Mother India's Café, Glasgow

chatty, informal dining and... top-notch sharing food'

Venue Review by Ruth Marsh | 08 Oct 2007
Re-opening after a swift face-lift, it's a relief to see this West End stalwart hasn't altered its winning tapas-thali hybrid menu. Mix and match from meat, fish and veggie options, bulked out by huge puffball naans and garlic potatoes if you're a real glutton, and dig in as and when they arrive in curious dishes of the type you last saw in your Granny's display cabinet. Lamb with spinach is rich and tender with a deeply savoury, tar-dark sauce; chicken on the bone Karahi demands you down cutlery and dig in with finger-licking enthusiasm; and Machi Massala offers chunks of moist fish, startlingly pearly against the vivid scarlet of the tomato sauce. Non-meat eaters are particularly well served, with the pick of a flesh-free bunch being the crispy, moreish dosas, bursting with Aloo Saag and served with a school dinner jelly bowl of warm dhal to slather on top. The wine list is short, to the point and affordable but you'd be best off soothing your throat with an icy draft Kingfisher or salty-sweet lussee. Mother India's Café offers chatty, informal dining and is perfect for a sociable group feast. This is top-notch sharing food, although the compulsion to scoop up every last morsel would wake anyone's selfish gene. [Ruth Marsh]

Meal for two with beer, £40
Mother India's Café, 1355 Argyle Street, Glasgow
0141 339 9145