Glasgow is renowned as one of the best places to get a curry in Britain. With scores of Indian restaurants, all catering to slightly different needs, it can be difficult to decide on the best place for your curry fix. This is your guide to four of the best Indian restaurants in Glasgow, considering price, quality and atmosphere, so that the next time you feel like spicing things up, you will know just where to go.
Mother India’s Café – 1355 Argyle Street
When you ask people where the best Indian is in Glasgow, the answer is more often than not: ‘Mother India’ (or ‘Mother India’s Café’). Stemming from the original Mother India restaurant, the café, situated opposite the iconic Kelvingrove Art Gallery has a reputation that certainly precedes it. A slightly more informal affair than the original, serving tapas with a twist, Mother India’s Café boasts an impressive menu of both classics and more unusual dishes, all coming in at under £6.00. The idea is that you order two or three dishes and a couple of sides to share, so whilst this might not be the best bet for the food hoarders amongst you, the informal atmosphere creates a lovely homely feel. Next to the Café there is also ‘Dine In’, where the chefs will prepare anything from the à la carte menu for you to take away, giving you the option of tapas or full size portions. With amazing quality, reasonable prices and a relatively informal atmosphere, Mother India’s Café is perfect for a family meal, a night out with some friends or a really decent takeaway. This Glaswegian institution will not disappoint.
Standard Main Course Price: £4.00 for one tapas dish.
Recommended Dish: South Indian Ginger Lamb.
The Little Curry House – 41 Byres Road
Having mentioned Mother India’s Café, it is only fitting to now recommend a place that is in many ways its little sister, both in size and history. The Little Curry house is a dinky restaurant, whose owner used to be the head chef at both Mother India and Mother India’s Café. The Little Curry house has been a staple of the Glaswegian curry scene since 1988, and the father and son duo who run the place are committed to offering the same excellence in both service and food as any larger restaurant. The menu is relatively small, but in a way that assures every dish will be cooked to perfection, and has an impressive amount of vegetarian dishes. The curries (not tapas sized) normally sit around the £8.00 mark, and the excellent quality and speedy service make them more than worth the price. Ask to be seated on the mezzanine floor, right above the tiny kitchen, where you can watch (and smell) your food being cooked from scratch. They also offer takeaway, and a very reasonable pre-theatre and lunch menu, with the lunch menu coming in at two courses for an incredible £5.50. The Little Curry House is small but perfectly formed. Suited for an intimate, casual meal, the friendly service and amazing value will make you feel right at home, and won’t be too hard on your pocket.
Standard Main Course Price: £7.50.
Recommended Dish: The Garlic Chilli Chicken.
Mister Singh’s – 149 Elderslie Street
Self-proclaimed ‘Glasgow’s most famous Indian Restaurant’, the award winning Mister Singh’s is run by three generations of the Singh family, and is hard to ignore. The contemporary restaurant has a classy polished interior, fusing the East with the West, creating classic Indian food with a Scottish twist. The menu is large, offering connoisseur’s choices, house specialities, old favourites, and a vast amount of vegetarian dishes, as well as tapas options. The curries are slightly more expensive than those of Mother India’s and The Little Curry House, but the portion sizes are bigger and the quality arguably better. The service is impeccable, and the waiters are more than happy to expertly talk you through the menu, or change the spicing of any dish to suit your palate. You may even encounter a Singh family member, proudly welcoming you into the restaurant’s loyal family. If you’re willing to fork out a little more than you would for a standard meal out, Mister Singh’s ensures you get what you pay for in both quality and quantity of food as well as dining experience. Suitable for a casual meal or a special occasion, Mister Singh’s restaurant will always make you feel like the most important customer they have ever had.
Standard Main Course Price: £12.50.
Recommended Dish: The Ambala. The family’s unrivaled signature dish, made from a secret recipe.
The Dhabba – 44 Candleriggs
One of the most decorated Indian restaurants in the city in terms of glowing reviews and awards, The Dhabba is out to impress. Specialising in authentic North Indian cuisine, The Dhabba takes it’s name from the roadside diners common to the region. The restaurant uses the finest quality Scottish ingredients, and the best spices imported from India to create their superb menu. The interior is very upmarket, and the prices reflect the standard of the food and the experience, making The Dhabba a place to go to celebrate a special occasion (or when your parents are footing the bill!). Despite the slightly higher prices, there is no denying that you are paying for quality. The menu is comprised of North Indian specialities from the sea, land and garden, as well as unusual dishes prepared and cooked in a clay oven, where you choose your meat and your sauce separately. However, the crown jewel of The Dhabba has to be the Dum Pukht. Individual to the restaurant, this dish dates back to the 18th century and means ‘to breathe and to cook’. The food cooked in the dish (there are several different options) is sealed over with a roti and left to cook in it’s own juices, losing nothing in the process. This produces a culinary delight which is special both in terms of flavour and experience. Whilst it may be stretching the budget a bit, The Dabbah is the place to go for something really special, and is the only place of its kind in Glasgow. The uniqueness and excellent quality of the food, as well as the top-of-the-range service, will make this a meal to remember.
Standard Main Course Price: £14.50.
Recommended Dish: Murg Dum Nizami Dum Pukht.
