Murphy's Pakora Bar

Sanjay and Jiggy Majhu ran the original as a late-night Finnieston pakora bar from 1996 to 1999, and on 8 April 2022 their son Nitish reopened the name a few doors along Argyle Street (Glasgowist).

Why go

The point of the original was feeding people coming out of the pubs, and the revival kept that: service from 4pm, late at weekends. The unit was Green Chilli Cafe before this, part of the Ashoka chain, and the Ashoka thread runs through the current operation too, since the Desi lamb is credited to the chefs behind the Ashoka cookschool and the gift vouchers are sold on Ashoka's platform. The dish that justifies the trip on paper is the haggis, neeps and tatties pakora served with whisky sauce, which is a Glasgow-Punjabi idea rather than a novelty. What complicates the recommendation is the only serious review anyone has published, and it is brutal. Read the next two sections together before booking.

Order this / avoid

• Order: the haggis, neeps and tatties pakora with whisky sauce, which is both Paul Trainer's opening pick and the one dish Curry-Heute's table called "the best part of the meal" ref. The Indian fried chicken is boneless thigh in a house tandoori blend with honey, and the tarka masala tots were the plate that same review said had actually absorbed flavor. Ask for Amritsari fish if you want fish pakora; that is what it is called here.
• Avoid: the "Murphy's fryer for 2" at GBP 16, which arrived as eight pieces. Avoid the on-the-bone Desi lamb if you want a real desi curry, and avoid the garlic naan. All three caveats come from the same 2024 review, and none has been contradicted by another critic since.

What locals & experts say

• Paul Trainer, Glasgowist (8 April 2022), naming his own picks from the opening menu: "Haggis, neeps and tatties pakora served with whisky sauce," and a "Desi lamb curry, created by the chefs behind the Ashoka cookschool." ref
• Hector, Curry-Heute (4 July 2024), the dissenting view and the strongest evidence here. On the sharing platter: "Eight pieces of Pakora, two Dips, minimal garnish. If Chef was having a laugh, the Hector did not find it funny. This was outrageous, GBP 2.00 a unit." On the curry: "In what way was this Curry, Desi? In name only, surely? Curry-Heute recognises this Curry as Mainstream." On the bill: "GBP 57.70 The biggest Bill for the smallest amount of food ever served in a Curry House. In over two thousand reviews on Curry-Heute, significant." Curry-Heute is pseudonymous, which is why it is paired here rather than relied on alone. ref
• No bylined critic has reviewed it. A Scotsman "Best Restaurants In Glasgow 2023" placing circulates, but that list is compiled "as per TripAdvisor reviews" by its own headline, so it is not treated as a credential here.
• Food hygiene: Pass, inspected 2 May 2023 ref.

Good to know

• Timing: Sunday to Thursday 4pm to 10pm, Friday from 4pm till late, Saturday from noon till late. Nothing at lunch except Saturdays.
• Booking: take a table online. The room runs over two floors in booths and alcoves, which suits a group sharing plates.
• Prices: the documented 2024 numbers were pakora at GBP 5.50 to 7.25 and curries at GBP 12.00 to 12.50. A current menu PDF went up in April 2026 and has not been checked against those, so treat the older figures as a guide.
• Getting there: 1293 Argyle Street, the Finnieston strip, on the same block as the Islay Inn and a short walk from the OVO Hydro. Jeff's row had it filed under City Centre.

Jeff's take (his words)

• Note: none recorded. The row carried a merge-generated line and an empty description field, so nothing here is attributed to him. Given how split the evidence is, his own read on the pakora would be the most useful line in the entry. See research/murphys-pakora-bar.md.

Verdict (Chef Jeff ladder)

listed — Sanjay and Jiggy Majhu fed post-pub Finnieston from 1996 to 1999, and in April 2022 their son Nitish reopened the name a few doors along, in the old Green Chilli Cafe unit, with haggis, neeps and tatties pakora under a whisky sauce. Paul Trainer picked the dishes on the opening menu and the family thread is real. But the only substantive review on record, from Curry-Heute after 2,000-plus visits, found eight pieces of pakora for GBP 16, an on-the-bone Desi lamb with no whole spice that he graded Mainstream, and the worst value bill he has written up. On that evidence it stays on the board rather than earning a trip: go for the haggis pakora and a drink, order carefully, and eat your curry in the Southside.