, whitewashed buildings and hanging baskets along the setts, the De Courcy's Arcade sign on the right.Cresswell LaneA lane of setts behind Byres Road, of small shops, cafés and pubs.Under a mile 1 min by road
  5. HoosHoosA design and lifestyle shop across from the Botanic Gardens, with homeware from the Nordic design houses to Scottish independents.Under a mile 1 min by road
  6. Glasgow Botanic GardensGlasgow Botanic GardensGlasgow's botanic gardens at the top of Byres Road, free every day, with the Kibble Palace of 1873.Under a mile 3 min by road
Directions
Bartender behind the counter with shelves of spirits and cake displayCafeNaked SoupA step away
A pulled beef burger topped with onion rings, and a bowl of chips.RestaurantsOld Salty's0.2 miles
The Gothic towers of the University of Glasgow's main building under a grey sky.AttractionsHillhead0.2 miles
Kochchi's yellow brick building on Ruthven Lane at night, with its balcony lit above and its masks painted on the walls.RestaurantsKochchi0.2 miles
Starry Starry Night's green timber front on cobbled Dowanside Lane, with a rail of vintage clothes under a striped awning and framed pictures on the wall.ShoppingStarry Starry Night0.2 miles
The Chip's whitewashed front on the cobbles of Ashton Lane.RestaurantsUbiquitous Chip0.3 miles
Brel's garden at dusk under a tree lit pink, tables full.RestaurantsBrel0.3 miles
Cobbled lane with cafe tables, a "Collection Point" sign and Slush Fountain bannerAttractionsAshton Lane0.3 miles
Mural of a girl in a headscarf on a Glasgow tenement wallAttractionsByres Road0.3 miles

Recommend to a friend

Stay nearby

Places to stay near the restaurant, and when each is next free.

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Check datesA grey corner sofa with cushions and a sheepskin throw sits before a shelf of books and a round mirror, a wood burning stove and log store to the right.Talli House
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