4 Best Restaurants in Merchant City, Glasgow

This warm and welcoming old merchant's house in the heart of the Merchant City offers excellent Scottish food, a barbecue menu, and a lively charming bar area. On Wednesday or Saturday traditional musicians gather for an impromptu session in the bar; the rest of the time there is just conversation. The vibe is friendly, particularly in winter when there is an open fire in the grate; there's also an outdoor terrace in summer.

Thick wooden tables, tapestries, and soft candlelight make you feel at home in the comfortable dining room of this atmospheric haven serving an intriguing mix of Indian and Persian fare. A family-owned restaurant, it's all about healthy, flavorful cooking; chicken tikka masala in a yogurt sauce or lamb korma with coconut cream and fruit or the Persian shashlik are good picks. Accompany your meal with bowls of basmati saffron rice and fluffy naan bread. You could start with a shared plate of Indian starters for three or four people. This popular place continues to win award after award; reserve ahead on Friday and Saturday.

Occupying what was once the tea market, this trendy café draws a style-conscious crowd and can justly claim to have launched the dining renaissance of the Merchant City. The café opens early, serving its wonderful signature breakfasts, and the main menu is varied but resolutely Scottish; don't miss the scorched mackerel, the roast rack of Dornoch lamb, or the smoked haddie and Stornaway black pudding. Wooden tables and chairs crafted by Scottish artist Tim Stead are so impressively built, it's hard to believe they're inanimate. The bar on the second floor is more intimate, much less busy, and lets you order from the same menu—but that should remain a well-kept secret.

Inside what was once the mansion of tobacco merchant George Buchanan, the Corinthian Club includes two bars, a nightclub, and a casino in its maze of rooms. At the heart of the building, the main restaurant, the steak-and-seafood-focused Brasserie makes a dramatic first impression with its glass dome and statues. You can dine here, take afternoon tea, or sip a cocktail in one of the small rooms that divide this huge space, but don't expect to find a quiet table in a corner.