Mother India’s Café - Glasgow

Handily placed opposite the Kelvingrove Art Gallery, this younger sibling of Glasgow’s highly rated Mother India restaurant (a city favourite since the mid-90s) takes a tapas approach to the traditional cuisine of the subcontinent – and its small-plates menu makes a lot of sense. What you get here is basic, if ironic, decor (flock wallpaper etc) and a choice of around 40 starter-sized portions of classics such as butter chicken with almonds, creamy black dhal, vegetable pakoras, aloo gobi with green beans, chilli king prawns or spiced potato and spinach dosas – as well as the usual breads, rice and sundries. Daily specials are also worth noting – perhaps roast duck in tamarind sauce on Sundays or fish biryani on Fridays. Everything comes freshly cooked, piping hot and affordably priced (most items range from £3-5). Takeaways too.

Having opened in 2004, Glasgow’s Mother India Café has now been serving up Indian-style small plates for over 15 years. Based nearby Kelvingrove art gallery in the city’s West End, the restaurant is one of four Mother India outposts, with other cafés in Edinburgh, and in Glasgow’s Lansdowne Hotel, as well as the original Mother India which is now located on Westminster Terrace.

Describing its menu as ‘a twist on tapas’ Mother India Café’s ethos is that it’s best to try a little of lots of different dishes when eating. Its incredibly affordable food offering and laid-back ambience make it a brilliant spot to visit with friends and family for a casual meal.

Mother India’s Café’s interiors have been simply done to make the restaurant feel both cosy and informal; banquettes line the tiled walls which play host to a number of photographs and prints, while a bar sits at the far end of the restaurant. Plenty of light floods into the reasonably sized dining room from the large windows ensuring that the restaurant has a bright and airy feel to it.

The range of freshly produced dishes are designed to be shared by the whole table, giving everyone the chance to try a decent chunk of the menu. The food offering begins with a range of dosas, samosas and pakoras, which come stuffed with everything from vegetables to fresh fish. Other dishes on the menu include tamarind monkfish, chicken on the bone karahi, South Indian ginger lamb, and vegan options such as smoked aubergines with sweet potatoes and green beans. There is also a selection of breads and chutneys to choose from to accompany your main dishes.

In terms of drinks at Mother India’s Café, you can choose from a number of beers both on draught and by the bottle. On top of this, there is also a short list of wines and soft drinks available.