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Glasgow’s vibrant restaurant culture is constantly renewing itself. Some of Britain’s best-known chefs have opened kitchens here, including Jamie Oliver and Yotam Ottolenghi. More recently, the city has responded enthusiastically to the small-plate and sharing-platter trends, but there are still plenty of fine-dining options on the one hand, and steak houses and burger places on the other. The city continues to present the best that Scotland has to offer: grass-fed beef, free-range chicken, wild seafood, venison, duck, and goose, not to mention superb fruits and vegetables. The growing emphasis on organic food is reflected on menus that increasingly provide detailed information about the source of their ingredients. Around the city, an explosion of coffee shops offer artisanal macchiatos and mochas.
You can eat your way around the world in Glasgow. A new generation of Italian restaurants serves updated versions of classic Italian dishes. Chinese, Indian, and Pakistani foods, longtime favorites, are now more varied and sophisticated, and Thai and Japanese restaurants have become popular. Spanish-style tapas are now quite common, and the small-plate trend has extended to every kind of restaurant. Seafood restaurants have moved well beyond the fish-and-chips wrapped in newspaper that were always a Glasgow staple, as langoustines, scallops, and monkfish appear on menus with ever more unusual accompaniments. And Glasgow has an especially good reputation for its vegan and vegetarian restaurants.
Smoking isn't allowed in any enclosed space in Scotland, but more restaurants have placed tables outside under awnings during the warmer summer months, some of which permit smoking.
This warm and welcoming old merchant's house in the heart of the Merchant City offers excellent Scottish food, a barbecue menu, and a lively charming bar area. On Wednesday or Saturday traditional musicians gather for an impromptu session in the bar; the rest of the time there is just conversation. The vibe is friendly, particularly in winter when there is an open fire in the grate; there's also an outdoor terrace in summer.
You can experience dining at its most sumptuous and elegant for a good price in the grand surroundings of what was the Glasgow Conservatoire, where today golden Buddhas sit comfortably beside busts of great composers. The delicate flavors of Thai cooking are at their finest here in the chef's wonderful signature Massaman lamb (and beef) curry, flavorsome Fisherman's Soup, and fusion dishes like scallops with black pudding. The ballroom, with its chandeliers and balconies, offers dining as theater; or you can book the tiny two-person table on a balcony looking down for an intimate experience.
Thick wooden tables, tapestries, and soft candlelight make you feel at home in the comfortable dining room of this atmospheric haven serving an intriguing mix of Indian and Persian fare. A family-owned restaurant, it's all about healthy, flavorful cooking; chicken tikka masala in a yogurt sauce or lamb korma with coconut cream and fruit or the Persian shashlik are good picks. Accompany your meal with bowls of basmati saffron rice and fluffy naan bread. You could start with a shared plate of Indian starters for three or four people. This popular place continues to win award after award; reserve ahead on Friday and Saturday.
Miss Cranston's Willow Tea Rooms were the ultimate place to be seen in Glasgow in 1903, not only for the tasty tea but for the beautiful art nouveau decor and furniture designed by a young architect by the name of Charles Rennie Mackintosh. The original tearooms have now been fully restored here, and you can lunch on traditional Scottish cuisine or take an elegant high tea in the exquisite surroundings of the Salon de Luxe.
One of a new breed of burger joints that has emerged in the city, this casual spot with long wooden tables, stools, and benches is also a meeting place for coffee or a drink. The many creatively stuffed burgers and sauces are accompanied by different poutines and cheese toasties, a variation on the British classic known as rarebit. There's a good vegan and vegetarian menu, too. The West End branch is strategically located a block from Byres Road and the Glasgow Botanic Gardens.
Originally built in 1827, this attractive hotel restaurant often has a piper by the door to greet hungry travelers ready for a Scottish setting and some Scottish fare. Tartan carpets, dark-wood paneling, and buck heads mounted on the walls set the mood, and the bar is a shrine to Robert Burns. The surrounding gardens overlook the Brig o' Doon as well as a small, rushing river. The food keeps to the Scottish theme: try panfried scallops with citrus butter to start, and venison casserole with juniper berries and creamed potatoes or the haggis with neeps and tatties (served with a dram) as a main course. There are several rooms for rent upstairs.
The name says it all: this pleasant, airy café pays homage to all things brunch. There are eggs in every combination, decadent waffles and French toast, and a delicious array of classic brunch cocktails from Bloody Marys to mimosas. It's located close to the Kelvingrove Museum and offers boozy brunch deals that keep it popular with large groups, especially on weekends.
Down an innocuous-looking flight of stairs, this intimate restaurant is the type of place young locals love: flickering candles, mix-and-match crockery, and inventive, inexpensive food that offers new twists on the familiar. The menu reads like a comedic narrative, with descriptions like "traditional fish-and-chips, battered to death" or "Supreme Commander chicken." Vegetarians are not as well catered to, but they can at least can try the popular portobello-mushroom burgers with extra-thick potato chips. The chef uses only local ingredients, so the menu changes daily. A tea shop upstairs serves wonderful cakes and old-fashioned high tea.
With Iberian flair, this lively basement eatery located on the cobbles of Cresswell Lane is beautifully decorated using Spanish tiles throughout. The first tapas place to make an impact in Glasgow, it has been followed by others (and has opened a second location in the City Centre) but remains one of the most successful. This is an ideal way to dine with friends: sharing the dishes as they arrive and as you down some good Spanish wine. (Rioja is always a reliable choice.) Booking ahead is strongly advised.
This Italian-style café with alfresco seating for good weather serves lunch and smaller bites to a mainly day-visitor crowd. The ciabattas and soups are well made and substantial, if not enormously adventurous, and the staff is attentive.
An iconic burger restaurant on Duke Street in Dennistoun, this independent spot has quickly become a cult favorite in the area, with tables filling up most nights of the week. The no-frills burger joint serves huge topped burgers (with vegan and vegetarian options too) and delicious ribs. They even serve Mexican Coca Cola, which still sticks to the 1980s recipe and is made with raw cane sugar.
This popular West End Italian deli/restaurant hybrid is located beside the Gibson Street entrance to Kelvingrove Park. The deli counters are packed with the type of high-quality Italian ingredients that dreamy summer picnics are made of—think cured meats, antipasti platters, and miniature sweet pastries—while the dine-in menu makes use of these quality ingredients with a familiar mix of rich pasta dishes, pizzas, and Italian sandwiches. It's especially busy during weekend lunch service and the summer, when the restaurant doubles in size thanks to its large number of outdoor tables. Make sure to save room for the famous ice cream, some of the best gelato Glasgow has to offer.
Close to Glasgow University, this popular bar and restaurant attracts a more mature student crowd. It's an airy spot with high ceilings, leather sofas, and wood floors, and the specialty is good, eclectic international food at reasonable prices. It covers the spectrum: breakfast, brunch, small plates, lunch, and dinner. The extensive menu is impressively varied, including Goan chicken curry, Vietnamese soup, harissa halloumi, and even fish-and-chips. This is a relaxed, unhurried place, whose casual air belies its excellent cooking.
Offering all things Italian, this constantly busy, noisy, and extremely friendly café sits in the heart of the West End. Its pizzas, made on the premises while you wait with a coffee or a glass of Italian wine, are probably the best around, and the house-made pastas are just as consistently good. You can create your own pizza combination from the many topping options, but do leave room for the tiramisu. Perch on a stool by the window with a cappuccino while watching the world go by, or grab a seat at one of the crowded tables or in the mezzanine.
The friendly staff at this huge, popular Cantonese eatery guide you through the dishes here, including barbecued duck, deep-fried wontons with prawns, and more challenging dishes like pork with jellyfish or king prawn with salted egg. On most days you will see local Chinese families seated at the huge round tables enjoying the dim sum for which the restaurant is rightly famous. This isn't the place to come for quiet intimacy, but it's good food in a lively atmosphere.
This casual and unassuming pizza place holds a special place in the hearts of Glaswegians and visitors alike. Serving up Naples-style pizzas with large bubbly crusts, the short but confident menu (you choose from a rotating selection of 8 pizzas) is extremely affordable, with prices beginning at just £7.50. No reservations are allowed, which often leads to long lines on weekend nights. The kitchen works quickly, however, and the wait is never too long.
Down a quiet lane near Glasgow Central station, this ultracool eatery dishes up a fantastic range of vegan food, from paella and gnocchi to a colorful platter with hummus, red-pepper pâté, and home-baked flatbread. The decor is homey and relaxed, and someone always seems to be nearby reading or writing. Paintings, posters, and announcements of upcoming concerts in the space downstairs line the walls. The music is excellent, but never so loud as to disturb the serious business of eating. The kitchen closes at 9.
This microbrewery serves beer brewed "according to German purity laws of 1516"—in other words, no additives to muddy the flavor. The German theme is continued with the slightly cavernous dining space dotted with large wooden tables, and the food, which includes wursts, Wiener schnitzel, and goulash. A more limited bar menu is served in the very popular beer garden. West is in the famous Templeton Carpet Factory on Glasgow Green, built to resemble the Doge's Palace in Venice. You can tour the brewery Friday through Sunday with four tasters as part of the price.
This small but inviting café has a vibrant, bustling atmosphere while remaining unhurried. Its changing breakfast and lunch menus of British fare are always fresh and exciting. The excellent breakfasts are available all day until 4 pm; you'll have to battle for a table on Sunday, so book ahead if you can. The dinner menu (served Thursday through Saturday) comprises small plates; try the dressed Orkney crab and the lamb with salsa verde. The atmosphere is more intimate for dinner service, with candlelit tables that attract an elegant, well-heeled crowd.
