The Dhabba
The kitchen cooks dum pukht, the sealed-pot method where meat and rice finish in their own steam under a lid of dough, and the plate to order is laal maas, the Rajasthani lamb built on red chillies and yogurt (Foodie Explorers).
Why go
The Dhabba opened on Candleriggs in 2002 and has cooked North Indian food from the owning family's own recipes ever since. Owner Navdeep Basi runs it alongside Dakhin at number 89, so one family covers the north of India at one end of the street and the south at the other. Harden's 2024 survey called it a "modern-looking north Indian restaurant, which has been a feature of the Merchant City for over twenty years now," and its 2025 entry still recorded "outstanding" Indian cooking. The kitchen is 100% nut free, with gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan options across the menu, per the restaurant's own statement.
Order this / avoid
- Order: laal maas, the Rajasthani lamb built on red chillies and yogurt, and start with street chaat. Foodie Explorers found the papdi chaat
gently spiced
and the bhel puri made withpuffed rice, sev, potato and mango in a spicy tamarind dressing.
3 - Avoid: treating it as a special-occasion room. Harden's scores the ambience 2 out of 5, and reviewers have flagged the music volume.
What locals & experts say
- Harden's (2025 survey):
Limited feedback this year on this Merchant City fixture of over two decades' standing, but such as we have still praises some 'outstanding' Indian cuisine.
Food 3, service 4, ambience 2, average price £51.1 - Foodie Explorers (2017, updated 2019): the room is
non-cluttered, modern and minimalist,
the serviceimpeccable,
and the bemmisal handi arrives as tandoori chicken in asmooth sweet sauce of tomato and fragrant cardamom.
3 - Glasgowist: covers The Dhabba and Dakhin as a pair, the North Indian and South Indian rooms on the same Merchant City street.4
- Local rec: Jeff's save, his verdict below.
Good to know
- Timing: open every day, lunch through to a 21:30 finish most nights and 22:00 on Saturday. Check the Maps pin for exact hours.
- Booking: worth reserving for dinner, especially on a weekend or before a Merchant City show.
- Allergies: the kitchen states it is 100% nut free. If you need gluten-free too, the sister restaurant Dakhin at 89 Candleriggs runs a fully gluten-free kitchen and has its own entry.
- Michelin: the restaurant advertises a Michelin Guide listing. That was not confirmed on Michelin's own site this pass.
Jeff's take (his words)
- Note: "Indian Glasgow institution"
- Note: "Classic Indian."
Verdict
should-visit — Worth the detour if you want Indian food in Glasgow that is cooked by region rather than by curry-house convention. Twenty-plus years on Candleriggs, a menu built on dum pukht slow cooking, Rajasthani laal maas and Kolkata-style kathi rolls, and Harden's still recording 'outstanding' food in its 2025 survey. It does not reach must-visit: the room scores badly on ambience, the price has climbed to a £51 average, and its own sister restaurant down the street does the rarer thing.