Fans of the Scandicrime series, The Killing, waited with baited breath to find out whether Series Two could possibly be as good as Series One.

No-one was disappointed. Some fans think that the second one was even better than the first, and that was a tall order with expectations running so high. The Killing makes such compulsive viewing that the very thought of Saturday nights without it seemed positively disturbing, so news that there will be a Series Three comes as an enormous relief. Although one wonders if The Killing can possibly keep up the high standard of its predecessors. The trouble being that any formula becomes tired unless the director and scriptwriters find a creative way of breathing new life into it.

And so it is with restaurants, a lesson brought home to me at the newly opened Bungo, in Strathbungo in Glasgow's south side. On paper, Bungo appears to be sprinkling some of its west end fairy dust around an area which, although looking up, is relatively light on good eating options. First the same savvy team brought us the award-winning Left Bank, then its sibling, Two Figs, but that was a few years ago now, and the formula needs a shake up.

Bungo's menu is a blast from the past. It replicates the glory days when Left Bank was in its prime. And I can't help thinking that if the chef who drew it up was still at the helm, she would have changed it several times over by now, because it feels dated and ever so slightly odd. It's top heavy on Indian dishes, yet it's not an Indian restaurant. The menu is OK for a drop-in snack but otherwise pretty restricted, and it doesn't hang together. Several of the side dishes don't complement any of the main course options, or are too similar to them to make sense. The invigorating breeze of interest in seasonal ingredients has not wafted through this kitchen. How many people really want a "superfood salad" (cribbed from London's Leon chain) in the depths of winter?

When we visited, Bungo seemed to have been woken out of its sleep and taken aback by surprise visitors. The front of house was chaotic, suggesting poor communication between the kitchen and servers and no obvious supervision. Two dishes were off – a beef daube and sticky ribs. When I asked if there were any specials to replace them, I was informed by our cocky waiter that "Everything here is special", a promise not delivered. It took us two hours to get two courses. We could see staff arguing with each other, passing the blame for cock-ups from one to another. The next table to us was mistakenly served the daube even though it was apparently "off", although they were waiting for a curry. The flapping door to the kitchen showed stacks of washing up stacked up on the floor and a very overburdened-looking kitchen porter struggling with it.

Linguini came with a grey sludge of crab so watery that I wondered if it had been frozen, or even tinned, and clapped out rocket. Mussels cooked in what should have been a peppery Indian rasam broth tasted as though they had been plonked in the juices at the last minute – casual and sloppy.

The main courses arrived with a faint apology and a smug "I hope they were worth the wait", an unwise remark, since they most definitely weren't. The thali, chosen in desperation, was pretty pathetic. A "potato, pea and spinach masala" was too heavy on the spuds and its sauce was inexplicably sweet. Dhal was cold and super salty, tasting as if a stock cube had been used. I liked the rice, but the flexibility of the poppadums seemed to suggest that they had been made earlier – too early. The whole shebang should have been served on banana leaf, but wasn't. Fish and chips were greasy, the fish watery enough to suggest inept freezing. Desserts? Only two: bought-in ice cream and (how thrilling!) banana bread with ice cream.

With an operation so evidently struggling, remedial action must be inevitable. For a new outfit, The Bungo needs a surprisingly radical spring clean.

The Bungo

17-21 Nithsdale Road, Glasgow 0141 423 0023

Lunch/dinner £10-22

Food rating 4/10