For Sunday lunch in Glasgow, La Lanterna on Great Western Road is a reliable West End choice, serving an Italian-style long lunch from midday every Sunday. Sunday lunch does not have to mean a roast. It can mean a table you are in no hurry to leave, a bowl of pasta, a glass of something red, and an afternoon that drifts pleasantly towards coffee.
For Glasgow locals and visitors who want a relaxed Sunday meal, especially families, groups with different tastes, or anyone after a slower afternoon in the West End, that is a very easy way to spend the day. La Lanterna on Great Western Road opens every Sunday, which is worth saying plainly, because our original City Centre restaurant does not. If it is a Sunday, the West End is where you come. Below, we look at why Italian food suits a long Sunday lunch so well, what the West End restaurant is like, when to go and what to order, from pasta and risotto to fresh fish, meat dishes and Italian desserts, and how to turn lunch into a full West End afternoon.
Why Italian makes a better Sunday than a Sunday roast
A roast is a lovely thing, but it is also a commitment: one big plate, eaten fairly quickly, and then the afternoon sags. An Italian lunch has a different rhythm.
You can start light, with something to share while you settle in and decide what you actually feel like. You can order a plate of pasta or a risotto that is generous without flattening you for the rest of the day. And you can stretch the whole thing out across a couple of hours, because Italian eating was never built for speed.
That is the real appeal of Sunday lunch done this way. It is less about a single centrepiece and more about sitting somewhere comfortable, ordering as you go, and letting the meal set the pace of the afternoon rather than the other way round.
A West End table on Great Western Road
La Lanterna’s West End restaurant sits on Great Western Road, a short walk from Byres Road and Hillhead, in the part of Glasgow that does slow Sundays better than anywhere else in the city.
It is a neighbourhood room rather than a grand one: warm, unhurried, the kind of place where a two-hour lunch never feels like you are outstaying your welcome. On a bright day the outdoor seating near the River Kelvin is one of the nicest spots in the West End to eat. The restaurant grew out of the success of the original on Hope Street, and it brings the same family kitchen to this side of the city.
You can see the room and find directions on the West End page before you come.
Lunch or late lunch: timing your Sunday
The West End restaurant opens at midday on Sundays, which gives you a genuine choice about how to shape the day.
An early table, around one o’clock, turns lunch into the main event and leaves the whole afternoon free afterwards for a walk or the gardens. A later table, from around three, works better if you have had a slow morning and want to slide from lunch into early evening without a hard stop in between. Booking matters most between 1 pm and 3 pm, when demand is usually highest. Because the kitchen serves right through, there is no awkward gap where the restaurant shuts between sittings.
This is also a gentler option than a traditional Sunday roast if you are feeding a mixed group. Traditional Sunday lunch menus often revolve around roast beef, chicken or a vegetarian dish, while an Italian menu gives older relatives, small children and fussy eaters more room to choose what they actually want, and nobody is committed to one heavy plate at one fixed time. It makes the kind of family Sunday that people actually relax at.
What to order for a slow Sunday
There is no wrong way to build a Sunday lunch here, but a few things lend themselves to a long afternoon.
To begin
Order something to share while you look at the rest of the menu. A plate of antipasti or the gamberoni in crosta, the king prawns in oatmeal with chilli mayonnaise, does the job of easing everyone into the meal without filling anyone up.
The main event
This is pasta and risotto territory. While many Glasgow Sunday lunches focus on high-quality, locally sourced roasts, this menu takes a different route from the food people might expect elsewhere, where roast potatoes and Yorkshire puddings come with the usual trimmings. Both are made to be eaten slowly and talked over, and both are often served at an easy pace that suits the middle of an afternoon. If you want something with a bit more occasion to it, some roast-led venues also include vegetarian and vegan options, but here the fresh fish and the meat dishes carry a Sunday well. Our guide to the best Italian dishes to try in Glasgow runs through the ones worth knowing.
The long finish
The finish is the whole point of a Sunday. A tiramisu, an affogato, or simply an espresso and the last of the wine. There is no reason to rush any of it. If you want to know your panna cotta from your affogato before you order, our guide to Italian desserts explains the lot.
A glass with lunch
Sunday is made for a glass of something unhurried. A crisp white or a light red by the glass suits a midday meal without writing off the afternoon, and if there are a few of you, a bottle shared over two hours barely counts. Some Glasgow Sunday lunch offers take a sharper-value route, with The Scallion pairing two roasts with a bottle of wine for £30. The wine list was refreshed in 2026, and our guide to Italian wines to pair with your meal is a good primer if you would rather not deliberate at the table. An Aperol spritz to start is no bad way to mark the day as a proper one either.
Making a proper afternoon of it in the West End
One of the best things about a West End Sunday is that lunch can be the middle of the day rather than the end of it.
Kelvingrove Park and the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum are a short walk away, and both are made for a gentle post-lunch wander. The Botanic Gardens sit at the top of Byres Road. The University of Glasgow is on the doorstep, and the walk along the River Kelvin is quiet and green even on a busy weekend.
The easy plan is a late lunch, a slow walk, and a coffee to round things off. Book the table for around one o’clock and you have the whole afternoon in front of you.
If the weather turns, which it does, the West End is well set up for a Sunday indoors too. The galleries and museums are free to wander, and there are enough bookshops and coffee places around Byres Road to fill a grey afternoon without a plan. Lunch is the anchor; the rest of the day arranges itself around it.
For visitors staying in the city, a West End Sunday is also a good antidote to a weekend spent in the centre. It is only a few minutes out on the subway, but it feels a world away from the shopping streets, and a long Italian lunch is a fine way to end a trip before heading home.
Getting there and booking
The West End restaurant is easy to reach without a car. Hillhead Subway is the nearest station, a few minutes’ walk away, and Kelvinbridge is close too. If you are driving in from elsewhere in Glasgow or beyond, Great Western Road is straightforward to find and there is street parking in the surrounding streets, though it is worth allowing a little time on a sunny Sunday.
On hours, the West End restaurant is open on Sundays from midday, so you can take your table early and stay into the afternoon. Sundays are popular. Demand is strong across the city, with places such as The Merchant Steakhouse serving hundreds of Sunday roasts a week. It also has over a thousand five-star reviews from customers, which is another reason to make a reservation rather than chance a walk-in, especially for larger groups. You can book a table online in a couple of minutes.
If your Sunday happens to fall on a special occasion, the West End restaurant also has a private dining room for birthdays, anniversaries and family gatherings.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is La Lanterna open for Sunday lunch in Glasgow?
The West End restaurant on Great Western Road is open every Sunday from midday. The City Centre restaurant on Hope Street is closed on Sundays, so the West End is the one to book for a Sunday.
Do you serve a traditional Sunday roast?
No, La Lanterna is an Italian restaurant, so Sunday lunch here means pasta, risotto, fresh fish, meat dishes and Italian desserts rather than a carvery. Many people find it a more relaxed way to spend the afternoon.
How long can we keep the table?
An Italian lunch is built to be lingered over, and a two-hour Sunday table is entirely normal. Book for around one o’clock and you have the afternoon.
What is the nearest subway station?
Hillhead Subway is the closest, a short walk away, with Kelvinbridge also nearby.
Can you take a large group on a Sunday?
Yes, and there is a private dining room in the West End for celebrations. For groups of more than six it is best to call the restaurant directly.
Book your Sunday table
A West End Sunday is one of Glasgow’s quieter pleasures: a long lunch, a walk by the Kelvin, and nowhere in particular to be. Book a table at La Lanterna West End and experience an afternoon that gives the time back to yourself.