Shish Mahal in Glasgow City

A family favourite, great value, brilliant food, never disappoints, one of Glasgows original Indian Restaurants

Very fresh pakora and nan. Curries were succulent. Friendly attentive staff. Best Indian restaurant I have been to for a long time.

I have been going to get the Shish MAHAL for 53 years and the last time I was there it was so good. But on this occasion I didn't enjoy my carry out. 1 the sauce in the chicken curry breast was like water no body to it. The korma was rather hotter than a korma and the bhuna lamb was rather hot. Also the price!!!

Excellent food as usual. Excellent service. Great value for money.

Disgusting discrimination. Informed it was fully booked and yet, the place was empty. If you have any disabilities I would look elsewhere.

Went for the £15.50 3 course lunch menu. Good grub, fast service

Food was okay, chicken tikka masala was enjoyable but not exactly how I remember it from before, however it is very overpriced. Would have enjoyed experience more if it was more reasonable and in line with competitors. Service was very good and waiters attentive.

Never disappoints, food quality and service first class.

My favourite restaurant in the World! On this visit I had a Chicken Tikka Chilli Basaar which was perfect. 👌

One of the best meals we’ve had in all of our travels. We would travel back to Glasgow just to eat here. Absolutely incredible chicken tikka masala. Mind blowing. Friendly service, very attentive.

First time we have dined "in" our favourite, the Shish Mahal, for a while. Plenty of take aways! We had a lovely lunch today with food and service as good as ever! We first went to the Shish Mahal in 1978, year we met, and have been returning ever since....fabulous food that never disappoints! Still best Pakora too!

We've been a few times previously with friends, it's been good - nice food, service adequate, I mean not 5* but good enough to go back. Which we did on Saturday 29th June. They advertise a £15 lunch - starter, main (with rice) and either coffee or ice cream. Not a bad deal you'd think right? Well, we also ordered poppadum's (4, one for each of us) spiced onion and a pickle tray, these items weren't on the "special" lunch menu. The reason for that is they charge £2.25 PER PICKLE TRAY ITEM, 4 items in the pickle tray + £2.75 for spiced onions + £2.50 per poppadum, we're now at £22. We had 4 juices, 2 glasses of tap water & one pint of cobra. £120 later our "special" lunch deal was nowhere in sight. For mediocre food and relatively small portions, definitely not worth it.

Typical Indian food, where they invented a recipe for chicken tykka masala and it is very good, medium chilly even though I don't like spicy food, but it was excellent and tasty, what we didn't eat we willingly paid for.

Decent Good service Chicken curry 5/5 Lamb curry 0/5

A very nice restaurant. I enjoyed it The behavior of the staff is very polite I ordered chicken and lentil tikka, and in the end I finished the meal with “Karak” milk tea. The place is clean and the atmosphere is excellent. I will go back eating with them.

excellent food. Will definitely order again

Mmmmmm poppped in here just now 5pm 8th June 2024 …. lovely food, good size portion and it was piping hot, the food was delicious

Best curry in Glasgow . Pakora outstanding . Spiced onions far superior to the obviously mass produced ones in almost every other Indian restaurant . Over the last 50 years the food has been consistently good

Outstanding indian food, great service. Best indian restraunt in Glasgow

Glasgow’s finest restaurant, when we decide to eat out the first Restaurant name is Shish Mahal, every customer is met at the door by management and escorted to there table then the attentive service staff take over throughout ensuring all customers enjoy the Shish experience, this is the World Renowned home of Chicken Tikka Masala invented by the late Mr Ali……by far the best food in Scotland

Korma was pretty tasteless (no taste of coconut). Spiced onions also tasteless.

I ordered our food and a just eat person arrived with half of the order which consisted of starters and main courses then about 30 minutes later the restaurant called to confirm that a 2nd Just Eat courier did not turn up therefore the restaurant were going to deliver the remainder of our food which consisted of more starters and main courses - all of which were cold - disgraceful service

Food is very good specially Chicken Tikka masala.

I paid a visit to the Shish for the first time since it moved from the top of Gibson Street. I was with an old school friend with him I had lunch whilst at the University of Glasgow way back in the early 1970s. We decided on spiced onions and popadums instead of vegetable pakora. I had a Chicken breast birriani and my friend a small prawn birriani. Both of these were served in my teal bowls topped with a thin chapatti. Each dish was accompanied by a thick brown sauce. Both dishes were fantastic. My chicken dish had lots of thick chunks of rendered chicken. The dish was sensational and must have been one of the best curries that I have tasted in the last 55 years. I cannot wait to return.

We were here many years ago as students at University of Glasgow. Our favorite place then. Re visited today bhuna lamb just as good and the tandoor platter too. Ambient is nice, although neighbourhood is like before - a student place. Reasonable portion and price.

Best in Scotland for me, 41 years a customer and counting

We were surprised to get a table for four on a Saturday night at short noticed given how busy it used to be (this should have been a warning). The Shish used to be my favourite place in Glasgow under the watchful eyes of the owners. Things are not the same. We arrived to a half empty restaurant to a what I can only describe as a disinterested welcome. The older gentleman serving us clearly couldn't be bothered and didn't try to hide the fact. Fortunately the food was OK but not great. Halfway through our meal one server came and took our wine cooler away from our table saying they needed it for someone else! Bizarre. As the restaurant emptied the staff made it clear to the remaining tables that it was time to leave and stood not far from the remaining tables. Throughout the evening the manager stood with his arms folded and then disappeared. I was so sad and disappointed given how incredible this place used to be. I fear it will not last much longer.

We visited Shish Mahal during our first trip to Glasgow with friends, drawn by its popularity. Unfortunately, the experience didn’t meet our expectations. The staff seemed rushed and inattentive, giving the impression that serving us was a burden. The food was generally disappointing; the Chicken Tikka was mundane, akin to supermarket-ready versions, and the Chilli Chicken Poori was unexpectedly sweet, better suited for a dessert menu. Based on our experience, I wouldn’t recommend this restaurant to visitors in Glasgow.

Thank you very much for such a beautiful meal and so much thank you to your amazing staff ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐my fiance & I had a lovely time in your restaurant. Very best wishes, Audrey & Colin.

I have not received my food order!

First knew the Shish as a little boy in Glasgow. Most times we go back to visit the city we come here. Last time, back in 2019 it felt a bit mediocre. But our visit here on 30th March 2024 was very disappointing. The food was well below par, I had the Chicken Madras and the chicken was tough, tastless and poor quality. The rest of the dishes were pretty poor and with a bill of almost £115 of which probably £70 was for the bin. A real disappointment.

Driver delivered to wrong flat

Staff were really friendly and food was amazing as always. Especially loved the chicken tikka masala and the great garlic naan bread. Will be returning

Went with the family. Great service. Mr Ali(junior) was around and was extremely welcoming. Enjoyed hospitality very well! Very attentive and welcoming staff. Service was top notch. Tikka masala, jalfrezi, vegetable kadahi, malai kofta weee delicious! We asked for medium spice level which was perfect although my daughter thought the malai kofta could’ve been a little spicy. Visit if you’re around Glasgow Starters of mixed pakora, cauliflower and veg pakora and samosa chaat were very good!

The food and the place are acceptable, but the service was so bad, the waiter was so rude I really makes me uncomfortable to explain this in detail. I would say please don’t down on others especially your customers. I would request people to change there attitude towards the customers please.

The Raita exploded in the bag and coated every other item. I had to spend ages wiping everything down before I could try to eat. Putting something so liquid in non-tupperware container that doesn’t seal seems like a stupid thing to do

4.5. The massive garlic naan dipped in their butter chicken was amazing. You really don’t need a full naan for each person (and they’ll even tell you that). Found that it was more of a tomato base, which meant it was easy on the stomach. Great portions!! The service was great, but we found they spoke very quietly, causing it difficult to hear what they said periodically. Was a bit of a longer wait for the meal on not a very busy evening, but nothing too out of the ordinary. Wasn’t expecting it to be slightly more formal, but loved the experience!

My husband and I recently had the pleasure of trying the Shish Tandoori Mixed Platter at Shish Mahal Restaurant,and it was a delightful culinary adventure from start to finish. Upon ordering the mixed platter, we were pleased with both the generous portion size and the reasonable pricing. The combination of flavors and spices in each item was exquisite, showcasing the skillful preparation and dedication to authentic taste.

Food excellent. Was expected at 7pm but didn't arrive until7 7.20pm.

Always liked this place but hadn't been for years. Just incredible, nans, pakora and all main course dishes went down a treat. Staff were great too.

Visited with a large group of pals last Saturday evening (2nd March) I had eaten a lunch out and so was not expecting to be out again in the evening… However, ended up eating a truly delicious lamb multani chasni! Too good to miss. We all enjoyed our meals and the service was superb - especially as we all arrived later than expected and not together. Everything was accommodated cheerfully and we had a great night!

Really wanted to try this place because of the longevity of this restaurant . Absolutely gutted . Food was horrible . Ordered mix grill . Was not fresh , lamb was sheep . Very dark in colour and horrible smell coming from it . Grill had been reheated . Biryani was not authentic but curry sauce and rice mixed . Honestly big let down stay away . The only thing was nice was the waiters . The atmosphere and music felt like a musical from a Sean Connery James Bond movie . Apologies but I’m being very honest here . Won’t be coming again 😢

The food was very good but pricey! Just nipping in for a quick curry is not what it used to be, miss the Gibson St location 😞

Fantastic curries and pakora ! We ordered on deliveroo for the first time and were not disappointed. Would recommend although expensive was very tasty and one portion does 2 nights.

You’ll not find a better curry in Glasgow. We’ll establish business with great food.

Food excellent but really expensive

A restaurant my friends and I have visited numerous times in the past, but after our last visit (on 17th January), we most certainly won't be back. I feel obliged to leave this review so other potential customers are aware of a few things... The food is okay, not anything spectacular. Rice portion sizes are small - amongst five people we ordered two boiled rice and two plain naans. When the rice came in a single bowl, I asked where our other rice was only to be told that was two portions. When I divided this bowl amongst two people, the portion sizes were poor. Service was somewhat erratic with different people serving us and getting the orders mixed up. Staff were constantly reaching over the top of us to serve food - not professional at all. For poppadoms, some pakora, five curries, a couple of rices and naans, and a round or two of drinks (only one alcoholic beverage) we were just shy of £200. The best part? THEY CHARGED US £19 FOR FIVE POPPADOMS & DIPS. NINETEEN POUNDS. I queried this at the end as I was certain they'd made a mistake, but no - almost twenty quid for some big crisps and some dips. OUTRAGEOUS.

We went to Shish Mahal to try out the famous Chicken Tikka Masala where it was invented in Glasgow. We arrived at the restaurant at 5:30pm and it was completely empty. As we weren't particularly hungry, we decided to split a main, and also ordered a garlic naan, rice, and two beers. The staff seemed annoyed that we had not ordered more food, and told us there was a £15 minimum spend per person. In fact, we had spent more than this, but apparently the beers didn't count. So we also had to order some starters we didn't particularly want. We did enjoy our meals but they were on the expensive side and you could get similar food for less money elsewhere.

This order arrived 2 hours and 19 mins after it was prepared and ready for collection. Not the restaurants fault. Very unhappy. Was stone cold

The shish mahal still holds its own as one of the best Indian restaurants in Glasgow

Excellent food from a great menu.

The Shish is the best curry in all of Glasgow...... Taste and service is second to none.

Decent place but was dead the night we visited and we were the only customers there so we felt a bit out of place in an empty room I’m sure it’s great on a busy night though and the curry was excellent

The shish is the best curry in Glasgow.... I highly recommend the chicken chilli poori..... The king prawn or chicken tikka garlic nashilee. The peshwari nan is also a taste sensation. Almost 60 years on from when my parents first visited their original restaurant and it's as good as ever. Keep ilup the good work team Shish 👍😁

The time taken was appalling. It took 90 minutes from a Driver being “assigned” to one getting to the restaurant. Uber Eats from now on!

Great food and service . We went during lunch and had standard lunch Menu and was amazing especially the Chicken tikka masala !!

Fantastic absolutely delicious dinner thanks you will order again!

I have eaten here several times and always found it to be very good, last night was just average. Prices have increased quite a bit, food took a while to come out but the restaurant wasn’t full and was disappointed with the quality of the dishes.

Food and staff are great. Really busy on a Friday night. That's a good sign.

Worst biriyani I ever had in my life. Just a plain rice with mutton pieces. Please don’t try this at all.

The restaurant where the owner - Ali Ahmed Aslam who is credited by many different sources as the inventor of the Chicken Tikka Masala. This is my 2nd time going there to have the legendary dish and I'm not gonna lie, it tasted the exact same. The first time I went to this restaurant was last year, 2-3 days after Mr. Ahmed passed away. After having it for the 2nd time today the taste was as good as it was previously. The only difference was I asked for it to be spicy last year and mild to medium spicy this time around. As I'm an Indian I honestly didn't find much difference in terms of spiciness on both occasions. Also had Garlic prawns in starters which were decent as everywhere around Glasgow. Nothing special about it. Definitely do give this place a visit if you're in Glasgow, a very good place for a family outing. Highly recommended 🙌🏻

We book our Christmas night out here we were 15 mins late for our reservation (traffic) and our table was given to someone else and told they have a 10 minute policy, not such policy in any website or menu! I appreciate tables can’t be kept indefinitely but is the festive season and things over run like traffic. The staff member was very unhelpful and clearly didn’t care and continued to display a lake of customer care/service as we tried to negotiate with them. Terrible experience won’t ever try eating there again.

Pukka Indian restaurant. Fine food and service. Best Indian food I've had in Glasgow.

Disappointed by the quality of the chicken. Dry and thready on 2 out of the 3 dishes we chose.

Added £7 for king prawn curry in korma sauce. Prawns wer boiled to rubber and black. Totally inedible.

Ordered a take away to collect. Waited around twenty minutes. Took home and everything was cold. Really disappointed. Won't be back in afraid.

I came to try Mr. Ali's Original Chicken Tikka Masala, and I was not disappointed!

Just left Shish Mahal after another fantastic meal. The best peswari naan in the nation! I had the multani chasni with chicken tikka. Spectacular! I would have loved some dessert, but after 25 minutes no one had offered us one, so we paid and left. Am opportunity missed guys!

Customer Service at retuarant is poor...misled re: delivery ..disappointing ..food late and cold

My family and friends have been going to the Shish Mahal Glasgow for over 50 years, never had a single complaint. The owners have always welcomed us and we would recommend it to anyone visiting Glasgow.

Extensive menu including their legendary tikka masala, which is delicious. We were a party of four - the table was quite small leading to a somewhat cramped dining experience by the time the dishes were all served. That aside, overall, it was an excellent meal.

My family and I have been visiting 'the Shish' for many years. It never fails. Lamb chops and Lamb Bhoona, I don't even look at the menu. My favourite restaurant in Glasgow.

I was last here 10 yrs ago, it was wonderful. This time around? Not so. Service was abrupt, not friendly. The service was the best part! Started with popadoms & dips. Popadoms were fine, dips were bland, lime pickle was bland, raita was tasteless. Starter of salmon was over cooked, again lacked flavour. Main of Tikka Dhahi Daghie was possibly the worst curry i have ever had, it was again bland, tasteless and unforgivable for a restaurant curry, i would have been happier with a tesco ping curry. The rice was congealed, stuck together, sticky, well overdone. Sorry but if a restaurant cannot deliver fluffy rice i fear it wouldn’t wouldn't have mattered which curry i chose from the menu. I had about 4 mouthfuls of my main & left the rest, as did my partner. Staff never questioned why we hardy touched our mains & left sharply after. Such a disappointment especially after telling my partner how good the place was. I understand the odd curry can end up not up to scratch but only to get the popadoms of a standard out of all that was order isn’t acceptable. I won’t visit again and on tonights experience I suggest you don't either.

Been going here ever since I discovered curries , I think it's simply the best in Scotland/UK, food is to die for , absolute heaven, service and atmosphere unsurpassed, a proverbial jewel

Had to visit the birthplace of the chicken tikka masala and it didn’t disappoint. Tasty and delicious as was the lamb bhuna. Attentive staff and a formal atmosphere made for a lovely experience.

I was introduced to this restaurant by my husband Andrew Wood, his family have regularly been using this restaurant since he was a young boy. The food in here is amazing, my favourite thing is the Peshawari naan bread. Always a great meal here, great service and a very pleasant atmosphere.

Superb food. Truly THE best Indian food around. However, got a takeaway for 3 and wasn’t cheap. £90. Still amazing food though.

Well let’s start with the ridiculously high prices compared to other Glasgow curry restaurants 12,00 for a tikka starter lamb chops 12.95 for 3 very tough ..surly staff very stiff atmosphere Bill was scribbled in there language nothing itemised on asking what was what turns out 7,00 extra on the bill which they swiftly took off . Try Nakador Indian half the price double the quality and taste ..lovely welcoming staff .

I went on a dad and daughter date and everything was simply outstanding, from the service to the food, the atmosphere and detail to attention 🤩

I went here on the recommendation of a friend and the reputation of restaurant for inventing the tikka masala, which we both ordered. The portions were very generous and the service was good. There is a warm atmosphere and a lot of choice on the menu too! While it was not the best curry I have ever had, it was certainly a very pleasant experience none the less! Definitely worth a visit when in town!

A perfect scrumptious end to a busy day. Thank you

Another delicious meal, no skimping on the portions

Went very late at night - they were very generous to serve us, but did hurry us to eat. A little suspicious by how quick the food was to come out, but I'm not complaining!

Delicious it’s been a while since I had a really good half chicken tandoori

Quite possibly THE BEST Indian food we have ever eaten anywhere in the world! And the service was outstanding as well. The flavors are exquisite and leave your pallet wanting more.

We ordered food to be delivered at 6pm. At 8pm, no delivery driver had arrived at the restaurant and we had to go into town to get our food.

Besonders der aufgeschlossene und sympathische Service muss hervorgehoben werden!!

I would eat in and take away every week From 1976 until 1983 now living in Australia and miss the food quality so much 💖🙏🏼

This is the worst food I had entire in my life

Had the most delicious meal here with my friend. He had been recommending it for a long time and I'm delighted to have eaten here. The service was second to none and the food is full of flavour. I will definitely be back.

We booked this restaurant as most of us had been at some point in years gone by, but unfortunately lunch would not have been enough for a 5 year old, the food was lukewarm on cold plates waiter's stretching over us every minute without a bye your leave to pick-up every plate or glass that you didn't have a hold of. Lunch was £15 each and one of the guys knew the manager so thought we could trust him to look after us. Without asking he said he'd put poppadoms and nan bread on the table for us so we thought it was on the house. The cost for 11 of us was £348, drinks £105, food £243 instead of 11 times £15 = £165

Worst experience ever in an Indian restaurant in UK.

Best curry on the planet. There's nothing more to say imho.

Delicious food. Apparently one of the (if not the) first places tikka masala was served. The wait staff was very friendly although their answers were unclear when we asked questions. Great atmosphere and place settings. Highly recommend the tikka, chicken or special pakora, both naan and the restaurant as a whole.

It’s absolutely disgusting, my family and I went 2 days ago on Eid Al Adha and yesterday my two nieces (under the age of 10) have been hospitalised with severe food poisoning, we have all been vomiting and the taste was terrible aswell the rice was undercooked and so was the meat the daal didn’t have salt and we discovered foreign objects the waiters were unwell aswell and kept making faces at us, my mother has a very weak immune system and she has been in bed for two days. I would NEVER come here again. So unhygienic and awful, my poor father spent over £270 for this rubbish DO NOT COME HERE AT ANY COST!(unless you so desperately want violent sickness and diarrhoea!)

Food was fine but we (group of 7) were charged £22 for 6 popadoms, a tiny portion of spiced onions and a few sauces. We assumed they were complementary, we didn’t ask for them and we ate them assuming they were free. It’s lame when any restaurant does this. Also the bill wasn’t itemised and we had to ask about several of the charges.

We visited on a quiet night, the service was professional. We ordered mild options, but we got plain dishes that lacked flavour and salt. The only feeling was a light chilly burn. The rice was overcooked, etc; at least the meat quality and portions were good. The final bill felt spicy compared to the tasteless experience. It left us with a bitter aftertaste.

The worst staff. What’s happened to this place? Before I moved away I would visit at least once a week. I went last night and it has the rudest, ignorant and uncleaned toilets. The waiter was rude. We will NEVER be back. And the owner - he should go and get customer service training How bad have they let themselves down? £5.80 for soda water and diluting cordial - cost 50p to make and the soda was flat. People do yourselves a favour and stay well clear of this horrific restaurant

Friendly welcome and attentive service. Extensive menu offering lots of options. We had the tandoori mixed grill which includes rice and chutney with tandoori prawns which was very tasty. With the main course, tikka masala, the diners were very happy especially when the owner of the restaurant came to welcome us and made sure we liked the food.

Been a regular here for years, haven’t been for 2 years. Visited it today change of staff. The most ignorant staff ever. I will never be back or any of my family or friends. Stay well clear. Toilets are disgusting now.