8 Best Restaurants in Finnieston, Glasgow

Anything but a shack, this intimate dining room has heavy wooden tables and chairs, an elegantly ornate ceiling, and a bar so shiny and inviting that it seems to almost insist you have a drink. The food comes from the sea—oysters, lobster, and squid—and you can have your choice served iced, grilled, roasted, or battered. The fish varies daily according to the day's catch, and only local and sustainably sourced Scottish seafood is featured. The fish sandwich and crab cakes are favorites on the lunch menu. In the evening, mussels and scallops draw the eye. The buzz of conversation and the perfectly modulated music create the right atmosphere. Reservations are essential.

The brand known as Mother India really covers four adjacent restaurants rather than just one location, all highlighting small plates of impressive Indian cuisine. What makes this place across from Kelvingrove Art Gallery so popular is the combination of high-quality cooking and an extensive range of tastes, from the vegetarian dal to spicy ginger chicken. The style is casual, although the interior is an opulent mix of dark wood, heavy cloth napkins, and luxury silverware. It's usually crowded, so don't expect much intimacy, but do expect the finest Indian food the country has to offer. 

A 19th-century inn turned into an elegant restaurant, the Finnieston retains the dark wood and narrow cubicles of earlier times, but today it is one of the new high-quality seafood restaurants that have transformed the faded Finnieston area into a fashionable district. The menu allows you to choose the fish and how it is prepared, the sauce, and salad or vegetable sides. You can also eat in the bar, but wherever you sit, choose from the enormous menu of fine cocktails including 15 variants on gin and tonic. Lobster Tuesday offers half a lobster and a glass of champagne at a good price. Booking ahead is highly recommended.

In a street of adventurous eateries, Six by Nico adds a new dimension of fun and wit. The concept at this intimate, modern restaurant with black tile, wood floors and tables, and black chairs is a six-course tasting menu linked to a theme that changes every six weeks, whether it's fish-and-chips or Route 66, with dishes that deconstruct and reconstruct the familiar. Five dishes are savory, one is sweet, and the staff lovingly introduces each course. Reservations are essential. The cost of the tasting menu is £25; there is a wine-pairing list for the same price.

One of the early occupants of the new Finnieston, the Gannet has maintained its stellar reputation. Its comfortable wood-and-brick interior denotes the emphasis on the natural provenance and unencumbered presentation of their food. Tasting menus of four or six courses are offered for carnivores (from £60) and vegetarians (from £50), and change regularly.