This Glasgow restaurant has been serving a 100-year-old secret recipe to celebs and Celtic stars for over 30 years.

30 years ago, if you were working in one of the many offices in Glasgow city centre and had a hankering for a strong Italian homemade coffee that would knock the life into you, there were but a handful of options.

When a little deli serving its own secret recipe of special blend opened its doors on Wellington Street in 1992, there were said to be queues out the door.

(Image: Newsquest) This deli was the product of two brothers, Sandro and Piero Sarti, and their business partner Gerry O’Donnell. Does the name Sarti ring a bell? It’s stayed the same ever since.

As its success grew, Sarti placed more focus on being a restaurant, but so many customers trying to pile in meant that an expansion could work.

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The story goes that in 1995 a regular diner, also an architect, suggested to Mr Sarti that he knock through the wall to the building around the corner on Bath Street and make two venues with a connecting door. Sarti Bath Street was born.

(Image: Newsquest) The second and bigger restaurant only led to more popularity for the Italian eatery. It was praised for its authenticity, with the London Times describing it as “not an Italian restaurant, but a restaurant in Italy”.

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The brothers and their partner sold Sarti to Sandro’s daughter and other directors in 2008, but the name lived on as a place for everyone to enjoy a small taste of Italy in the city centre.

Office workers discuss business meetings over a glass of wine picked from the towering display on the wall, couples tuck into tiramisu in the romantic glow of candlelight, and busy shoppers dive in and out for a quick espresso made with the 100-year-old Sarti recipe.

Chris Pine at SartiChris Pine at Sarti (Image: Sarti) The deli side of things never faded either, with guests greeted by shelves packed with bottles of Italian wine, packs of pasta in all sorts of shapes and colours beyond the standard penne and jars of bright red pepper pesto with vintage-looking labels.

With their iconic hampers topped off with a neatly tied ribbon, Sarti makes its way to the homes of the customers who love their food so much, that they fancy having a try of replicating it for themselves. 

READ MORE: Story of the 'first' Italian restaurant in Glasgow that survived for 40 years

Like so many restaurants in a major city like Glasgow, Sarti has not been without its problems, and the challenges of the pandemic led to the loss of their third restaurant on Renfield Street.

(Image: Newsquest) But as staff migrated to Bath Street and Wellington Street like ‘ducks to water’, the restaurant proved that with a good name behind it, a solid foundation in the city, delicious food, a hard-working team and loyal customers, it can survive.

The eatery is one of many in the city popular with our footballing stars when they’re not deep in training. Last season, six Celtic stars - Carl Starfelt, Alistair Johnston, Benjamin Siegrist, Jota, Oh Hyeon-Gyu and Matt O'Riley - popped in to celebrate a Scottish Cup triumph.

(Image: Sarti) The Sarti name has become so iconic over the years that its reputation has reached as far as Hollywood. Celebrities such as musician Jools Holland have popped in for a bite, while actor Chris Pine celebrated his birthday with a meal at Sarti while he was in Glasgow filming Outlaw King.

Batman himself Michael Keaton dined at Sarti while the sadly-scrapped Batgirl film was in production in the city – hopefully, the Batmobile didn’t get a ticket for being parked outside.