Dino's

This review appears in the The List's Eating & Drinking Guide 2008 – in the shops now or buy online.

Glasgow institutions for four decades now, Dino's restaurants have perhaps two of the best locations in the city centre, with the Sauchiehall Street branch barely a stone's throw from the Royal Concert Hall and the outlet on Hope Street situated directly adjacent to Central Station. Prices sometimes reflect this prime real estate, and in some cases you can expect to pay handsomely for standard dishes, particularly at Sauchiehall Street. But considering the service is so sharp and attentive, and everything is freshly cooked in-house (right down to the bread rolls which are fired in the pizza ovens before dawn every morning), you probably won't mind shelling out the few quid extra. Minestrone nostrano is so chunky and filling it could barely even be considered a soup, and floats with big, wholesome lumps of vegetable and pasta. Pizzas are an obvious speciality (the adjoining takeaway shop at Sauchiehall Street does a roaring trade in them), but so too are steaks. The truly intrepid, or just plain hungry, should take on a filetto al buon gustaio – a monster prime fillet, sautéed with port and tomatoes, smothered with melted mozzarella and served balanced on two giant croutons in a thick pool of demi-glace.

• High point: Some big steaks
• Low point: Some big prices