Restaurant Glasgow

The Mother India is an award winning Indian Restaurant in Glasgow.

Mother India opened its doors in Scotland in the early 90s and pledged a commitment to cooking homestyle ‘Desi’ Cusine.

Mother India has become one of Glasgow’s most loved Indian restaurants, if you don’t believe me take a drive past their west end restaurant at the weekend and you will usually find they are cued out the door.

Mother India services beautiful Indian food and pride themselves on providing customers with a top Indian style dining experience.  The waiters are always polite but not over-bearing, something I have noticed at other competitor restaurants.

Mother India has also opened a Deli in Bearsden called Mother India dinning in.  Their deli counter offers a range of cooked and chilled foods, specialising in light and healthy traditional Indian dishes with a good selection of fish and vegetarian options.

I would definitely recommend giving the Mother India a try, especially if you are a fan of Indian food, there curries are top notch and I’m sure you will love them!

Brown’s is one of Glasgow’s newest restaurants, located at 1 George square (next to Jamie’s Italian). It was opened in April 2011 and is operated by the UK’s leading restaurant group Mitchells & Butlers. There are another fifteen or so across the country, including Edinburgh.

Critics originally doubted whether the restaurant would pull in enough customers to support itself as it’s located outside Glasgow’s main shopping districts and faced competition from the thriving Jamie’s Italian next door and other nearby favourites such as Alan Tomkins’  Urban Brasserie. Another question was whether it would be accepted as well in Glasgow as it had been in Edinburgh – cities with very different customer expectations. However, the restaurant is constantly busy: on Saturdays you won’t even find the typical 3-5 quiet spell. After visiting the restaurant several times since the opening party, most recently last Saturday, I’ve become a bit of a regular and definitely willing to sing its praises to anyone who will listen.

The restaurant is on the ground floor of the GPO building on George Square, one of the cities iconic buildings which gives an impressive first impression. You won’t be disappointed after walking inside either; two levels of panoramic windows, dark wood floors and furnishings, mirrors, high ceilings and even a grand piano. So long as you manage to ignore any Glaswegian “characters” passing the windows if you’re near one, you actually feel you’re somewhere much more exciting.

The menu is fairly expensive, but the prices are easily justified when your food arrives. After trying a few of the mains (all very tasty), I now have favourites which I order religiously. Smoked beef carpaccio to start, the warm chicken salad as a main, and dessert depends on how I feel on the day but sticky toffee pudding is the usual winner. The restaurant also has an extensive and well designed cocktail menu, with everything you would expect to see plus several more unusual options; you have to try the kajuma! There’s a good choice of spirits, beers, and softs too.

After working in the hospitality industry for several years, poor service is something that really bothers me and will ruin any restaurant experience no matter how good the rest of it has been. No need to panic though – staff have obviously been well trained in all the basics as well as details like the importance of making sure your wine glass is always topped up. Everyone always seems to be enjoying their job too, even when things are obviously hectic, which I think is really important. No one wants a sulking waiter.

The only faults I can find are the fact it’s sometimes a little too busy and so waiting times are slightly longer than ideal, and that it is a bit pricey but as I said this is definitely justifiable considering the quality of what you get. Is Browns a novelty that will soon wear off? I honestly don’t think so…  It’s refreshing to find a more upmarket restaurant in Glasgow which actually delivers what you expect and more after seeing the prices.

The Koh-I-Noor is an Indian restaurant based in Glasgow.  We would like to hear our visitors reviews regarding this restaurant.

Koh-I-Noor
235 North Street
Glasgow
G3 7DL

Situated just off Dumbarton Road near the Glasgow Art Galleries in Glasgow’s West End.

Originally opened to serve the Indian students studying at Glasgow University, although this has become one of Glasgow’s best kept Indian secrets!

When you walk into the Banana leaf, the first thing you will notice is that it doesn’t look like the type of westernised, polished Indian Restaurants that you would come to expect, it looks more like a Cafe that you would go to if you wanted a dirty fry up on a Sunday morning to mop up the remnants of last nights alcohol fuelled night out.  However,  once you walk inside, there is such a buzz about the place, and the smell – simply amazing!

The quality of food from the Banana Leaf is amazing, it’s not like the normal Indian food that you get from other great restaurants around Glasgow.  All their dishes have a unique flavour, occasionally they taste a bit tasteless at first, but the more you eat, the more the flavour really builds until you realise you are tucking into something pretty special.

Every time I have visited this place, you always hear people asking for Masala Dosa’s, mainly Indian people, so I decided to give it a try on my last visit.  A dosa is pancake with a slightly fermented taste filled with an filling of your choice.  The Masala Dosa is filled with vegetables marinated in an amazing blend of Indian spices.

I absolutely love the Bananaleaf and would recommend it to anyone who likes Indian food, especially if they want a change from the generic Glasgow style curry that we all know and love.  I would especially recommend this to Vegetarians as they have a lot of suitable dishes.

Verdict

If you want to try a place that is all about the food and has a quirky atmosphere, give the Bananaleaf a try.  But if you want a more romantic meal in a more comfortable setting,  it might be an idea to go to the Ashoka.

Has anyone else tried the Banana Leaf?  What are your thoughts?

Banana Leaf

76 Old Dumbarton Road

Glasgow,

Strathclyde G3 8RE

0141 334 4445

Situated on the very busy Great Western Road amongst the Pizza Huts, Subways and carry out outlets is Wudon Noodlebar; an odd addition to a fairly student orientated area of the city.

Ordinarily, I would think a noodle bar would fit in well in the student packed west end but Wudon sticks out like a sore thumb. The service lacks the speed and efficiency Wagamama offers, the prices are just that bit too high for the students and the stark interiors don’t offer diners glamorous surroundings.

The food itself is bland, of the three meals my party ordered they all tasted the same and we found ourselves hunting out Wasabi to bring some flavour to the meals. As someone who is diet conscious I welcomed the addition of a non fast food eatery take away in the west end and I do enjoy noodles but a little bit  more spice wouldn’t have gone amiss.

Has anyone else visited Wudon Noodlebar? What did you think?

The Italian Caffe is the sister restaurant to the Italian Kitchen so I only thought it fair to review this restaurant too. And I was not disappointed.

The Italian Caffe is an Enoteca which means that it boasts one of the most varied and diverse wine lists. These wines are available by the glass or by the bottle, letting you taste wines that you may not have tasted before. I asked the waiter what wine would best suit my meal and they were able to recommend one. I was pleasantly surprised that the staff actually knew what they were talking about, making my dining experience that much more enjoyable.

And like the Italian Kitchen, the food from the Italian Caffe is of a very high standard, producing authentic italian cuisine with fresh local ingredients.This makes this italian restaurant one to try out, if you love italian food and a comfortable and warm atmosphere with some of the best variety of wine in Glasgow.

Bang in the heart of Glasgow is the Italian Kitchen. With Italian restaurants 10 a penny in Glasgow the Italian Kitchen has some stiff competition. The prime location obviously has its advantages but if someone is looking for good food they could easily look further afield.

The Italian Kitchen’s menu is extensive covering all the classic dishes we are used to but with a pasta and meat menu to make even the most refrained water at the mouth.

The food is freshly prepared and was very delicious. I chose the Melanzane in Carrozza,
which is fried aubergines stacked with mozzarella, followed by the homemade meatballs in a tomato sauce. The starter was very nice indeed, although I am quite the fan of aubergine, regardless it was very fresh and not overly fried, a nice thin layer of breadcrumbs with a little crunch. The meatballs were, again, very nice; the sauce was very flavoursome with a heady mix of herbs making it all a little bit more interesting.

The restaurant itself is stylish but still remaining comfortably informal.

Overall the Italian Kitchen has stayed true to the great Italian chef, and from my short time in Glasgow it has been the best of all the Italian restaurants I have dined at.

Here are some more helpful reviews about the Italian Kitchen Glasgow:

Trip Advisor

The List

Sugarvine

Serving contemporary Scottish Cuisine  Cail Bruich is a refreshing alternative to all the gastro pubs and Italian restaurants swamping Glasgow’s streets.

The Great Western Road restaurant is the second Cail Bruich the family has opened the first being in the Bridge of Weir.

The menu is a beautiful mix of gourmet and traditional; serving traditional dishes with a nice twist veering away from the typical options we are used to seeing.

On the menu for myself was Ox Cheek Pie which was delicious, perfectly cooked and quite a surprise for someone usually quite timid in the culinary department. Similarly my dining partner stepped out of the box, so to speak, and thoroughly enjoyed her Pork Belly.

Overall Cail Bruich is a warm and welcoming restaurant that offers delicious versions of our traditional Scottish meals- in a country where all too often we are choosing other national foods over our own it is nice to find a restaurant that is proud of Scottish culinary offerings and serves them in style.

www.cailbruich.co.uk

Famed for having over 60 biers from around the world the Republic Bier Halle is a small chain of posh gastro pub’s that is littered across Glasgow, and famed for its 2 for 1 pizza and pasta deals.

The Bier Halle situated on Great Western Road is one brilliant for a sunny day, with its covered outdoor seating area it is perfect for those willing to brave the miserable weather in an attempt to capture some of summer Scotland has to offer.

As previously mentioned the bar itself stocks a wide and varied range of biers, and it’s biggest selling point has to be its 2 for 1 on all pizzas and pastas. The pizza’s are freshly made, however, somewhat a bit sparse on toppings and a little dry… the bier was of course delicious, but when the bill came I was a bit surprised about how pricey the bier in fact actually was. A raspberry berry was in the £3.50 region, which directly across the road in my favorite off license The Cave costs around £2.

The atmosphere in the pub was good, the service a little slow but overall I would say that the Bier Halle food is not bad considering what you pay for, but I would recommend going easy on the pints of bier if you are looking for a cheap bite to eat, it can get pretty pricey.

Italian
Average price of 3 course meal (excluding drinks)= £20

The Mancini can found on the popular Great Western Road in Kelvinside; small in size but big in personality the restaurant is busy with welcoming staff.

As expected on a Saturday night the restaurant is busy, full a crowd that consists mostly of the young professional sort, and every table is overflowing with people having a good time.

The menu has all the main ingredients for an Italian restaurant: pasta and pizza, with a few interesting dishes thrown in for equal measure. What is so pleasing about the menu has to be the fact that it has a nice selection of starters, I feel that many restaurants let themselves down by neglecting the first course, and I particularly enjoy having a nice starter to kick things off with.

After much consideration I settled for the Gateau of Smoked Salmon and Pepper, Crème Fraiche and Citrus Salad to start with. It was, simply put, delicious; the gateau itself was incredibly light and when combined with the grapefruit that formed part of my citrus salad it was deliciously fresh; and left me feeling refreshed and ready for my main course of vegetarian lasagne.

I do this lasagne no justice when I call it a vegetarian lasagne, for it is a lasagne of wild mushroom, leek and asparagus and much tastier than any meat counterpart could ever offer. Again, the Mancini got the combination of the rich ingredients spot on with the lasagne, it was, without being crude, very very yummy, and left me wanting more.

To accompany our meal we had a reasonably priced bottle of house red wine, although I am not a wine connoisseur myself the wine was a nice compliment to the meal we had, and for those with the more experienced palette there was a wide selection to choose from.

I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to the Mancini, the food was delicious and the service impeccable, I would recommend this restaurant to anyone who enjoys good Italian food.