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    The Dhabba

    4.1 (59 reviews)
    ModerateIndian
    Closed 1:00 pm - 11:00 PM

    The Dhabba Photos

    THE DHABBA ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Quiet
    Classy
    Good for groups
    Good for kids

    Recommended Reviews - The Dhabba

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    Reviews With Photos

    Travis E.

    Overall, the food was quite good. Portion sizes were appropriate and everything had excellent flavor. My one critique would be that there's more meat under the average Scotsman's kilt than the amount served in the dishes here, especially for the price paid (the Scotsman's meat probably comes cheaper, too). I can't recall exactly what we ate, but feel free to check out the pic I snapped [http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz_photos/c5zxCMlvp5-zQKVQdYXlHQ?select=frIUGqicV8WATeri9TrXUQ] and see if you can figure it out (might as well, as photographing the food cost me the respect of my dining companions). Atmosphere was "quite nice" as my friends on the east side of the pond would say. The staff was very friendly and accommodating; however, when they're ready to close shop, they're ready to close shop. I'm not going to say they kicked us out, but as we were finishing up, the guy with the vacuum may have run it over my toes a couple of times.

    Rob K.

    The Dhabba (sister restaurant of the nearby Dakhin) specialises in traditional North Indian cuisine. I've been here a few times - it's slightly cheaper and a bit more modern looking than The Dakhin. But they share the same relaxed atmosphere. The food is always superb - and not overly spicy (although I kinda want it as hot as it can get!). The staff are really friendly and are great at advising how much food you actually need (so easy to over-order here by accident). It's great for groups - and the tables are properly spaced out so you They do the same pre theatre type deals as The Dakhin and beerwise, go for Kingfisher. One of the best places to hang out with friends in the Merchant City.

    Lex G.

    Situated in the heart of Merchant City, which is filled with an array of restaurants, you're truly spoilt for choice. This North Indian restaurant aptly named "The Dhabba" was one that I had yet to try. I technically had dinner plans with some girl friends later that evening, but I came here with Lumberjack, his work colleague (who's Indian) and his son who were taking a break from a setting up a gig at the Ramshorn Theatre up the road. For a sunny Saturday evening, Merchant City was heavin', and the Dhabba was quite busy. Luckily, we were able to score a table without a booking. The service was friendly and attentive. My nut allergy spurred on paranoia of Lumberjack's work colleague, but I assured him that as long as I don't eat the meat of the nut, I'm A-OK. Being somewhat of a newbie to Indian cuisine, I just ate whatever was being ordered. Between the four of us, there was a quite a selection presented in front of us, which came out in no time. All the food was so fresh, flavourful and tasty. The more Indian food I eat; touchy tummy tendencies seem to reduce. The food wasn't overly spicy for my wee belly, so I was content. I only had a chance at a quick nibble of everything on the table, before I had to peace out and meet my girl friends. Bottom line: Oh. My. Dhabba! That was good! NOM!

    Selection of pakora - chicken, mushroom, vegetable & fish
    Briony C.

    Disclaimer: our meal was a special banquet organised by the amazing Joe H and some dishes are not usually on the Dhabba menu. From looking at their website they don't seem to offer a set menu like we tried. The closest I can find is a 3 course lunch set menu for £9.95. Ok, so onto the review. The lovely Joe H organised a meal for the Pakora Passport here and we were lucky enough to be treated to a real feast. There was a large table of us, about 20 people and between groups of 4 were served: - A selection of pakora. Chicken, fish, vegetable and mushroom. - A selection of curries. Chicken, lamb, vegetable and monkfish. - Sides including rice (white and brown) as well as naan breads. Pakora doesn't normally feature on the Dhabba menu but from having a look there are a few dishes which resemble pakora. All the pakora we sampled was lovely but the chicken was definitely my favourite and seems to be the chat putta murgh on their usual menu - chicken marinated in ginger, garlic, coriander, lemon and mint. Yum! The mains were also a delicious selection. My favourite was the vegetable curry which I believe is subzi jalfrezi. It is quite a dry curry compared to what I am used to, without much sauce. This was a real taste sensation (even being a totally vegetable based dish) and I would go back just to eat this again. For the pakora and curries we were charged £15 per head which was incredibly cheap for the amount of food on offer! For dessert we shared a mango cheesecake - allegedly this is Joe H's recipe! It was delicious, even if he was pulling my leg (I can never be sure). Service was excellent throughout the night and the restaurant had a great atmosphere. Thanks Joe for organising such an amazing outing!

    Bex M.

    Had a really lovely meal here with friends a while ago. All the food was delicious, we had never ending poppadoms while we waited for our food which was ideal as we were all very hungry! The curries tasted fresh & delicious, service was friendly and attentive. I would definitely go back again.

    Pakora passport night. Especially put on for us.
    Joe H.

    Over 10 years of coming here & never had any inconsistency in taste, or quality. Service is fantastic & friendly (okay, coming for 10 years does make a difference!), but all the staff are just as attentive with new people coming & advising them on what dishes to try. I bring a lot of friends/work colleagues here & they come back themselves. Who needs fancy advertising, when the food should do the talking & it does here, every time. Casual to dressier - you can feel comfortable in jeans and a t-shirt, to wearing a dress/suit. It is very traditional North Indian food, so prepare yourself that you won't see a chicken tikka masala etc. If you want something different & a little more of a special occasion as a curry experience, this place should be in your top 3, without fail. You Gotta Eat Here.. for sure :-D

    gareth v.

    I love the Dhabba: it has a good vegetarian range and in a Glasgow that is filled with over-coloured curries with the consistency of soup, it is a treat to get chunky portions with real vegetables. The tastes are unfamiliar enough to be intriguing, and the portion sizes are sensible. The breads are excellent: well, baked, soft and beautifully spiced. The service is spot on, the atmosphere relaxed and the attention to detail exquisite. It feels a little on the formal side, but that is all to the good: it suits the food. It is a bit more expensive than most curry houses, but worth it: no need for starters, and the quality of the ingredients is the highest. I would go for the specialities of the house, split a nan and a portion of rice with a guest, and enjoy.

    from official website
    Gavin M.

    After many years of indifference to Indian cuisine I recently woke up and realised the benefits of life as a curry connoiseur, and a recent visit to the Dhabba highlighted how I've certainly made an astute lifestyle choice. This place prides itself on being more authentic than the Korma and Tikka Masala fraternity, so the menu at first can be a bit daunting as you'll probably not have heard of much on it. The starters we got were tasty enough but the poppadoms really stood out for me. Tasty, crunchy, and accompanied by a top drawer bright green dipping sauce of unknown origin. My Bhuna Ghost looked quite small when I got it, but was of the highest quality and as I was completely stuffed after looks were decieving. Dickie didn't deliver quite as many superlatives about his Rogan Josh but ate every last morsel so I've now doubt it still gets a big thumbs up. It's quite pricey compared to other Indian places, but did seem to go that extra mile with the quality. Excellent.

    Murg Bemissal Dum Puhkt
    Joe P.

    This was a really nice evening (group of 8) made nicer by the attentiveness of the Matre d' (although sadly not by the rest of the staff) and the lovely food. Service was quite slow, with around 10 minutes waiting time between ordering and receiving drinks, and a total of two courses lasting 150 minutes Saying that, it was worth it as the food was splendid. The Monkfish didn't taste fishy at all (is that a good thing? Yes for me!) and was excellent, chargrilled chicken starters were lovely and the Dum Pukht (standard curry with an Indian-bread lid) was great, but probably not worth the extra £4. Definitely recommended if you're trying to impress, but there are other, better Indian restaurants that come in much cheaper. Price for a starter, main and two drinks was around £30 a head.

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    4 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Great I Dian dishes, many to choose from. warm atmosphere and fanrastic services. We loved it!

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    4 years ago

    A highlight of my trip to Scotland. Great food and great service. Wish I lived nearby!

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    Page 1 of 2

    Review Highlights - The Dhabba

    I am a big fan of the monkfish served in Dakhin, and so was delighted a monkfish dish was included in our selection!

    Mentioned in 3 reviews

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    Chaakoo Bombay Cafe

    Chaakoo Bombay Cafe

    4.6(50 reviews)
    0.5 miCity Centre
    £

    Very good. Good selection. Nice lunch menu with special groups of dishes. Naan was tasty, curry's…read morenot too spicy. Lhasa mango was excellent. Will come back.

    So, the one thing I loved about this place was that it looks nothing like a stereotypical Indian…read moreRestaurant. It's clear that the focus of the restaurant is that it should still be a fun pub atmosphere that just happens to serve Indian food. So, looking in from the outside, you wouldn't know that it was an Indian restaurant. But when you walk in and smell it, you'll know. Portions were a little small so expect that you'd need to get a few things to get a full meal out of it. But they are appropriately priced for the portion size. They serve food here tapas-style and I believe you are still meant to share them so the idea is that you get a lot of dishes and eat as you drink copious amounts of beer. The one thing that made this place stand out was their service. It was amazing! During my meal, their card machines broke down and, as a result, I didn't have a way to pay for my food. The manager then comes up to me and says, "It's our fault. Don't worry about it." To be clear, this is only something I'd see in small-town America but never in a major city. So I was surprised that in Scotland's largest city, they were so trusting. (Really earning their reputation as the friendliest city in the UK). I was so touched that I promised I'd return to pay for my meal. I even kept my receipt so they'd know what to charge me. I came back the next morning, paid my bill, and, even though it's not required at all in the UK, I left a big tip as a thank you for trusting me and being so accommodating. When I come back to Glasgow, I will definitely come back.

    Photos
    Chaakoo Bombay Cafe
    Chaakoo Bombay Cafe - Chicken Tikka Masala

    Chicken Tikka Masala

    Chaakoo Bombay Cafe - Storefront

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    Storefront

    Madha - Lamb kathi roll

    Madha

    5.0(14 reviews)
    0.0 miMerchant City, City Centre

    Well, I just had the best, most flavorful curry ever at Madha. I travel for work, and have done so…read morefor more than 40 years. I have had Indian food in many corners of the globe. This was the best yet.

    So happy they were still open when we arrived at 11pm on a Thursday night! We went to about 6 other…read morerestaurants in the Merchant City neighborhood and all kitchens were closed. The worker (maybe the owner?) was very friendly and offered to let us eat in (we said we could do take away, but he said we were welcome to eat there). The ambience is high end Indian food. Restaurant was clean and seemed new. Service is great. The menu has a lot of variety. Both northern and southern Indian dishes. Everything we ordered was hot and tasty. I had the spicy mussels appetizer. Never seen this preparation style on a menu before- the mussels are battered in an airy light tapioca dusting and fried so they have a bit of a crunch. Powerful blend of herbs and curry gives it a good kick! The chutney onions are sweet and the curry cassava with mustard seeds balances the spice heat, because it's mild. They have an array of dosas!!! I was really excited about this, because dosas are delicious but sometimes hard to find. The dosa was HUGE! It hung off the plate on both sides. It was crispy on the edges and spongy in the middle. Inside has mild curried potatoes. Served with coconut chutney, chili chutney and vegetarian daal. It was a meal by itself. They also have appum, which are spongy bread-like things that are very tasty. Definitely recommend! My friend had a chicken curry and garlic naan. He enjoyed. I had a taste of the chicken and the blend of spices was nice. Naan was generously buttered and had lots of garlic. He also had the vegetarian samosa which was expertly fried and piping hot upon arrival. It was served on a bed of curried chickpeas. Overall, it was a great meal. Even though it's a high end restaurant, the prices seemed reasonable for the neighborhood and the portions were huge so go with a group or be prepared for leftovers.

    Photos
    Madha - Vegetable samosa

    Vegetable samosa

    Madha - Fish pollichath, Murgh makhani, Naadan Aaddu curry, Rasam, Samosa

    Fish pollichath, Murgh makhani, Naadan Aaddu curry, Rasam, Samosa

    Madha - Chicken 65

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    Chicken 65

    The Dhabba - indpak - Updated May 2026

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