Added on Thursday 14 Feb 2013

No novelty menus, no inflatable hearts, and not a sign of the colour pink anywhere in view the Glasgow Curry Shop in Ashton Lane is offering couples who want a romantic evening an evening to remember - without any of the sugary schlock which turns many other restaurants into a sort of Barbara Cartland-themed nightmare on February 14.

By contrast there is plenty of built-in romantic ambience within the quaint but warm surroundings of this cracking little upstairs temple to superlative Indian gastronomy.

This week was the first time I'd seen the place for a while, and it is looking terrific. The walls are covered with a unique montage of photographs of curry shops and their owners in times gone by, along with some piquant articles tracing the history of Glasgow Indian restaurants all the way back to the pioneering days of the 60's.

Since the restaurant (above Jinty McGuinty's) is not huge, that unique collection of photographs and articles already looks authoritative and deeply impressive, but it will continue to grow and evolve as customers those old enough to remember the "glory days" themselves bring forward their own anecdotes and mementoes.

Meanwhile it's important to point out the Glasgow Curry Shop is not a museum, and nor is it offering customers a glimpse of retro fare by serving up the famous "vindaloos on asbestos plates", or anything remotely comparable.

The restaurant's menu is instead thoroughly in tune with the award-winning pace set by parent venture Mother India, which has been steadily building on a reputation, now sky high, which was launched around 1990.

When you recall that besides its many Glasgow plaudits Mother India's Edinburgh restaurant won the title for best in the capital a city whose dining establishments tend to have a good opinion of themselves it's easy to imagine the local Glasgow version is also in something of a class of its own.

This, beyond doubt, is the sort of quality offered to diners at the Glasgow Curry Shop at what can only be described as reasonable prices (and check the special daily offers too).

The Glasgow Curry Shop also boasts possibly the best windae-seat view of Ashton Lane, along with the sort of unique dining experience you'd expect from an informal but thoroughly organised exemplar of great Indian cookery at its best. Meanwhile if you are visiting the Glasgow Curry Shop on or around Valentine's Day you might wish to take advantage of another value-led enticement there.

The phrase BYOB (bring your own bottle) is as retro as it gets, but an idea that has come full circle in these grim recessionary times. It gives diners to choose their own wine before the meal, and with only a small corkage fee to pay is one very helpful way of keeping the evening's bill within late February austerity limits.

There's no shortage of places locally from which to source a nice bottle of wine, but as it's St Valentine's Day mention must be made of Dino Valentino in Chancellor Street, about which I hear nothing but the strongest praise from anyone who's visited.

Everything about its presentation breathes enthusiasm and verve, and since it's about five minutes' walk from the Glasgow Curry Shop it has to be one very obvious place to start looking for the ideal bottle of wine to go with a special meal.

Meanwhile if you are planning a "Valentine's meal without the schmaltz" evening at the Glasgow Curry Shop it's worth noting that the restaurant isn't huge, and booking is highly recommended ask for a window-seat if it hasn't been taken already, and enjoy the best view of street life on Ashton Lane while enjoying what you'll probably agree is one of the best Indian meals to be found in Glasgow.

Happy New Year

The folk behind well-regarded Chinese carry-out The Home Wok in Byres Road evidently take their annual New Year celebrations very seriously, as while Vietnamese restaurant Hanoi Bike Shop made a considerable fuss of Vietnamese New Year recently the Wok has declared February (or most of it) to be party month and after closing on February 3 isn't reopening until February 23.

For many of its regular customers it's nice to see the Year of the Snake being given the importance it deserves, but most will be waiting with barely concealed impatience for normal service to resume in the last week of the month. Richmond design special

The editorial team at The Dram licensed trade magazine (based in Finnieston) seem to have been as impressed as we were by the newly-launched bar diner The Richmond on what was once Bar Bola on Park Road and, again like us, also see it as a natural partner to existing local high end places such as Stravaigin and The Left Bank.

However in a special photo feature the magazine also deals in more detail with the ownership of the venue and how its special look has been designed to enhance one of the most vibrant dining areas in the country.

If you are interested in licensed trade matters in the West End, or in Scotland generally you can access the article about The Richmond, and also the entire magazine, at the dram

Smile you're in Italy

This week's award for "best cafe in the West End" goes to Smile cafe (or diner) at 102 Queen Margaret Drive ("where the shops are" more or less over the road from Clouston Street).

I called in a few days back with some hungry young colleagues looking for decent food at good prices on a cold and windswept evening and, not having tried this place before, I was bowled over by its characteristically young-Italian vitality and flair.

What I like most about the place (apart from its warm and welcoming vibe, fabulous coffee, lavish salads and beautiful bread) is the way it seems happy to offer anything from classic Mediterranean fare to a ritzy version of a trad Scottish cafe-style roll-and-something.

The member of our little party who opted for black pudding, fried egg and I think a potato scone, all in a roll reckoned it was the best thing of its kind he had ever tasted.

Those of us who went for super-healthy paninis instead, with masses of fresh salad, were also delighted by the quality of the wonderful food at normal bistro prices.

What was most impressive was that while this place is another cafe that flourishes despite being on the small side the staff are completely on top of every order at all times.

This isn't as easy as it seems, as while the diner fills up in no time there's a constant traffic to and fro at the busier times, with people calling in for anything from a coffee to a full meal, but nothing is ever a problem and the staff incredibly even seem to enjoy doing their job, splendidly as it turns out.

I'm looking forward to another visit soon, to explore the menu and daily specials in a little more detail.

West Side Sensation

Just to prove that no area of the wider West End is short of at least one new and exciting dining out proposition, New York Kitchen opened in Dumbarton Road, Thornwood, in December without a whisper of publicity.

Now it is thoroughly settled in, and its kitchen team are already planning enterprising new menu additions, eyecatching cocktails, and more. But isn't it just, after all, yet another American burger joint?

A leisurely lunch visit last week with Pat Byrne, to meet operator Eddie Tobin and manager Irene Thomson, was enough to reveal it's nothing of the kind. Eddie, incidentally, is one of the best-known professional licensed trade operators in the city, and is passionate about good food and about what he sees as the need for what marketing people would call "customer-focused value", or what he would call great food with no nonsense.

< In the course of a brief chat with Eddie and Irene it becomes clear the place is casually laying claim to produce the best burger in Glasgow, and for some venues that would be enough.

But while the menu is gratifyingly replete not only with burgers magnificent burgers but also standard NY diner entries such as spaghetti and meatballs, it also has just about every other main base covered from a "real" Caesar Salad to a classic Reuben sandwich.

Portions are generous and prices average for the quality of the fare on offer. Breakfast is already proving a hugely attractive option, with both classic Scottish and New York-style to choose from.

There's a wide choice of drinks too, from wine by the glass to real NY Brooklyn Lager to whiskey-laced milk shakes; and there's a button-busting selection of desserts.

Taken altogether this elaborate hommage to the better sort of New York diner the sort which go on to become great city dining institutions is not replicating a familiar theme at all, and is instead attempting something quite daring.

There are, after all, innumerable American-style diners about, most attempting some signature dishes apart from pizza and burgers, but none I can think of that set out to do the full job.

It would be easy enough to knock together an American diner menu, hang the stars and stripes in the window, and then hope to catch a slice of the everyday dining market from a population already in love with US-style food but New York Kitchen is hugely more ambitious in breadth and scope.

With a special Valentine's offer to take advantage of this week, this exciting new arrival in Thornwood is definitely in the "one to watch" category.

Amid all the doom and gloom about the difficulties of the bars and restaurants trade it's also great to see a veteran operator boldly go to a potentially great location, in an area where the demographic is rapidly evolving and opening up further opportunities for people aiming to run quality venues.

Much more on this enterprising diner with a difference in weeks to come.