The owners of an award-winning Glasgow West End restaurant are to expand with a new venue in the city centre.

The managers of the Left Bank, in Gibson Street, near Kelvingrove Park, have applied for planning permission to take over a prime site in the Merchant City previously occupied by Cafe Mao, which closed last year.

If approved, work to renovate the building will begin in March, with a scheduled opening in June.

The Left Bank Merchant City will be a split level restaurant with a basement bar, following the same gastro-pub theme as the West End venue.

The Left Bank in Gibson Street opened in July 2006. Under the ownership of Catherine Hardy and Jacqueline Fennessy, it has won various awards, including Best Newcomer, Glasgow in 2007 and Best Cheap Eats from The Observer Food Monthly 2007.

Catherine and Jacqueline then joined forces for another venture, the Two Figs restaurant in Byres Road, which opened last year.

It was nominated Most Stylish Restaurant at this year’s Scottish Style Awards.

Ms Hardy, 36, said the West End business had been largely unnaffected by the economic downturn, which had allowed them to take advantage of competitive property prices to expand.

She said: “Property prices are coming down and we managed to get a good price for the Merchant City site.

“Our priority with the Left Bank was to offer reasonably priced good wholesome food and we have not really felt the downturn.

“The Merchant City already has a number of good restaurants, including Gandolfi’s and Metropolitan, but we felt there was a gap in the market for what we offer.

“We hope to get permission to operate the downstairs part of the venue as a bar to offer somewhere formal to get a drink and go for a night out, as well as meal.

“The clientele will be slightly different to our West End restaurant, with more people coming straight from work, so the Merchant City venue will be tailored to reflect this while offering the same things we are known for in the West End.”