Dine

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• What are these?

• Average price 2 courses:
   £9.95 (set lunch)
   £20 (evening meal)
• House wine: £12.50 per bottle

• Hitlisted
• High point: Good food favoured over culinary modishness
• Low point: Bit draughty at the window table
• Food served: Tue-Thu noon-2.30pm, 5-9.30pm; Fri/Sat noon-2.30pm, 5-10pm; Sun noon-9.30pm. Closed Mon.
• Open since: 2006
• Also offers: Childrens portions, Pre-theatre menu

The List's Eating & Drinking Guide 2008 is now in the shops.

This review is from the 2007 edition.

Like a pearl in a bowl of marbles, Dine lights up an area of local businesses and takeaways. Its narrow wedge of an interior - teetering between cosy and cramped when busy - has gleaming white walls and tablecloths broken up by little more than rows of tall-backed chairs. It's a fripperies-free canvas hinting at a confidence that flavoursome, attractively presented food can speak for itself. A familiar starter of goat's cheese, cherry tomato and basil tart with shallot coulis fends off mutters of 'ho-hum' with a singular freshness that bursts out of its delicate, crumbly base. Fleshy skewers of lemon-grass and chilli king prawn, meanwhile, sizzle alongside a zesty, springy Thai salad. Mains include a risotto studded with hunks of lobster and king prawn drizzled in shellfish oil, and a 12oz lemon and pepper rib-eye steak with a glut of crispy parmesan and chilli fries. The resident cheesecake typifies Dine: the use of limoncello is not an affectation, but a carefully controlled liqueur infusion that lifts the dish and hints at real talent in the kitchen. It's a near-perfect neighbourhood restaurant, but the locals need not be alone - Giffnock train station is a stone's casual flick away.