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Arisaig
Candlelight, crisp linen, an open kitchen and calming landscape pictures on the walls combine to create a soothing, relaxed dining atmosphere in this classy, airy restaurant. Dishes are divided into The Sea and The Land and are sourced from around the country, like grilled Shetland monkfish or Ayrshire lamb cutlets. This place is also highly regarded for its inventive vegetarian dishes that include roast pepper and red onion sausages.
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Bar 91
By day this happy, buzzy bar serves excellent meals, far better than average pub food. Salads, pasta and burgers are among the many tasty offerings, and in summer tables spill out onto the sidewalk - ideal for some people-watching of the bold and the beautiful variety.
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Bar Soba
With seating around the edges of the room and candles flickering in windows there's a certain sense of intimacy in this stylish and very friendly bar. You can eat in the plush downstairs restaurant, or in the bar. The food is Asian fusion and the laksas go down a treat - followed up of course with an irresistible chocolate brownie. Background beats are perfect for chilling and it can be a good spot to escape Friday evening crowds.
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Bay Tree Café
The mostly vegetarian Bay Tree Café is super value. It has smiling staff, filling mains (mostly Middle Eastern and Greek), generous salads and a good range of hot drinks. The cafe is famous for its all-day Sunday brunch, featuring veggie burger, tattie scone, mushrooms, beans and tomato. It also serves a vegan breakfast. Good people-watching potential too.
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Bothy
A bothy is not normally the most comfortable of abodes, but this West End player boasts a combo of modern design and comfy retro furnishings. It also blows apart the myth that Scottish food is stodgy and uninteresting. The Bothy dishes out traditional, uniquely Scottish, home-style fare - such as stoved howtodie wi' drappit eggs: translation, pot-roast chicken stuffed with white pudding, served with spinach and a poached egg.
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Brutti Ma Buoni
If you like dining in a place that has a sense of fun, Brutti delivers - it's the antithesis of some of the pretentious places around the Merchant City. With dishes such as 'ugly but good' pizza and 'angry or peaceful' prawns, Brutti's menu draws a smile for its quirkiness and its prices. The Italian and Spanish influences give rise to tapas-like servings or full-blown meals, which are imaginative, fresh and frankly delicious.
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Buttery
This well-respected, elegant restaurant is just west of the M8. Although it's surrounded by grim, grey, tower-block flats (get a taxi here or drive), it's a top, Victorian-era restaurant offering fine dining among crisp tablecloths and oak panelling, with a classy clientele to match. The menu is a combination of seasonal Scottish and British organic produce.
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Café Gandolfi
In the fashionable Merchant City, this cafe was once part of the old cheese-market. It's been pulling in the punters for years, and packs an interesting clientele: die-hard Gandolfers, the upwardly mobile and tourists. It's an excellent, friendly bistro and upmarket coffee shop - very much the place to be seen. Book a Tim Stead-designed, medieval-looking table in advance for well-prepared Scottish and Continental food.
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Café Lava
Everyone wants to live next door to a cafe like this. The understated menu here delivers delicious home cooking. Try the Stornaway black pudding and eggs Benedict. The coffee is some of the best around town, and the carrot cake the best in Scotland: we know, we tried it from Dumfries to Shetland.
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Centre for Contemporary Arts
The lovely, open cafe at the Centre for Contemporary Arts is a trendy dining experience and a popular meeting spot. The skylight-roof makes you feel as though you're dining outdoors. Food highlights include the soups, pasta dishes and fish cakes with avocado and dill relish.
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Dakhin
This south Indian restaurant breathes some fresh air into the city's curry scene. Dishes are from all over the south, but we recommend that you try a dosa (a thin crispy crepe full of yummy stuff) or a thali if you're really hungry - which is basically Indian tapas. South Indian cooking is fragrant and noted for its use of coconut.
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Firebird
A combined bar and bistro with a cheery feel, Firebird has zany artwork on its bright walls and, more importantly, quality nosh whisked under the noses of its patrons. Local flavours and Mediterranean highlights (mainly Italian and Spanish) are evident and organic produce is used wherever possible. Taste sensations range from wood-fired pizzas to a Moroccan chicken and chickpea salad.
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Lily's Coffee Shop
Don't be put off by the slightly sterile feel, this is a top lunch spot fusing a creative blend of east and west. It's a unique cross between a Chinese bistro and chic cafe with made-to-order Chinese food (such as dumpling buns and mandarin duck wraps) and standards like burgers and baked potatoes that are tarted up almost beyond recognition. The Chinese food is outstanding - fresh, lively and served with fruits and salad.
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Moka
If you're looking for lunch in the West End, drop into Moka where you can sit in or take away (to the nearby Botanic Gardens, for example). Sarnies, paninis, baguettes and salads are all on offer, and fillings are fresh and inventive. It's also good for vegetarians, and there are freshly squeezed juices available. For brekky you can't go past the pancakes.
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Mono
Combining vegetarian food with music, Mono is one of Glasgow's few vegan eateries. Monorail is in the same premises which means you can browse through an indie record shop while waiting for your food to be prepared. The all-day bar-menu provides classics such as the breakfast fry-up while the main menu has a touch of flair demonstrating a Mediterranean influence. The lasagne is well worth ploughing through.
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Oran Mor Brasserie & Conservatory
This temple to Scottish dining and drinking is a superb venue in an old church. Giving new meaning to the word 'conversion', the brasserie pumps out high-quality meals in a dark, Mackintosh-inspired space. There are also cheaper bistro-style meals, such as Cullen skink (soup made with smoked haddock, potato, onion and milk) or vegetarian haggis served with Arran mustard sauce, and more relaxed dining in the conservatory, adjoining the main bar .
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Paperino's
This is a great little Italian diner with efficient service, booth seating ideal for couples and simple, delicious Italian creations. It's a cheerful spot with a perpetual buzz. Enough Italian is spoken to make you believe the recipes may just be from Mama.
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Stravaigin
Stravaigin is a serious foodie's delight, with a menu constantly pushing the boundaries of originality and offering creative culinary excellence. There's a buzzing bar upstairs (open every day and offering simpler food) and a cool contemporary dining space in the basement. The helpful, laid-back waiting staff will assist in deciphering the audacious menu.
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Stravaigin II
Clinking wine glasses and cracking mussel shells greet patrons at this classy eatery. The restaurant challenges patrons to 'get off the eaten track' and it boasts the best scotch beef burgers (they also do ostrich burgers) on a chargrilled menu that also features cumin scented swordfish souvalaki. Two-course, pre-theatre meals are great value.
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The Left Bank
Huge windows front this outstanding new eatery specialising in gastronomic delights. There are lots of little spaces filled with couches and chunky tables giving a sense of intimacy. The large starter-menu can be treated like tapas making it good for sharing plates. There are lots of delightful creations that use seasonal and local produce. Try the garlic masala fried fish on a Goan seafood curry with malabar fish chip pickle - it's outstanding.
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Ubiquitous Chip
The original champion of Scottish produce, this restaurant has won many awards for its excellent Scottish cuisine, fresh seafood and game dishes, and for its lengthy wine list. Set among potted plants of arboreal proportions this is an excellent place for a night out and an ideal place to treat that someone special.
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Wee Curry Shop
Some of the best home-cooked curries you're likely to taste outside India can be found here. You'd be wise to book, it's a snug place with a big reputation, a limited menu and a sensational value three-course lunch. There's another Wee Curry, upstairs at Jinty McGuintys at the West End. The curries here are exceptional and a window seat gives you people-watching potential over Ashton Lane.
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West Brewing Company
A cavernous room with an airy, industrial feel on the edge of Glasgow Green, this brewery churns out four German beers brewed in strict accordance with Reinheitsgebot - German purity law. Which basically means it's bloody good. Excellent German dishes accompany the amber fluid, such as bratwurst sausages, sauerkraut and schnitzels; good ole pasta dishes are also available. Migrate to the beer garden overlooking the People's Palace in summer.
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West Regent St Bistro
Chic, stylishly laid-back and sleek in design, this bistro serves big wholesome portions of food at very reasonable prices. Popular with the after-work crowd (come later) it does a good mix of down-to-earth pub-food tarted up and more inventive cuisine. Try the lamb shank slowly braised in red wine, orange, thyme and redcurrant jelly.
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Where the Monkey Sleeps
This little number in the middle of the business district is just what you need to get away from the ubiquitous coffee chains. Laid-back and a little hippy, the bagels and paninis with names like maverick or renegade, are highlights as are some very inventive dishes, such as the 'nuclear' beans, dripping with cayenne and Tabasco.
