Balbir's Tiffin Rooms

This review appears in the The List's Eating & Drinking Guide 2009 – in the shops now or buy online.

Balbir, Glasgow’s original curry king, is renowned for his starters and tasters, so the introduction of tiffins - an Anglo-Indian word for light meals – seems an obvious move. Tiffin Rooms, in common with his other restaurants, champions unpretentious, fresh adventurous food with a lot of locally sourced ingredients. The kitchen uses low-cholesterol rapeseed oil rather than ghee while cream, butter, sugar and salt are used sparingly. The result is good food that's good for you. Chefs from India have brought new ideas straight from the dhosa houses and grill rooms of Mumbai. A delicately flavoured, vegetable tava on a sizzling griddle is, apparently, a firm favourite with Bollywood stars. There are mussels in garlic and coriander soup and soft little lamb patties made with ginger, garlic, chilli and gram flour, dressed with tamarind chutney and raita. Good dhosas are hard to find in Glasgow (it's not a Punjabi dish) but here they are crisp and filled with minced lamb, chicken or vegetables accompanied by coconut chutney and a light dhal with fresh curry leaf and mustard. Beyond the Tiffin menu, mains come as single dishes, as meals with rice and Bombay potatoes or as part of the thali-for-two deal at a very reasonable £13.95. You're encouraged to mix and match to create a substantial meal but one or two tiffins suits the bistro style of light meals available throughout the day.

• High point: Quality and freshness of dishes
• Low point: Desserts don't yet match mains for quality and choice