Dakhin

The 2013 edition of The List's Eating & Drinking Guide is out now – only £5.95 (+p&p).

This review is taken from the current (2013) edition.

Dakhin’s green and black décor oozes style. Wooden ceiling slats draped with plants create an Oriental feel in the spacious venue, while album-like menus and crisp linen napkins add a touch of class to otherwise bare black tables. Located upstairs, a stone’s throw from sister restaurant the Dhabba, diners have a view of City Halls and the Old Fruitmarket, making Dakhin a popular choice for concert-goers. It prides itself on its authentic South Indian cuisine, the menu differing from rivals in the absence of naans and vindaloos in favour of dosas, grilled meat and fish, coconut-infused lamb dishes and spicy prawn and monkfish curries. The open kitchen prepares a small but appealing starter selection, including a spicy lamb pepper fry and keerai bhaji with spinach, chilli and onion. Juicy grilled chicken is marinated with ginger, garlic and South Indian spices, and comes with a choice of four sauces. Paneer, lentil, mushroom, aubergine and spinach dishes provide a great veggie selection. This particular regional cuisine may be increasingly familiar in Glasgow but Dakhin is still ahead of the game.

Takeaway review
As one of the city's few South Indian restaurants, Dakhin offers an enticing change from the usual takeaway curry. There’s a lot going on in the sauces – coconut cream finishes many to smooth, sweet effect, while the spice mixes are vibrant, with drawn-out, medium heats and the murmurings of black pepper or garam masala. Chicken is top-notch breast, the lamb is tender but full of flavour, and there’s a lot of fish, in keeping with the coastal culinary heritage. It isn’t cheap, by carryout standards, and they don't deliver, but it’s high-end stuff, worth the journey in for collection-only. And the gigantic paper dosa (made of rice flour –- no nans here), rolled up like a poster to take home, is surely the coolest-looking takeaway item in town.

• High point: Fresh, vibrant and colourful spicy food
• Low point: Large dining hall lacks intimacy for romantics