10 Great Restaurants in Glasgow

Crabshakk is a restaurant in Finnieston specializing in seafood. Established in 2009, it consistently hits the spot with fresh oysters, chowder, whitebait, mussels, langoustines, and whole brown crab. If you really can’t choose, you can’t go wrong with the mixed fish platter.

Footballing legend David Beckham famously praised the place when he visited in 2019, singling out the finely cooked scallops and rollmops that he remarked, “Reminded me of my nan”. If the Finnieston location is fully booked during your visit, the good news is that there’s now a second branch in the Botanic Gardens Garage, within a 10-minute drive north.

Unalome offers fine dining with fusion European cuisine in the Finnieston neighbourhood of Glasgow. This restaurant at a corner on Kelvingrove street and just a stone’s throw from Kelvingrove Park was awarded a Michelin star within a year of opening.

The restaurant’s name is taken from the Buddhist symbol that represents the path to enlightenment. Follow your own culinary journey as you experience creative and exquisitely presented modern European dishes influenced by Asia. Watch the award-winning patron chef and his team prepare your orders from the tasting menu – the likes of north sea turbot and cured royal bream – in their open kitchen.

Cail Bruich is a modern restaurant in Glasgow whose name translates to, “to eat well”. And that’s exactly what you can expect to do at this Michelin-star restaurant. Its interior is charming and elegant, with exposed brick walls, classy leather banquettes and modish copper lighting with tungsten bulbs.

The contemporary vibe translates to the plate too. A typical tasting menu might feature Isle of Skye langoustine, Peterhead cod or aged Goosnargh farm duck. Reserve a place at the chef’s table, where you can watch the kitchen team work their magic right in front of you.

Bilson Eleven is a fine-dining restaurant that has played a significant role in helping to shine the spotlight on Glasgow’s East End. Foodies flock to this 19^th-century townhouse to while away a few pleasurable hours and work their way through its inventive tasting menu.

Every aspect of the food is explained at the table. Dishes such as wild venison with smoked eggplant and Aragon olives, line-caught cod accompanied by preserved morels and pickled English truffle, and chocolate tart with cherry and licorice are as exquisitely presented.

Café Gandolfi is a stylish restaurant in Glasgow that feels old school from the moment you step through its revolving door. You’ll be ushered to a table flanked by wood paneling, and although its decor seems old-fashioned, what’s on the plate is worthy of any 21st-century dining room.

On the wall, a sign reads Deagh Bhiadh, Deagh Bheannachd (Gaelic for “Well fed, Well blessed”). That’s how they want you to leave after ordering a classically Scottish Cullen skink cod or dishes inspired from further afield such as chicken Parmigiana or BBQ Hispi cabbage with cashew butter, kimchi and puffed rice.

Ubiquitous Chip is a Scottish restaurant in Glasgow where you can enjoy fine cuisine in an artistic setting. When Ronnie Clydesdale first opened it more than 50 years ago, he wanted to showcase the best Scottish ingredients. This trailblazing philosophy has been much copied, but “The Chip” more than manages to hold its own.

You’ll need several visits to Ubiquitous Chip to do justice to its menu. Highlights from the many must-try dishes include venison haggis served with turnip and potato purée, hand-dived Barra scallops, Loch Melfort sea trout, and Tweed Valley steaks.

Stravaigin is a Scottish restaurant and a place to go for the experimental and the adventurous in Glasgow. Nowhere else in Glasgow could you imagine finding squirrel, rook or goose barnacles on the menu.

If that’s a little too unorthodox for your palate, be reassured that much of what Stravaigin serves is more mainstream, though with a playful twist so that it’s never ordinary. Enjoy Shetland mackerel with garden pea velouté, salt-baked kohlrabi and potato salad, followed by pineapple tarte Tatin with coconut and lime sorbet drizzled with cardamom syrup.

Two Fat Ladies at The Buttery is a warm Scottish restaurant in Glasgow that impresses with its old-school décor the moment you walk through the door. Dark wood paneling complements tartan carpets and upholstery. Together with wait staff wearing kilts, they create a classically Scottish ambience which evokes a bygone era without feeling dated.

The food, too, reflects the best of Scottish produce. To start, perhaps order the line-caught mackerel with apple and pear slaw or smoked salmon with pickled fennel and beet salad. Mains are equally tempting: breast of wood pigeon accompanied by Savoy cabbage and bacon or broiled sole Veronique. Round off with a sweet dessert or a selection of local cheeses with Arran oatcakes and homemade chutney.  

The Gannet is an award-winning fine-dining restaurant in Glasgow serving food that’s unmistakably Scottish. Oysters from the crystal clear waters of the Isle of Gigha in the Inner Hebrides, Cairngorm red deer and Fife strawberries highlight the quality and diversity of local produce.    

The restaurant itself is as much a treat for the senses as is its food. The place has bags of charm and character.  Stone walls, textured wood sculptures, exposed ductwork and matte black steel columns create a contemporary but never pretentious vibe.

The Bothy is tucked away down a cobbled alley in Glasgow, a characterful place that evokes the Highlands despite its city location. Much of the food is quintessentially Scottish: Ayrshire pork belly, Cullen skink, haggis, roe deer loin, and heather honey parfait feature alongside stalwarts like chicken, steak and salmon.

In summer, the restaurant’s garden is a suntrap by day and a magical, fairy-light-filled space by night – kilted servers will supply blankets if you’re feeling chilly. Alternately, muster up a group and rent out The Scullery, the Bothy’s private dining room, with an open fireplace that is a real treat in winter.