Mother India's Café at the Lansdowne

The Mother India restaurant group adds some Middle Eastern flavour to classic desi dishes.

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For Glasgow’s curry lovers, Mother India has a long-established reputation, whose blend of tradition and creativity is in evidence in this new offshoot. The Lansdowne retains much of its previous bar layout, but with tables set for relaxed dining, and the unique glasshouse at the rear offers light on the gloomiest of Scottish days. Walls lined with portraits of customers and staff past and present illustrate that history carries plenty of weight here. Middle Eastern delicacy is combined with robust desi flavours on the new menu. Tempura-like veg pakora, with date and tamarind chutney, arrive with a fluffy roti and are gone in a flash. Roadside lamb curry is an upmarket version of Indian street food with juicy lamb chunks and a ginger kick, intriguingly adorned with straw potatoes. It’s also an expert balance of textures – crunchy chips contrasting against soft braised lamb. The labneh sauce that sprinkles taste bud magic over a skewer of succulent grilled monkfish has chef Amit Shirma displaying kitchen skill that borders on sorcery. It’s the crowning glory of a series of dazzling dishes found, somewhat curiously, in a basement curry house on a quiet, tree-lined West End crescent.