UFOs, ice grapes and dirty soda - Inside Professor Green’s PG Fast Food as it opens first outlet in Glasgow
The musician has opened his first fast food outlet in the city’s west end, with another on the way later this year. Rosalind Erskine visited to find out what’s on the menu.
Musician Professor Green has opened his new fast-food venture, PG Fast Food, in its first location of Byres Road in Glasgow’s west end today (5 March).
PG Fast Food is founded by Hero Brands, a portfolio company known for brands such as German Doner Kebab and The Sidemen’s hot chicken brand, Sides.
After teasing the concept through social channels, the brand has opened on the busy west end shopping street.
Speaking to The Scotsman in late 2025 ahead of the opening, Professor Green (Stephen Manderson) said that PG Fast Food has been born from this love of food and is a “brilliant new concept that highlights the fact that fast food doesn’t have to be bad food.”
He said: “It can be fun food, it can be indulgent but it can also be healthy without having to be boring. I don’t like using the word clean around food. I think it’s more important that we encourage people to have healthy relationships with food than food always needing to be healthy.”
The menu features UFOs which are sealed brioche buns “we won’t mention burgers as we’re not selling them,” Mr Manderson said, with a choice of fillings, which can also be enjoyed on a loaded rice or salad base.
There’s current health buzz-words such as protein and probiotic in these fillings which include: cheesy beano, BBQ chicken, pot roast beef, a vegan pickled red chilli, pea and lemon and Mr Manderson’s favourite, sticky miso salmon which comes with ginger slaw with pickled red chilli, crispy onions and sticky miso sauce.
This slaw is also a side, as are the protein cheesy beans but it’s the fluffy potato puffs that Mr Manderson thinks will be a huge hit. These light and airy bites come with a selection of sauces such as tangy BBQ, ranch, sticky miso soy and garlic yoghurt.
Back in December Mr Manderson spoke of a “dessert that I’ve never seen anywhere before.” This is the ice grapes - frozen grapes which come with a range of toppings such as agave, white raspberry delight, caramel crumble, dark chilli choc and unicorn which is a drive of condensed milk, rainbow puffs and
PG is also the home of the Dirty Soda, which include: Cola Cherry Bakewell, Hot Glasgow Kiss (Irn Bru and picante) or Cotton Candy Unicorn or diners can choose their own from a selection of fizzy juice bases and add flavours, creams, purees, caffeine drizzles and foam tops.
With the first store on Byres Road, the brand will also open an outlet on George Street near Strathclyde Uni in September and there will be a mobile food truck at the Fort Shopping Centre.
Mr Manderson, who said he’d love to do pop-up gigs in the store, said: “I wanted to drop something as bold and as honest as my music. A brand that is honest about itself and accessible - available to be enjoyed by all.
“With the Hero Brands HQ in East Kilbride, Glasgow was the obvious choice for our first store. Every time I've toured here, the energy has been electric! The city’s got grit, character and a sense of community that matches what PG Fast Food is all about - real food for real people. Food needn’t always be healthy, but your relationship with it should be.”
Leading the charge is managing director Rebecca Tye, former Head of UK Franchise at M&S, who added: “PG Fast Food is flipping the old fast-food game on its head and redefining what fast food means today.
“We’ve created a menu that demonstrates fast food does not have to be bad food. You can choose how indulgent or not you want to be on any given day, with flavour packed throughout the whole menu. It’s designed to fit as well into your day post-run as it does pre-Friday night fun.
“Glasgow is just the beginning, we can’t wait to launch the concept, develop our offering and roll out in cities nationwide.”
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