Hardens Guide to the Best Restaurants in Glasgow
Hardens guides have spent 30 years compiling reviews of the best Glasgow restaurants. On Hardens.com you'll find details and reviews of 269 restaurants in Glasgow and our unique survey based approach to rating and reviewing Glasgow restaurants gives you the best insight into the top restaurants in every area and of every type of cuisine.
Featured Glasgow Restaurants
1. Cail Bruich
British, Modern restaurant in Glasgow
725 Great Western Rd - G12
“Really carefully thought out and extremely well executed dishes” – “some of the best in Scotland” – “showcase the best of Scottish produce” at Paul & Chris Charalambous’s under-the-radar, yet exceptional West End outfit. “Even when a dish is a little challenging – such as a pre-dessert of white asparagus parfait with black olive meringue and marinated strawberries – when eaten the combination was a delicious revelation”. “A slight refresh to the décor has worked well, though there’s not much they can do about the unprepossessing exterior”.
2. Battlefield Rest
Scottish restaurant in Glasgow
55 Battlefield Road - G42
It is as a family-friendly option that Marco Giannasi’s quirky Southside landmark – occupying a 1914 building once described as Scotland’s most glamorous tram stop – attracts most nominations; on the large Italian menu: pizza, pasta and a variety of affordable dishes.
3. The Dhabba
Indian restaurant in Glasgow
44 Candleriggs - G1
“Right in the centre of Glasgow”, and with “trendy” décor, this Merchant City fixture (est 2002) is beloved for its “different” North Indian dishes, notably “excellent dosas”. Usefully, nearby sibling Dakhin is that rare restaurant offering 100% gluten-free Keralan cuisine.
4. La Bonne Auberge
French restaurant in Glasgow
161 West Nile St - G1
2019 Review: Part of the Holiday Inn, this long-established brasserie has origins dating back over 40 years and is quite well-known to locals as a city-centre standby. Limited feedback regarding its 1970s-style French bistro/brasserie staples (soupe à l’oignon, boeuf bourguignon, Pêche Melba) but it’s tipped before a show at one of the nearby theatres.
5. Celentano's
Italian restaurant in Glasgow
109 John Knox Street - G4
Opening August 2021 in Glasgow's Cathedral House building, from Darby's head chef Dean Parker and his wife Anna; Italian small and sharing plates from a low-waste kitchen.
6. Ubiquitous Chip
Scottish restaurant in Glasgow
12 Ashton Ln - G12
“Still with a buzz about it” – this sprawling West End legend is fast approaching its 40th anniversary and still manages to be both “different and classical”. Its many fans agree that it’s “wonderful for both food and environment”, not to mention its bible of a wine list and “awe-inspiring malt whisky selection” (of which “the staff have a remarkably broad and deep knowledge”). Now run by Colin Clydesdale, son of founder Ronnie, the ‘Chip’ has a more casual brasserie upstairs.
7. Ox and Finch
British, Traditional restaurant in Glasgow
920 Sauchiehall St - G3
“Adventurous taste combinations, very consistently delivered” via a good selection of “innovative small plates” score top marks last year for this Finnieston gastropub. Service is “lovely too” and the only gripe is that some seats are “a wee bit cramped”.
8. Rogano
Fish & seafood restaurant in Glasgow
11 Exchange Place - G1
“Such an institution” and “a true throwback to the 1930s” – even reporters who hadn’t visited in a quarter of a century were delighted to find that “little has changed” at this “timeless” dining room, where “the menu is biased towards seafood and, where the genuine Art Deco interior (created in 1935 by the same craftsmen who fitted out the Queen Mary) is a joy to behold”. Naturally the big draw is the room itself, but the food is well-rated too.
9. Two Fat Ladies at The Buttery
Scottish restaurant in Glasgow
652 Argyle St - G3
“In a quiet Glasgow backstreet” (between the M8 and the SECC) and with an “unassuming” exterior, Ryan James’s “splendidly preserved institution” is one of the city’s oldest venues, complete with an “unexpectedly beautiful interior” (of the tartan-clad, vaguely baronial variety) lined with booths – a “fine destination that has maintained standards for many years” (especially for Scots seafood).
10. Crabshakk
Fish & seafood restaurant in Glasgow
1114 Argyle St, Finnieston - G3
It’s “very crowded”, but there’s no knocking the “consistently fabulous fish and seafood” (which comes at “amazing” prices) at this idiosyncratic Finnieston fixture. You eat either counter-style at the front, or at a “closely-packed table” in one of the many nooks at the back or in the small upstairs section.
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