Qasba

Louisa Boulazreg is self-taught and cooks from recipes her Algerian father never wrote down, in a Govanhill shopfront that still carries the old vintage sign reading L Hayes.

Why go

Qasba grew out of a pop-up and is, by Chitra Ramaswamy's account in The Times, the only Algerian restaurant in Scotland (Harden's). Boulazreg is of Scottish, Irish and Algerian heritage and the menu changes daily, which is the tell of a kitchen buying rather than repeating. What comes out sits in its own lane: Ramaswamy described it as "neither traditionally north African nor sweepingly Ottolenghified." The staples are there, m'touem and tagine, alongside sardines and white beans dressed in Algerian olive oil. You bring your own bottle and you book by sending the restaurant a message.

Order this / avoid

• Order: the muhammara. Walnut and roasted red pepper is a paste that lives or dies on how coarsely the nuts are ground, and Ramaswamy found this one "the best I've had, coarse and nutty, the red of old Govanhill sandstone stroked by sun" ref. Then whatever tagine is running: her tomato and leek was "a masterclass in eking out flavour from humble seasonal veg."
• Avoid: arriving with a fixed order. The menu turns over daily, so a dish you read about may be gone. Also skip Tuesday and Wednesday, when the kitchen is closed.

What locals & experts say

• Chitra Ramaswamy (The Times, 7 April 2026), on the cooking as a whole: "Boulazreg's food is sensational: intricately spiced, festooned with herbs that are put-you-on-your-back fresh, teeming with gigantic flavours and cunning ideas." She read the aubergine as its own thing, "pale and delicate, with none of the smoke and smack of baba ghanoush." Quoted through Harden's, since The Times blocks us. ref
• The List (Govanhill guide, 4 Nov 2025), placing it on the neighbourhood map: North African dishes "from tajines to merguez pitta, washed down with arabic coffee or Algerian lemonade." ref
• The Glasgow Food & Drink Wrap (June 2025) logged the opening on Allison Street under Boulazreg's name, bringing "a taste of Algeria to the city." ref

Good to know

• Where: 21 Allison Street, Govanhill. Look for the vintage L Hayes shopfront rather than a Qasba sign.
• Timing: posted hours run Thursday evening, Friday and Saturday through the day, Sunday and Monday daytime, with Tuesday and Wednesday closed. Second-hand, so confirm before travelling.
• Booking: by direct message to the restaurant. It is a small room.
• Drinks: BYOB. There is Arabic coffee and Algerian lemonade if you would rather not.
• Hygiene: the Food Hygiene Information Scheme rates the premises a Pass, inspected 31 July 2025. ref
• Provenance: added by curation, not from Jeff's own list.

Verdict (Chef Jeff ladder)

must-visit — Scotland's only Algerian restaurant, run by a self-taught cook working from recipes her father never wrote down, in a Govanhill room still wearing the previous shop's sign. The menu changes daily and it is BYOB. Chitra Ramaswamy went for The Times in April 2026 and called the food sensational, singling out a muhammara she rated the best she has had. A cook should care about this one because there is nowhere else in the country doing it and because the sourcing shows in the plate, right down to the olive oil.