Nanakusa

Nanakusa offers high standards of Japanese cooking with a wide range of dishes at reasonable prices and almost incredibly slick service.

The 2017 edition of The List's Eating & Drinking Guide is out now – only £5.95 (+p&p).

Nanakusa occupies a deceptively large and tranquil premises among Sauchiehall Street’s music bars. It attracts a similarly hip and unflashy crowd drawn in by the high-quality Japanese food and considered selection of bottled beers. Three pages of starters and another two of sushi allow diners to play tapas with the menu to great effect, with some unique dishes lurking on the pages. The seaweed salad, a combination of cucumber, lettuce, carrots, sesame seeds and seaweed is dressed in a well balanced lime and soy dressing, a simple indication of the kitchen’s know-how when it comes to flavour. Kakiage – a sort of Japanese onion baji, deep fried with carrot strips and kale – is another highlight from starters that tread adventurous ground. Main courses are more familiar. The chilli noodles are more than a sum of their parts, flavoursome and moreish with a fresh red chilli heat – you can understand why they put their name on them. Their seemingly simple green tea ice-cream tastes delicately sweet like a gently brewed green tea and arrives topped with sweet red beans.

• High point: Creative starters
• Low point: Picture menu undersells the food
• Notable dish: Chilli noodles