Two Fat Ladies

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

An average two-course dinner at Two Fat Ladies costs what top-end restaurants charge for a single main course these days. Such economies have an obvious appeal and this restaurant helps its cause by putting generally excellent food on the table, to boot. The heavily fish-oriented menus are almost the same at the Dumbarton Road and Blythswood Street branches, even if the ambiences are a bit different. Starters can include a small portion of expertly seared scallops (hand-dived) with a nugget of Stornoway black pudding and scattering of crispy pancetta. Among mains, a halibut fillet is exemplary in its pearly, just-cooked state, even if the accompanying gnocchi (in a nippy chilli/tomato sauce) are a bit sticky. A baked whole sea bream comes with the skin scored so that it's crispy, the slightly blackened condition presenting extra flavour and texture to the chive and lemon-stuffed flesh. The city centre outlet often has a metropolitan buzz about it (and the occasional celebrity booking as well), while the original TFL near Partick Cross maintains its status as one of the better neighbourhood-oriented bistros going.

• High point: Value for money
• Low point: One overcooked sole