5 Best Restaurants in Glasgow, Scotland

This immensely popular restaurant shines at every level—service, presentation, and taste. The stripped-back, rustic decor encourages chatter and the sharing of the eclectic small plates that are its specialty. You choose perhaps two or three plates—larger than tapas and beautifully presented—from meat, fish, cold starters, vegetable, and vegan lists, which then arrive as they are ready. The chef combines colors and tastes in often surprising ways, like poached hake with red pepper and capers, lamb and bone marrow kofta, and confit duck with Thai yellow curry and rice. The desserts continue the theme with options like raspberry and olive oil millefeuille. The service is relaxed, friendly, and informative, and the wine list is enormous. Booking ahead is essential.

Inside what was once the mansion of tobacco merchant George Buchanan, the Corinthian Club includes two bars, a nightclub, and a casino in its maze of rooms. At the heart of the building, the main restaurant, the steak-and-seafood-focused Brasserie makes a dramatic first impression with its glass dome and statues. You can dine here, take afternoon tea, or sip a cocktail in one of the small rooms that divide this huge space, but don't expect to find a quiet table in a corner.

Glasgow's first dedicated South Indian restaurant adds a unique taste profile to the city's already accomplished Indian dining scene. Occupying a large penthouse space on Candleriggs, the luxurious restaurant's menu is entirely gluten-free and allows diners to mix-and-match thanks to its variety of small plates. Chickpea flour is used across the board in all baked dishes, from the delicious naans to the iconic (and huge) rotis. The small plates mean costs can quickly add up, so if you are looking for a taste of luxury at a lower price, get in before 6:30 pm when the pre-theater menu offers a selection of the same dishes at reduced rates. 

In a street of adventurous eateries, Six by Nico adds a new dimension of fun and wit. The concept at this intimate, modern restaurant with black tile, wood floors and tables, and black chairs is a six-course tasting menu linked to a theme that changes every six weeks, whether it's fish-and-chips or Route 66, with dishes that deconstruct and reconstruct the familiar. Five dishes are savory, one is sweet, and the staff lovingly introduces each course. Reservations are essential. The cost of the tasting menu is £25; there is a wine-pairing list for the same price.

Occupying a converted stable behind the Hillhead subway station on busy Ashton Lane, this restaurant is a Glasgow institution, with an untarnished reputation for creative Scottish cooking. Its street-level restaurant is a beautiful courtyard protected by a glass roof, and the more informal brasserie upstairs also serves less expensive dishes like haggis with neeps and tatties or a plate of mussels. The upstairs bar is invariably full and noisy with conversation. The creative menu might include cod with hazelnuts and truffles, or Galloway roe deer, and there is an excellent lunch and pretheater menu for two or three courses.