Glasgow, Scottish Restaurant Guide

With the demise in recent years of its sibling venues, the ‘Two Fat Ladies’ branding is increasingly absent from Ryan James’s old-school fixture on the periphery of the city centre. Its traditional Franco-Scottish menu presents a focused range of options – typically venison, beef and fish dishes – with some spoiling puds (crumbles, possets, gateaux). For some reason, it has never generated huge amounts of feedback in our annual diners’ poll and there was too little for a rating this year. But this plush Victorian building is one of the city’s most historic eateries, and for a traditional blow-out it’s worthy of consideration.

“The revival of Glasgow‘s hip West End continues apace” and “Unalome stands out for the excellence of its cooking and the refinement of its service”, according to all reports on Graeme Cheevers’s highly accomplished and accoladed three-year-old. “Tables are set apart so that conversations can be had without neighbours overhearing” and a fair proportion of reports say it provided the “gastronomic highlight of the year”, but one that’s “a joy and unpretentious despite the level of cooking”. The main event is a seven-course tasting menu for £135 per person. Top Menu Tip – “Scallops are exceptional as is the duck. And how they manage to source Gariguette strawberries from Midi-Pyrenees is a tribute to their eye for detail”.

It’s all change at this Finnieston fine-diner – a conversion of a long derelict tenement building that was launched in 2013 and has sat at “the top end of Glasgow’s gastronomic scene” ever since. In March 2024, coinciding with the departure of co-founder Ivan Stein, chef-owner Peter McKenna announced plans to re-brand the venture as a more accessible neighbourhood restaurant, becoming part of a growing wave of restaurants dropping their tasting menus. Besides à la carte and good-value set-lunch and early-evening menus, The Gannett Vn 2.0 has introduced a new ‘Sharing Sunday’ lunch, with a refurb also apparently on the cards. Given that the only odd gripes of yore were the prices and perhaps an excess of ambition, this can only be good news for the locals – more feedback on the new direction, please!

A true “Glasgow institution” since 1971, when it was founded by the late Ronnie Clydesdale and later run by his son Colin, who sold up in 2022. Some fans “were worried that standards might drop following its sale” to pub group Greene King, but they feel “the reverse was the case: we had the best meal in years” – a view widely shared (“ownership has changed but the enjoyable experience has not”). The main dining room remains “a beautiful space”, “the service team are really helpful and friendly”, and there’s “still an amazing choice of malts” to cap off a meal of modern Scottish cuisine.

2024 Review: Occupying an interesting looking Edwardian landmark (built in 1914 as a tram stop), this “classic Italian” wins praise for its “well-cooked Italian food” (pizza, pasta, plus classic Italian staple dishes). “It can be crowded, but is very friendly”. It generated national headlines in 2023 (including in the fun-filled Sun), when owner Marco Giannasi ‘secretly’ sold the business to waiter Alex Matheson and his wife Jen Doherty (although Giannasi and his wife still own the freehold). Top Tip – “good value lunchtime offers”.

This well-heeled spot near Glasgow’s Theatre Royal is, say fans, a “great showcase for Scottish produce – from venison to scallops and langoustines” – delivering “a traditional Scottish menu with style and taste”. But one or two doubters find it “expensive” for what it is.

2023 Review: Just along the road from Kelvingrove Museum, it’s worth remembering this small-plates restaurant: the menu is inventive and all reports rate the results well.

“Sophisticated cooking that’s not extravagantly expensive” wins positive (if somewhat limited) feedback for this casual venue deep in the West End, from the team behind Cail Bruich, now in its second year of operation. There’s the odd sop to meat-eaters (steak or Barnsley chop) but most dishes are fish-focused; and although there is a range of light bites such as prawn tacos, the focus is on substantial fish dishes (e.g. sole meunière on the bone) and seafood (e.g. grilled whole/half lobster).

2024 Review: This April 2023 opening is the brainchild of Nico Simeone (of Six by Nico fame) whose wife Valentina recovered from Hodgkin lymphoma some years ago and was supported at Beatson Cancer Charity. 100% of profits from this relocated 48-seat venture (which previously operated in Whitehill Street) go to supporting the same charity. No feedback as yet in our annual diners’ poll, but The Scotsman’s Rosalind Erskine was impressed: the “chefs in charge… have come from Unalome by Graeme Cheevers… so the expectation is high, and they do not disappoint”.