As the largest city in Scotland and one of the most diverse, it’s no surprise that Glasgow is home to some of the best restaurants in the world. Whether you’re gunning for a specific local dish or pining after something from your homeland, you’re bound to get what you’re looking for and more in this wonderful city. Despite Edinburgh being the city known for its Michelin-star cuisine, Glasgow is no slouch when it comes to fine dining and hidden-away eateries serving top-notch delicacies. Regardless of what you’re after, this list of the best restaurants in Glasgow will give you some of the best advice on where to find it. Once you’ve decided on your travel dates, check out our Scottish travel guide.
Introducing the best restaurants in Glasgow
No trip is complete, without finding the hidden culinary gems in the place you are visiting. Make sure that you take a look in our list with the best restaurants, to get a taste of Glasgow.
1. Shucks
Menu: Mostly seafood
Shucks is considered one of the best restaurants in Glasgow’s city centre, even if it is a couple of minutes west of the actual centre; it offers guests a taste of some of the best seafood in the country. With the Atlantic Ocean bordering the west coast of Scotland and the North Sea bordering the east coast, it’s no wonder the country is known for its locally sourced fresh fish. Shucks is one of the best seafood restaurants in the country, with produce that is as locally sourced as possible and a drinks menu that’s created in collaboration with local distributors and brewers. The Fish Supper and the Surf & Turf are two of the restaurant’s most popular mains.
2. Bilson Eleven
Menu: Multi-course tasting menu of seafood and game
Bilson Eleven is one of the best fine-dining places to eat in Glasgow and can be found nestled away in the suburb of Dennistoun, east of the city centre. You’ll be dining in one of the oldest tenement buildings in the area. With a relaxed, informal and iconic setting, you can expect a Scottish seafood and game tasting menu that’s been prepared with creativity, passion and the utmost respect. There is a standard price of around £110 as of the time of this writing, and let me tell you, it’s well worth the price!
Those with mobility issues will need to enquire before, as the dining areas are split over two floors and there is no access via a lift. Bear in mind, the restaurant asks guests to allow for at least 3-4 hours for the entire tasting menu.
3. Celentano’s
Menu: Italian inspired
Celentano’s was awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand within the first six months of its opening and provides guests with some of the tastiest Italian food imaginable. The food is elegantly prepared with some of the best seasonal ingredients and an unmatched passion that it seems only Italians can muster. The restaurant is set within an iconic and age-old Cathedral House that’s a stone’s throw away from the centre of the city. It’s the ideal spot for Italian food lovers looking for a spot to enjoy a properly prepared Negroni alongside authentic Italian pasta.
The restaurant offers its services between 12:00 and 14:45 for lunch and from 17:45 until 20:45 for the dinner rush, so make sure you book a table between these hours and come prepared to be wowed.
4. Mother India
Menu: Indian food
Mother India is considered a Glaswegian icon and is known best for its incredibly flavoursome and exquisite Indian cuisine; it’s been serving the public since the early 1990s. It’s rare to find a restaurant that prides itself on authentic Indian homemade food and actually delivers. Believe me, I’ve travelled the world looking for Indian food that tastes as good as it does in India, and I haven’t been able to find it until walking into Mother India. It’s been featured in prominent food guides across the world, for a very good reason.
My favourite dish was the Seabass with Chickpeas, Small Diced Potato and Tomato, and I had it with a side of Chana Daal. Trust me when I tell you, it’s mouth watering.
5. The Gannet
Menu: Seasonally changing multi-course menu
The Gannet offers some of the finest food in Glasgow and prides itself on being a modern take on traditionally Scottish cuisine. The chefs work closely with numerous local producers and farmers to ensure they source the best quality they can from as close as they can, and use that produce to develop a menu that’s constantly changing, due to the availability of products. You could spend the year going to The Gannet and enjoy a vastly different menu each season.
Peter McKenna is the head of the kitchen and strives to blend contemporary techniques with traditional style, to offer a modern fine-dining experience that’s uniquely Scottish. Kevin heads up the front of house and offers guests a relaxed and informal experience.
6. The Hanoi Bike Shop
Menu: Vietnamese
The Hanoi Bike Shop is one of the newest additions to the Glaswegian restaurant family. It offers guests a canteen-style Vietnamese setting with some culturally significant dishes, including both seafood and beef pho, prawn crackers, jungle mussels and much more. The Hanoi Bike Shop is dedicated to providing its guests with an authentic Vietnamese experience, with painted walls, chairs and floors, as well as local and international beer coupled with Vietnamese cuisine. There’s little need for visiting Vietnam after spending time at The Hanoi Bike Shop.
An important thing to keep in mind is that the food comes out as it’s prepared, so there isn’t much chance of eating meals together. In true Vietnamese style, tables are encouraged to share meals and eat from each other’s plates and bowls. Some might say the camaraderie is worth being a little uncomfortable.
7. The Hug and Pint
Menu: Vegan food designed for sharing
The Hug and Pint is a vegan restaurant that’s accompanied by a West End bar vibe, drawing in musicians and artists from around the globe and city. Southeast Asia is the inspiration for the menu, with dishes like kimchi rice pudding and miso potatoes, among many, many others. One of the best things about The Hug and Pint is the evening soiree you can look forward to. The cosy downstairs area perks right up in the evening and lauds itself over other venues as the place to be for many small acts touring the country.
8. Stereo
Menu: Pub lunch in Glasgow
Stereo has slowly become one of the go-to places for the alt generation and offers guests a central location with incredible pub food and drinks. Add to this a varied programme of events and concerts and you have a place that is banging until all hours of the morning, especially over the weekend. The venue combines a bright and colourful interior with mismatched tables and chairs and a plethora of wall posters, to give you a space that feels like it was meant for an artist or anyone who feels like they don’t fit in. Stereo is the place for misfits and music lovers across Glasgow to catch their favourite bands while indulging in their signature dishes like haggis koftas and calzones.
9. Fanny Trollopes
Menu: Bistro
As a compact, little neighbourhood bistro, Fanny Trollopes has caused quite a stir over the last couple of years, with its changing menu and locally sourced produce. Fanny Trollopes offers guests some of the most delicious seasonal produce whipped up and put together with locally sourced meat or fish and presented on a decorated plate for you to enjoy. The restaurant specialises in seafood, fish, lamb, Scottish beef, game and fowl, but they do offer vegetarian and vegan options that cater to everyone’s dietary needs.
10. Brel
Menu: Varied
Brel is the only Belgian-themed bar in Glasgow and offers guests a unique Belgian experience with a variety of favourites, including sharing tacos, loaded fries, burgers and even moules-frites. Moules Mondays give guests the chance to try Brel’s signature dish for a fraction of the price. One of the best things about Brel is the wide selection of Belgian beers provided, while some of the most popular treats, apart from their moules-frites, include their toasted cheese and ham sandwiches and pork belly.
11. Vega
Menu: Mexican accented
Located on the top floor of Yotel Glasgow, Vega serves a larger-than-life food and drink compilation coupled with a bowling alley for you and your friends to take your nights out to the next level. The venue offers guests buns, subs and wings alongside some of the most tantalising cocktails in the city, and there’s a full-day dining offering that’s sure to satisfy you. There’s a weekend brunch every Saturday and Sunday served between 12:00 and 16:00 and a monthly disco brunch to take you right back to the 60s.
12. The Grosvenor Cafe
Menu: Cafe style
Located slap, bang in the centre of Ashton Lane, The Grosvenor Cafe perfectly utilises its 1920s architecture to transform itself into a beautiful and cosy spot to grab a libation and have a delicious snack. The cafe is made up of the Lane Vinyl Bar, an independent cinema and the cafe, and it’s an award-winning restaurant that’s been popular with the locals and visitors since its beginning. On the menu, you’ll find a couple of classics, including steamed mussels in a garlic and parsley white wine sauce or a standard venison mash and gravy, as well as dishes from Southeast Asia like chilli chicken curry or chicken skewers with a peanut sauce.
13. Cail Bruich
Menu: Seasonal British produce
Cail Bruich is an absolute winner, pioneered by Chef Lorna McNee and her staff, the restaurant and kitchen strive to offer guests the highest quality food and drink that’s been sourced as locally as possible. The tasting menu changes according to the seasons and is dictated by locally available ingredients, which sometimes come from the garden kitchen on site. Chef Lorna McNee is, at the time of this writing, the only female chef in the country that has a Michelin star, and it only took her five months to achieve it. If you’re looking for a tantalising evening with mouth-watering delicacies, this is the restaurant for you.
14. Eighty Eight
Menu: Varied/Buffet
One of the drawing features of Eighty Eight is often drying homemade tagliatelle hanging in the window, inviting guests in to try some authentic, homemade pasta from the ever-changing menu. Eighty Eight prides itself on being a seasonal restaurant that only uses ingredients that are locally sourced and available according to the current season. You’ll find a variety of locally sourced fish, vibrantly coloured fruits, beautifully made puddings and so much more every time you step into this gem of an establishment.
15. Number 16
Menu: International
Number 16 is an award-winning eatery in the heart of the West End of Glasgow and has, slowly but surely, become one of the local favourites. With a regularly changing menu and an international influence, you’ll find a wide range of delicacies to choose from that includes things like a duck with mashed potatoes and pan-fried sea bream, cucumber, olive and fennel salad with pesto. From Monday to Saturday, the restaurant is open from 12:00 until 14:30 and from 17:30 until 21:00, while on Sunday it’s open from 13:00 until 14:30 and 17:30 until 20:30.
16. Unalome
Menu: Fine dining
Unalome gives guests the chance to immerse themselves in a luxury culinary experience that’s unrivalled by any other, with a unique and exclusive viewpoint manufactured by Chef Graeme Cheevers. The eight-course exclusive menu is personally curated by the chef; it’s designed using seasonal ingredients and fused with both traditional and modern cooking techniques. You’ll have a full view of the preparation of each dish, giving you more intimate involvement and shedding light on the creative process.
17. Five March
Menu: Varied
Many places in Glasgow are considered hidden gems in the UK, but a lot of the lists leave off this gem of a restaurant. Located on a quaint street near Kelvingrove Park, Five March comes with a lovely outside seating area and small plates that have been inspired by a global influence. The avant-garde drinks, including fermented corn, Mezcal and various cocktails, offer a little extra spice to your evenings.
18. Drygate Brewing Co
Menu: Pub food
Drygate is dedicated to offering guests incredible food coupled with a wide selection of locally brewed beer. With 23 rotating taps on-site and a curated and specially designed selection of bottles, Drygate Brasserie aims to deliver outstanding service and flavours without singling anyone out. It feels like a pub but presents like a fine-dining establishment. Bear in mind, children are permitted in the restaurant until 21:00 but turns into a no-under-18s venue after that.
19. Tantrum Doughnuts
Menu: Dessert
We can’t end a restaurant list without talking about delicious desserts. Doughnuts might as well be a national dish in the UK, and the options available at Tantrum Doughnuts will blow you away. In 2015, Tantrum Doughnuts launched a city-wide doughnut craze when they opened and has been offering a monthly rotated flavour profile ever since. If you’re able to get there during the right season, try the pistachio and tahini custard doughnut and go out with style.
That ends our list of the best restaurants in and around Glasgow. Give a couple of them a squizz while you’re there and be sure to reach out and let us know what you think, and whether there are any you think we should have included.
