Nisha Katona MBE, founder of the Mowgli Street Food group, has confirmed that the brand will open its first Scottish restaurant in Glasgow this autumn, describing the move as a "long-overdue homecoming for Indian street food in Scotland."
The new site, located on Buchanan Street in Glasgow's prime retail and dining corridor, will seat approximately 120 covers across two floors and follows the group's established formula of communal benches, sharing plates, and a menu rooted in the home-cooked food of Indian families rather than traditional restaurant dishes.
Speaking to The Mise, Katona said the decision to expand into Scotland had been driven by persistent demand from Scottish customers who had visited Mowgli sites in Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds and London.
"Glasgow has one of the most vibrant and curious food cultures in the UK," she said. "The city has an incredible appetite for bold, honest food, and we've been welcomed warmly by the Scottish market for years. It feels completely right."
From barrister to restaurateur
Katona, a former barrister who founded Mowgli in Liverpool in 2014, has built the brand into one of the UK's most recognisable independent casual dining groups. The company now operates 14 sites across England and Wales, having weathered the pandemic, cost-of-living pressures, and the broader upheaval that has reshaped UK high street dining over the past decade.
Despite the challenging environment, the group reported a strong 2025, with like-for-like sales up 11 per cent and a full return to profitability following the disruption of 2023's energy cost surge. Katona credits the group's relative resilience to its decision to retain tight operational control rather than pursue aggressive franchise-led expansion.
"We've watched brilliant concepts get stretched too thin," she said. "We'd rather open one restaurant a year and get it right than flood the market and lose the soul of what we do."
Glasgow hiring underway
The Glasgow opening will create approximately 60 jobs, with recruitment for senior kitchen and front-of-house roles already underway. The group has confirmed it is seeking an experienced head chef with strong knowledge of South Asian cuisine and a commitment to scratch cooking — no concentrates, no shortcuts.
Training for Glasgow staff will take place at the group's Liverpool flagship, with Katona personally involved in the induction programme. "Every Mowgli is a family restaurant in the truest sense," she said. "The people who open these doors set the tone for everything that follows."
The site is expected to open in October 2026, subject to fit-out completion.