Charcoals
Owner Mohammad Sultan was crowned Curry King at the 2024 Asian Curry Awards, the individual title in the Asian Catering Federation's programme, at the same Grosvenor House ceremony where Charcoals took Best Asian Restaurant of the Year for its Scottish region (Asian Curry Awards).
Why go
An owner-run Indian and Pakistani kitchen at 74 Trongate, decorated by two separate Scottish award programmes across three years: Best Asian Restaurant (Glasgow & West) in the Asian Restaurant Awards Scotland in 2020, Community Champions of the Year at the Scottish Curry Awards in 2023, and the regional restaurant-of-the-year title in 2024. The name is the method, since the house copy sells chargrilled cooking done in front of the room, and the menu runs both Indian and Pakistani rather than collapsing the two. The owner's own line about the place is domestic: he wanted to infuse the Indian cuisine with the homely feeling one gets when they are welcomed home by their family
(venue).
Order this / avoid
- Order: off the charcoal grill. That is what the name promises and what the house leads with, and no independent menu was capturable on 2026-07-29 to point you anywhere more specific.
- Avoid: the Renfield Street address you will find on almost every listing. That unit has been La Masa Taco Bar since spring 2024, reviewed there by The Skinny on 5 April that year10.
What locals & experts say
- Asian Curry Awards 2024 (Asian Catering Federation), Scotland: Charcoals took Best Asian Restaurant of the Year for its region, and
Mohammad Sultan of Charcoals in Glasgow was crowned this year's Curry King,
announced before 1200 guests at Grosvenor House on 17 November 2024.2 - Asian Restaurant Awards Scotland (published 16 December 2020):
Charcoal's, Glasgow
listed as winner, Best Asian Restaurant (Glasgow & West).3 - Asian Restaurant Awards, 2024 Scotland winners:
Asian Restaurant of The Year - Glasgow: Charcoals,
withEntrepreneur Of The Year: Muhammad Sultan (Charcoals, Glasgow),
announced at the Scottish Parliament on 4 September 2024. A separate programme and ceremony from the November award above.4 - The List, Eat & Drink 365 (20 October 2025): in the city's twelve curry hotspots, Charcoals is a
contemporary diner
with service the guide callssuper-friendly.
5 - Scottish Curry Awards 2023:
Charcoals Indian Restaurant on Trongate won Community Champions of the year,
read via search capture because the outlet blocks direct fetch.6 - The house claim, unpinned:
a multi-award winning restaurant, providing a range of authentic Indian and Pakistani food
that hascatered for the rich and famous, politicians and business elite.
Their words, on a listing that also carries the outdated address.8 - Local rec: Jeff's save, "Some of the best Indian."
Good to know
- Where it actually is: 74 Trongate, G1 5EP, at the Merchant City end of the city center, near Glasgow Cross. The FSA registers it as Charcoals Cafe at that address.
- Timing: no approved page publishes trading hours. Check the Maps pin before travelling.
- Booking: worth calling ahead, since the venue builds set menus to order for celebrations and groups.
- Hygiene: Pass, though the inspection dates to 21 June 2019.9
Jeff's take (his words)
- Note: "Some of the best Indian. Lots of awards including several in 2024"
Verdict
should-visit — The Asian Catering Federation named Charcoals Best Asian Restaurant of the Year for its Scottish region at the 2024 Asian Curry Awards, and crowned owner Mohammad Sultan Curry King at the same ceremony, which is the individual title in that programme. That sits on top of a Glasgow & West win in the same federation's Scottish awards in 2020 and a Scottish Curry Awards community title in 2023, so the record is sustained across three separate years rather than a single good night. It stops short of must-visit because no critic in the approved register has assessed the cooking since the move to Trongate, and no dish, price or hour is verified.