Altasawuq — التسوق
Al-tasawuq. The shopping. Not a market, not a shop — the act itself. The walking, the choosing, the weighing out by hand. The bit that a weekly click-and-collect slot took away from us.
Anyone who grew up going to the souk, the bazaar or the sabzi mandi knows what a supermarket aisle is missing. Someone who knows which chilli is hot and which is only red. Whole spices that still smell of something. The right cut of meat because the butcher asked what you were cooking.
Why we started
Because finding a proper jar of anardana, a decent Ajwa date or an atta you actually recognise should not mean driving across a city — or settling for whatever the big supermarket decided this year.
We are a Glasgow family business. Our shop is on Nithsdale Street in Pollokshields, and our website carries the same range to the rest of the UK.
What we stand for
- Halal only. Every food product we sell is halal. Not most. Not nearly all.
- The whole shelf. Twelve kinds of dal, not two. Nine varieties of date. The masala for the dish, not a generic curry powder.
- Honest about what things are. Real weights, real origins, real ingredients on every page.
- Fair prices. No inflated “speciality” pricing because a spice is unfamiliar to a buyer in a head office.
More than food
A home is not only what is cooked in it. So alongside the food we stock the karahi and degchi it is cooked in, the crockery it is served on, foam and cushions cut to fit the sofa you sit on afterwards, clothing, and the prayer mats and lanterns that make a house feel like yours.
Bringing the souk home. That is the whole idea.
Altasawuq Limited
19B Nithsdale Street, Glasgow, G41 2PZ
Company number SC824783 · VAT GB 489316841