Dine

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

Nestled between a bank and an undertakers, this stylish neighbourhood restaurant easily rises above its workaday Southside surroundings. The compact dining room has an attractive simplicity, demonstrated by the crisp white tablecloths and the one-page à la carte menu, and is often packed with well-heeled locals – but the service from the small team comes with a friendly smile no matter where you're from. A warm salad of butter-soft scallops is served with salty pancetta and coated in a sharp citrus dressing, and a tender salt and pepper squid comes with a tangy oriental salad. Of the mains, a thick haunch of gamey venison is paired with a redcurrant jus, while multiple fillets of crispy skinned sea bass are cushioned on piles of fragrant chilli and lemon-grass noodles. A small selection of desserts includes a dark chocolate pudding topped with white chocolate ice-cream. The residents of Giffnock have rightly taken Dine to their hearts, but it's very much worth city dwellers making the short journey into the suburbs – by car, bus or the train from Central Station almost right to its doorstep.

• High point: Confident seasonal food
• Low point: Lights too bright for romance