Sloan's

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

Renamed Bastille for a year or so, Sloan's original and proper name – circa 1797 – has been restored. The interior retains the wood-panelled charm of 200 years of history. The upstairs restaurant particularly provides a taste of the affluence of mercantile Glasgow, with the addition of leather sofas lending an air of old-school informality among the chandeliers and potted palms. The ground-floor bar has a small dining area tucked round the back. The whole place tends to be bustling most of the time, whether with lunching families, office workers or people just having a little something to go with a drink. With this level of turnover, the food and service can fall a little short of consistency. Crispy battered squid makes a happy pairing with hummus, helped by ample lemon squeezing. Garlic mushroom salad succulently balances freshness and intensity. But a sweet potato and chickpea curry lacks real zest, while the accompanying 'roti' actually appears to be an undercooked paratha. Spanish fish stew with chorizo is subtly spiced, with plenty of salmon, mussels and squid. But only one solitary prawn. Desserts, such as a dense cheesecake and ordinary vanilla ice-cream, round off the menu. Still, if original features and a sense of history light your candle then the atmosphere will carry any occasional culinary lapse.

• High point: The historic interiors
• Low point: Playing hunt the prawn