Shish Mahal

I came to this restaurant with the expectation that the chicken tikka masala would be out of this world. After all, it lays claim to being the birth place of the chicken tikka masala.
I have to say that despite the service being great and the naan being huge (!), the actual tikka masala left something to be desired. It was average at best. I was disappointed to say the least. The other dishes we had, a lamb shish kebab for appetizers and lamb korma were better but still not really up to par.
I especially went out of my way to come here and I am not sure I would do that again. But, if I was in the area, I would definitely give it another chance.

Before a night at The Stand Comedy Club, my friends and I chose to visit the Shish Mahal for dinner. It is definitely well located if you fancy a bite to eat before heading to The Stand and the restaurant is a good size and very comfortable — everything is well laid out. First impressions were really good indeed!
Our waiter was over immediately to place our napkins on our laps (that always reminds me of the episode of Mr Bean when he goes out own his own for his birthday dinner!) and give us the large and extensive menus — they literally have so many Indian dishes to choose from! We ordered our drinks which arrived promptly and more people started to arrive. I heard many of them commenting they had been coming here for years which is a very good sign.
We ordered poppadoms and spiced onions to start. The poppadoms themselves where exactly what you would expect but the spiced onions were a bit of a disappointment. They were just really dry and not very spicy. For my main, I ordered a chicken korma (which is so unlike me, I love spice) with rice and a peshwari naan for us to share. The korma was okay, but I regretted not opting for something hotter. The naan was amazing! It could easily have been shared between four people! It was warm and my only slight criticism is that it could have been a little sweeter.
There was nothing on the dessert menu that took our fancy so we paid the bill and left. I’d definitely come back to the Shish Mahal if I was going to The Stand again because I would like to try one of their hotter curries and from other reviews, it sounds like their starters need to be tried!

Very vegetarian friendly!
A return visit to Shish Mahal was well overdue so I booked a table and headed over for an early dinner. It was already pretty packed at 6.30pm midweek so booking is a good idea. I pulled the Shish Mahal listing up on my Unilocal app and hit the phone number. Easy peasy — thank you Unilocal!
Had to have me some of those amazing onion pakora/​bhajis again though this time we shared two portions between three and it was plenty! When it comes to the vegetarian section of their menu my cup really did runneth over. There were so many great looking options that I couldn’t decide and let someone else choose for me.
I had the vegetable chasni with rice and a part share in a very big naan which was cooked to perfection. The meat eater had a chicken dish and enjoyed having a whole breast chicken rather than chopped pieces. The waiters here are lovely and we enjoyed a little banter at the end of our meal. Top marks for the Shish. Again!

Here comes another review of an Indian place by someone who’s not really a fan of Indian food! (I do like pakora, okay?)
We ended up here after our first choice had almost nothing gluten free available. Shish Mahal has a massive menu, and it’s not labeled with allergen information. However, our server was on it and checked with the kitchen three times to assure my order was a-​okay.
We shared the plain pakora (really, onion pakora) — the portion is huge, and they are really nice. A bit spicier than expected, maybe, though the menu does say so. Also gluten free are the vegetable and chicken pakora.
However, I totally filled up on pakora so when my main came, I barely touched it. I opted for a chicken kebab dish from the tandoor menu. The plate was massive, with three burger-​sized chicken patties over a heap of rice, a side salad, and a side of some kind of sauce/​gravy situation that I couldn’t bring myself to try — sorry. I had the chicken and rice for lunch today and it’s quite nice, even for a non-​fan like myself.
Service was very good, and they really did look out for my dietary requirements. If you can eat gluten, the naan looked amazing — bigger than a dinner plate and fluffy. Other reviewers seem to enjoy it and I can see why!

Wow they say the unplanned nights are the best that is so true on this occasion. Dropping in unexpectedly the flustered host quickly found us a table. My thoughts were oh no the place is empty and this guys struggling to find us a seat. Once we got our seats the restaurant was pretty full in minutes. At this point the service was slow but not to worry the waiters were pleasant enough. We don’t tend to go for curries that Often because Austen M isn’t a big fan of them so I get over excited and want to order everything on the menu this was hard as the menu was massive. After about 20 minutes I had chosen the Chicken tikka masala. Pieces of chicken Tikka in a spicy sauce with chunks of chilies… Soo good. On the sise Cheese Naan — so fluffy and so tasty. The curry was so big I could not finish it, the staff happily boxed it up for me to take home. 5 stars for the food itself because it is that good.

We had a wee spur of the moment visit to this place last night. Usually our eating out is planned in advance, so it was really good just to pick somewhere and go along with no real advance expectations of how it was going to be.
When we arrived, the initial staff we met were not overly friendly as we had not booked in advance and they struggled to fit us in. It is very much an old style curry house in terms of décor, so caught in a time warp. It has been there for decades, but the style has always stayed the same I would imagine.
Once they squeezed us into their last available table we waited ages for our menus as we watched others get served before us. First impressions were not great tbh. The menu was huge and dated in style and it took us a while to pick.
Then the food arrived, this is when everything changed. The quality of food is amazing. Perhaps the best I have had in Glasgow in this genre. Mixed pakora to share to start was extremely fresh and tasty. We got one piece each of veggie, chicken, fish, potato and mushroom. Hard to pick a favourite they were also so good. Probs top three were chicken, fish, mushroom. If you love pakora, this place is definitely worth trying.
For mains I had a lamb tikka kebab, with rice, salad, sauce and a cheese & onion nan on the side. The portions are huge! The cheese and onion nan was one of the best I can remember having. Hunners of cheese and the best, fluffiest bread you can imagine. The kebab itself was also huge, cooked to perfection and really tasty.
The service let it down a bit at the start, but as the night went on it got much better. There was friendlier staff and it was super quick and efficient. Beers on offer also let it down a wee bit with limited options. I had a pint of cobra which was fine, but boring IMO. Still pretty standard for this type of place I guess.
The food is without doubt five stars, but for me as as an overall experience it’s 4 stars.

I have just finished one of the best Indian’s I have had in a long time. Very attentive service with fantastically cook food. I highly recommend that you try this place.

The Shish Mahal is located on Park Road near Great Western Road, inside is exactly what you would expect of a local indian restaurant — it’s fairly ageless, if you told me it was last decorated in the 80′s I would believe you or if you told me it was done last week I wouldn’t bat an eyelid. It was a lovely warm and welcoming interior which was really comfortable surroundings to enjoy a delicious meal.
The staff were friendly and very attentive. Our waiter was very good at keeping us up to date with our wait time as our starter was seriously delayed (25 min wait), he was helpful in telling us why we were waiting so long and apologised a few times for it.
We started our meal with a couple of delicious crisp warm poppadoms and a rather tasty mango chutney which we munched on while picking our dishes. Word of warning the menu is utterly massive… it is pages and pages of food and more than a little intimidating. It could take you half an hour just to read through it, so I just spotted a couple of things I wanted and went with it.
For my starter I choose the Macchi Tikka, Tandoori charcoal smoked salmon, marinated coriander, peppercorn, ghram masala and red chillies. The dish arrived with 3 big chunks of soft flakey flavoursome salmon which was served with a little side salad. I loved this starter it was incredibly tasty with just a little bit of heat in the dish.
I chose the Chicken Tikka for my main which came with, rice, side salad and gravy (I didn’t bother with the gravy) When it arrived a huge portion of chicken and rice was present to me, the chicken was cooked perfectly and again just a little heat in the dish. I found the dish really delicious and would highly recommend it.
My favourite part of the dish though was definitely the Nan, are you ready for a bold claim… Best Nan I’ve Ever Had! It was huge, amazingly doughy while still staying light and fluffy. It was coated in sesame oil which really added a gorgeous flavour and a lovely moisture to the bread. Utterly Scrumptious!
All in all a fantastic indian restaurant that offers all the local favourites which I would recommend to anyone.

Iv been going to the shish mahal for years, it is no doubt in my opinion the best curry-​house in glasgow, the prices are fair, the food is amazing, the staff are friendly and make you feel very welcome, iv been to most of the high regarded curry-​houses in glasgow such as mother india etc but in my opinion nothing beats the good old shish !, DO NOT GET THIS CONFUSED WITH THE MARYHILL ROAD RESTURANT, This review is on PARK ROAD, i highly recommend the shish mahal to everyone please try it YOU WILL NOT BE DISSAPOINTED sorry for my dodgy spelling but i assure you my taste in curry’s are not.

Really liked the Indian style food. Vegan option for my wife was very good. Some tables a bit crowded by take away queue. really need to book tables by the window very good — can get very busy service good. OK price for quality of food. Beer on tap is good. I will be going back!

We were recommended this restaurant by the B&B that we were staying at. The food was good and the service excellent and prices were fair. I would go again.

Been going to the shish for years and can‘t find fault.
Will continue to tell those that havn‘t been that it is seriously good.
RickyB33

No No No.
This is not a good curry house.
Soft poppadoms, salty and soggy spicey onions, uninspiring curry with bland flavour. Maybe I went on a bad night judging by some of the other reviews but the food is not what I expected off the back of recommendations from friends.
Try Chillies on woodlands rd or the Ashoka on Ashton Lane. Both produce far superior food.

This is a good «traditional» Scottish curry house. It serves a wide variety of the usual Bangladeshi favourites. My personal favourite is the Chicken Tikka Masala for which the Shish is well known. Polite and efficient service and a pleasant (if not slightly cliched) décor add to the overall experience.
It does, however, fall slightly foul of ghee laden dishes which can be a bit overbearing. For a lighter bite try the tikka based dishes.
All in all though, a good curry in the westend.

Fantastic. Great food, great service, great atmosphere, reasonable prices.

It was news to me that they invented Tikka Masala here — that’s so cool!
In hindsight, it’s no surprise — this popular curry house in the heart of the west end is always buzzing with custom, and is a rather scrumptious place to eat.
With its open plan interior that is airy, spacious, sleek and very contemporary in appearance, Shish Mahal have moved with the times. But their range of dishes on both the Ala Carte and lunchtime menu range from progressive Indian to more traditional dishes. Their extensive, colourful caters to everyone, from those who like it hot to veggies and people with milder taste buds.
I haven’t been here for a while but I love it. What originally led me here was my eager ex boyfriend who was trying so desperately to get me to branch out. I had a really bad school dinner experience with curry when I was really young and actually hated it until I was 16. I assumed it was all going to taste like it had when I was 8. Thank God I came in here because I never would’ve known the wonder of Chicken Chaat, or how tasty a korma was. The staff were very polite in getting me started and sympathetic to my tastes.
Now, I can’t get enough of curry, which I credit to Shish Mahal. I love going back and trying something different every time, as well as sampling some of my all time favourite nibbles. A great introduction to Indian cuisine, but well known by curry lovers for its quality and class. Cripes, this review is making me hungry.

This place has a massive selection of curries on offer and even invented the Tikka Masala:
Need I say more? An absolute legend.

My dad lives in Glasgow and every time I visit we head to The Shish. The menu is enormous and I have experimented a few times and never been disappointed.
The tandoori lamb chop starter is amazing — I only recently tried it because my brother usually refuses to share. The pakoras are wonderful too.
The service is great and the atmosphere is nice and relaxed.
Bonus points for anyone spotting the comical typo in the menu…

Further evidence that Glasgow’s west end really is the place for a good curry, Shish Mahal caters for all, their menu is well divided by Western dishes (such as sirloin steak, omelettes and even chicken nuggets) Biryani, specials, tandooris Chef specials and traditional curries. And then within curries you can choose if you would like chicken, lamb, prawn or king prawn.
Shish Mahal is a little cheaper offering excellent value as well as a menu caters for many palettes tastes, it really is a cracking curry house and is a contender for one of the best in Glasgow.
I haven’t eaten in only had a carry out before but service is usually fairly prompt.

Regarded as one of the top restaurants in the UK, superb!
The plain pakora is unique!