The grid of Sauchiehall, Bath and St Vincent Streets: steakhouses, Japanese grills, cocktail dens and late-night kitchens.
Nanakusa is a City Centre Japanese grill on Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, turning out ramen, sushi and robata skewers to a steady after-work crowd.
Signature: Tonkotsu ramen, Robata skewers
Order: A bowl of tonkotsu ramen and a few charcoal robata skewers to share.
Tip: It is one of the few kitchens on this stretch open through the afternoon, handy for a late lunch.
Nippon Kitchen is a City Centre Japanese restaurant in a grand West George Street building in Glasgow, running teppanyaki grills, sushi and bento at lunch.
Signature: Teppanyaki grills, Sushi platters
Order: A teppanyaki set from the grill, or a mixed sushi platter at lunch.
Tip: The lunchtime bento boxes are the best-value way into the menu before the pricier evening service.
Amber Regent is a white-tablecloth Cantonese restaurant on West Regent Street, Glasgow, open since 1988 and known for Scottish seafood cooked Hong Kong style.
Signature: Cantonese seafood, Aromatic crispy duck
Order: Steamed seafood from the day's market list, cooked in the classic Cantonese style.
Tip: This is old-school linen-and-service dining; the pre-theatre menu is the smart-value order before a show.
Brian Maule at Chardon d'Or is a grand City Centre room where the ex-Le Gavroche chef cooks classic French technique on Scottish produce, Glasgow fine dining.
Order: The set lunch menu is the smart value order, three courses of the same refined French cooking.
Tip: The upstairs dining room is the formal one; the ground-floor brasserie takes walk-ins for a lighter, cheaper meal.
Gamba is Glasgow's long-running seafood basement on West George Street, where a fish-first kitchen has drawn diners across Scotland for over two decades.
Order: The fish soup with crab, ginger and prawn dumpling, a menu fixture since Gamba opened.
Tip: The pre-theatre menu before 18:45 is one of the best-value fine-dining seafood deals in the city.
Sugo is a fast, loud fresh-pasta room on Mitchell Street in Glasgow's city centre, from the Paesano team, serving handmade pasta in the Lighthouse building.
Order: Whatever ragu is on that day, twirled through fresh pappardelle.
Tip: Like its sibling Paesano, it is walk-in only and turns tables quickly, so expect a short wait at peak times.
Bread Meats Bread is a St Vincent Street burger joint in Glasgow, stacking award-winning patties, poutine and vegan options for a hungry city-centre crowd.
Order: A dirty-style cheeseburger with a side of poutine.
Tip: The vegan menu is more than an afterthought here, with dedicated plant-based burgers and poutine.
Topolabamba is a colourful Mexican street-food spot on St Vincent Street in Glasgow, plating tacos, tostadas and margaritas in a busy city-centre room.
Order: A spread of soft tacos to share and a frozen margarita.
Tip: The bottomless brunch and taco deals are the value draw; book ahead for weekend sittings.
The Anchor Line fills the restored 1905 shipping offices on St Vincent Place, Glasgow, an ocean-liner-themed grill of steaks, seafood and cocktails.
Order: A steak from the grill, with a plate of oysters to start.
Tip: The room mimics a transatlantic liner; ask for a booth for the full period effect.
Buck's Bar is a rock and roll fried-chicken joint on West Regent Street in Glasgow, slinging buttermilk and Nashville hot chicken with bourbon and loud music.
Order: The Nashville hot chicken with a bourbon on the side.
Tip: It doubles as a late bar with live bands, so it works for a boozy dinner as much as a quick feed.
Sarti is a long-running Italian cafe-restaurant on Wellington Street in Glasgow, an all-day city-centre room for espresso, pasta and thin Roman pizza.
Order: A plate of pasta and a proper Italian espresso from the deli counter.
Tip: It opens for breakfast, so it is a good bet for a morning pastry and coffee before the shops.
Chaakoo Bombay Cafe channels the Irani cafes of old Bombay on St Vincent Street in Glasgow, serving small-plate Indian street food and railway-station snacks.
Order: A spread of small plates: the okra fries and the keema pau are regulars' picks.
Tip: Order in rounds like tapas rather than one big curry; the small plates are where the kitchen shines.
La Lanterna is Glasgow's oldest family-run Italian, a Hope Street city-centre room opened in 1970 and still serving classic pasta, veal and seafood.
Order: A classic veal dish or the fresh seafood pasta, cooked the old-school way.
Tip: There is a second, larger La Lanterna on West Regent Street; this Hope Street original is the intimate one.
Halloumi is a lively Greek meze restaurant on Hope Street in Glasgow's city centre, plating grilled halloumi, souvlaki and sharing dishes with Greek wine.
Order: Grilled halloumi to start and a mixed souvlaki platter to share.
Tip: Go for the meze route over single mains; the sharing plates are the best way to eat here.
Non Viet serves authentic Vietnamese food on Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow, a bright room where the pho and bun bowls draw a loyal city-centre crowd.
Order: A steaming bowl of beef pho, or the vermicelli bun with grilled pork.
Tip: There are further Non Viet branches in the West End; this Sauchiehall Street one is handy for Charing Cross.
The Wee Curry Shop is a tiny, much-loved curry room on Buccleuch Street in Glasgow, cooking a short, fresh Indian menu at a handful of tables since the 1990s.
Order: The set thali is the classic order; the menu is short and changes with what is fresh.
Tip: There are only a few tables in the Garnethill room, so booking ahead is essential most evenings.
Riverhill Coffee Bar is a tiny, ethical cafe on Gordon Street in Glasgow's city centre, pouring proper coffee and stacking generous sandwiches and cakes.
Signature drink: Flat white
Tip: It is small and busy at lunch, so grab a sandwich to take away if the handful of tables are full.
Laboratorio Espresso is an Italian-style coffee bar on West Nile Street in Glasgow, pulling some of the city centre's best espresso in a snug room.
Signature drink: Italian-style espresso
Tip: Order at the counter and take a stool; it is a coffee-first room, not a laptop-all-day cafe.
The Mackintosh Tearooms recreate Charles Rennie Mackintosh's 1903 Willow Tea Rooms on Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow, serving afternoon tea in his own design.
Signature drink: Afternoon tea
Tip: Book the Salon de Luxe upstairs for the full Mackintosh interior; downstairs is quicker for a pot of tea.
The Singl-end is a basement cafe and bakehouse in Garnethill, Glasgow, a big all-day brunch room with strong gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan options.
Signature drink: Brunch coffee
Tip: It is a wide, accessible basement good for groups; the bakehouse counter is worth a look on the way out.
Tantrum Doughnuts hand-makes small-batch doughnuts on Gordon Street in Glasgow's city centre, from brown-butter glaze to seasonal filled rings.
Tip: The flavours rotate weekly and the best sell out fast, so go in the morning rather than late afternoon.
Worth the queue: Brown butter glazed doughnut
Vroni's is Glasgow's grande-dame wine bar, tucked upstairs on West Nile Street since 1995, pouring an old-world list alongside its famous cheeseboards.
Signature pour: A glass of grower Champagne
Wine focus: Old-world classics by the glass
Food: Cheeseboards and nibbles
Tip: It stopped serving hot food, so come for wine and a cheeseboard rather than a full meal.
The Pot Still is a fourth-generation whisky bar on Hope Street in Glasgow, pouring from more than 1,000 bottles under the eye of the Murphy family.
Signature drink: A dram from the 1,000-plus whisky range
Food: Pies and toasties
Tip: Ask the staff for a recommendation by flavour rather than name; they will find you a dram to suit and a pie to match.
The Horse Shoe Bar is an 1884 Victorian gin palace off Buchanan Street in Glasgow, home to the UK's longest continuous bar and cheap pub lunches.
Signature drink: A pint at the UK's longest bar
Food: Cheap pub lunches
Tip: The upstairs lounge does a famously cheap three-course lunch; the ground-floor island bar is the historic draw.
Sloans is Glasgow's oldest bar and restaurant, an 1797 room in the Argyll Arcade off Argyle Street, all mahogany, mirrors and a famous ceilidh upstairs.
Signature drink: Cask ale in the wood-panelled bar
Food: Pub classics and fish and chips
Tip: The Saturday-night ceilidh in the upstairs ballroom is a proper Glasgow night out; book if you want to dance.
Nice N Sleazy is a Sauchiehall Street dive bar and gig venue in Glasgow, a scruffy city-centre institution for cheap drinks, a jukebox and live bands.
Signature drink: Cheap house spirits and craft cans
Food: Bar food, meat and vegan
Tip: The upstairs bar serves food until 9pm; the downstairs venue opens at 7:30pm for gigs and club nights.
The Butterfly and the Pig is a quirky, vintage-styled bar on Bath Street in Glasgow, mixing cocktails, Scottish comfort food and live music six nights a week.
Signature drink: Retro cocktails and tea-time serves
Food: Scottish comfort food
Tip: The tearoom next door at number 151 does an old-fashioned afternoon tea; the bar downstairs is the night-time draw.
Babs is a modern kebab house on West Nile Street in Glasgow from the Bread Meats Bread team, grilling Levantine, Greek and Turkish street food.
Try: Gourmet kebabs and mezze
Tip: It comes from the Bread Meats Bread crew, so expect the same big flavours; the lamb shawarma is the pick.
Falafel To Go is a tiny Sauchiehall Street counter in Glasgow with a near-permanent queue, wrapping fresh, cheap vegan falafel to take away.
Try: Fresh vegan falafel wraps
Tip: There is often a short wait at lunch, but the wraps are among the best-value bites in the city centre.
Topolabamba plates Mexican street food, tacos and tostadas on St Vincent Street in Glasgow, a colourful, margarita-fuelled city-centre room.
Try: Tacos and tostadas
Tip: It is a sit-in Mexican street-food spot; the taco deals and bottomless brunch are the value orders.
Bread Meats Bread is a St Vincent Street burger counter in Glasgow, stacking award-winning patties, poutine and vegan burgers for the city-centre lunch crowd.
Try: Burgers and poutine
Tip: The poutine is the sleeper hit alongside the burgers, and the vegan menu is a full second line-up.
Shilling Brewing Co is a city-centre brewpub in a former bank on West George Street, Glasgow, pouring 30-plus taps of its own beer alongside wood-fired pizza.
Tip: It brews on-site in the old bank hall; the pizzas from Roberto the pizzaiolo are the food to order with a flight.
Falafel To Go wraps fresh, cheap vegan falafel on Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow, one of the best-value quick lunches anywhere in the city centre.
Try: Fresh falafel wrap
Tip: There is often a short wait at lunch; the loaded wrap is more than enough for a full meal.
The Wee Curry Shop cooks a short, fresh and cheap Indian menu from a tiny Garnethill room in Glasgow, a long-standing budget favourite for a proper curry.
Try: Set curry thali
Tip: There are only a few tables, so book ahead at weekends or grab a lunch sitting.
Bread Meats Bread stacks award-winning burgers, poutine and vegan options on St Vincent Street in Glasgow, filling city-centre value with a proper feed.
Try: Burgers and poutine
Tip: Split a poutine between two; the portions are generous even at the budget end.
Blue Lagoon fries a cheap, reliable fish supper in Glasgow's city centre, an Italian-Scots chippy running since 1975 and open late on Gordon Street.
Try: Fish supper
Tip: It is the classic budget chippy; the fish supper is the order, gluten-free available.
The Singl-end is a big basement brunch room and bakehouse in Garnethill, Glasgow, cooking all-day plates with gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan options.
Order: The big brunch plate, with strong gluten-free and vegan versions available.
Blue Lagoon is Glasgow's late-night chippy, an Italian-Scots institution since 1975 whose Gordon Street branch fries until 04:00 in the city centre.
Try: Fish and chips
Tip: It is the classic post-club feed; the Gordon Street site keeps the longest hours of the chain.
Boteco do Brasil is a late-night Brazilian bar and grill on the Trongate in Glasgow, serving sharing plates, caipirinhas and live music until 03:00.
Try: Brazilian sharing plates and caipirinhas
Tip: It turns into a bar and club later on, so come earlier in the night to eat before the dancing.
Steak and Cherry is a late-night Sauchiehall Street diner in Glasgow, slinging steak-mince burgers, New York pizza and steaks until 04:00 at the weekend.
Try: Steak-mince burgers and New York pizza
Tip: The weekend 04:00 close makes it a reliable refuel after a night in the Sauchiehall Street clubs.
NY Slice is a New York-style pizza counter on Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow, selling big folding slices and full pies until 04:00 on weekend nights.
Try: New York pizza by the slice
Tip: Grab a slice to eat on the walk home; the pepperoni is the reliable late-night order.