Date: December 2024 Updated:
One of my favourite places to go for a pint and a bit of ‘pub grub’ has to be Glasgow, the business centre of Scotland. Central Glasgow really surprised me and it is a really great place to go out drinking and eating. The pubs in the centre have some of the friendliest locals and staff in the whole of the UK. I had an amazing time here and I can’t wait to go back. Here are my recommendations on pubs to check out when visiting this amazing city (and of course every time I go to the city, I will be adding more pubs to this post).
The HorseShoe bar is one of Glasgow’s best loved pubs. Dating from 1870 (and has barely changed much in the last one hundred years with many of its original fixtures and fittings still there), this Victorian pub is recognised by having a nationally important interior which includes Scotland's longest bar. Opened in 1884 by Cavalry Captain John Scouller. The real ales, from a wide selection of breweries, can be found halfway down the bar on the left side. It has a unique horseshoe shaped island bar which was originally there to allow staff to keep a closer eye on the behaviour of its customers. Close to Central station and the main bus routes. Totally loved this pub, the layout, decor, the friendly locals and great selection of ales and beers. One of my favourite bars in Glasgow, can't wait to come back again.
A corner pub, housed in a former American-style bank, with an opulent marble and wood-panelled interior and ornate ceilings. Convenient for both main railway stations and numerous bus routes, it is usually busy with a varied clientele. The street it sits on is named St Vincent Street and like so many Glasgow street names, St Vincent Street marks a historical occasion. This name commemorates the sea battle of Cape St Vincent off the Spanish coast of Spain in 1797 – an early victory of the British over the French at the time of the Napoleonic Wars. Totally love the wooden decor here, the range of ales, and the barmaid was very chatty. Kept asking me what it is like to be in London all the time! I don't think she ever left Glasgow, but she was full of banter. Loved it. Would defo come back here.
The Merchant offers the personal touches of a small local bar in a city setting, an exciting contemporary bar. Set over two floors with comfortable surroundings, enhancing the features of the beautiful listed building. With a vast array of TV's ideal for sports viewing. Had a great time in here chatting to the staff and had a great range of beers on.
The Raven is a bar and restaurant located in the heart of Glasgow’s city-centre, a proud part of the Glaswegian tradition of great food and great drink. Specialising in smokehouse food and craft beers. You can find The Raven nesting on Renfield Street – a stone’s throw from Glasgow Central. Many a lucky wanderer has discovered the gem that is The Raven on the hunt for food before a gig or in search of a place to refuel after a hard day’s shopping. The food displays a subtle nod to our pals across the water, but it is served to you using nothing but the finest seasonal Scottish produce.
Next to Glasgow Queen Street train station, a nice bar to have a quick pint in before grabbing a train to get out of the city. Mostly lagers here.
While Glasgow's Crystal Palace is known primarily these days for serving cut-price fishbowl cocktails, it is actually much more than meets the eye. An architectural first in the city, the 'Crystal Palace' situated on No. 36 Jamaica Street was once known as Gardner's Warehouse. Built in 1856, the building is the oldest commercial building with a cast-iron facade in the UK, and was the first to apply the processes and materials of London’s 1851 Crystal Palace to commercial architecture.
The building was designed by John Baird and its cast-iron frame by Robert McConnell, an ironfounder who owned the patent for the malleable iron that was actually used in the construction. It was called 'Gardner's Warehouse' as it was used for exactly that reason by Garnder, a well-known furniture maker. It was eventually taken over by Martin and Frost in 1985. The same man glazed the roof of the nearby Argyle Arcade with the same material, but the 'Iron Warehouse' as it was known then was a big move for Glasgow's experimental designers. The building also holds a lot of architectural secrets.
According to Glasgow in 50 Buildings by Michael Meighan, the window panels shrink in height at each level, while the arches become more rounded, this results in the building becoming lighter and airier. With the outside of the building, or front facade, being made entirely of cast iron and glass, the building looks totally symmetrical.
The building also has an original Otis elevator, which is believed to be the oldest in the British Isles, having been imported from the United States in 1856 and installed in 1857. It was made by the Otis Elevator Company, which was founded in 1853 by Elisha Otis, who invented the 'safety elevator' in 1852 and demonstrated it in 1854 at New York World's Fair. Not only that, it still works today! While other buildings used cast iron in their design, there is yet one to make as much use of it as the Crystal Palace does.
One of Glasgow’s busiest pubs once housed the riches of the city’s wealthiest merchants and businessmen. The Counting House on George Square is known as a Wetherspoons pub – but before then, the building was used as a Bank of Scotland, which has operated for 300 years, and its vaults are bursting with history.
While it has been adapted to serve the people of Glasgow with cheap pints and gammon and chips, it has retained most of its original features including safes, statues, bank vaults and its beautiful glass dome. It was designed in Italian Renaissance style by JT Ruchhead between 1867 and 1870 and was the only bank ever to have been established by an Act of Parliament of Scotland. Punters can explore the long corridors and multiple floors and learn more about the history of the country’s money signposted throughout the building, from the first silver penny ‘sterlings’ introduced by David I in the 12th century to the first printed bank notes.
Enjoy a visual tour of historic Glasgow through the many framed photos depicting the city in the early 20th century, such as the Trongate, Renfield Street and George Square. You’ll recognise some of the most notable public figures associated with Glasgow like Adam Smith, Lord Kelvin and tea merchant Thomas Lipton, as their portraits also don the pub’s walls.
Among the many photographs on the wall are sketches, drawings, and poems. Learn the theories about the real meaning behind the famous Tudor rhyme, Sing a Song of Sixpence, which contains the line "the king was in his counting house; counting out his money." Some believe the ‘maid’ who had her nose picked off by a blackbird was a cruel reference to Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII’s second wife.
A poem by Sir Robert Burns, written on the back of a Scottish guinea note, tells of his financial woes and how he considered emigrating to Jamaica before he achieved success with the publication of Poems Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect in 1786. Even if you’re just popping in for a drink or a bite to eat, you’ll be literally sitting in history as some of the bank’s former vaults have been transformed to accommodate pub-goers.
Wetherspoon pub located across the road from Glasgow Central Station's (lower level) Hope St exit. It is handy for breakfast after a night on the sleeper or like me, after a very early morning flight from London. Converted from several shops into one very large room, it has several distinct areas marked with screens and a licensed pavement area.. The pub takes its name from a Glasgow-born general whose likeness was cast from brass cannons to become the first statue to be unveiled in George Square in 1819. A distinguished military commander, Sir John led a famous retreat to La Coruña during the Napoleonic Wars. Following his death in 1809, a statue cast from brass cannons was unveiled in his honour on George Square.
Situated at 151 West George Street, this city centre Wetherspoon has long been popular with the weekend crowds and is one of very few 'Spoons' to play music. The pub's name was coined from the fact that insurance firm the Star Life Assurance Society occupied the building that stood on the site in the early 19th century.
Essential information on Glasgow
How to get to Glasgow: By plane, the nearest international airports are Glasgow and Edinburgh. There are great connections from both airports to the city centre by public transport to connect to rail services to get around the rest of the country. The first place I would go to find airline tickets to the city is using (I would recommend) Skyscanner to find flights as that is my first point of call. Then if necessary use the airlines directly to find a good deal. I sometimes use Momondo as well to compare prices before booking.
By train: Glasgow is well connected with all other towns and cities in Scotland and England. Queen Street station has Scotrail services which head to the northern parts of the country. Glasgow Central (which is a very grand station) has Scotrail services to Edinburgh and the South as well as TransPennie and West Coast Mainline services to Northern England, Midlands and London.
By road: from England, the easiest way to reach Glasgow is up the M6, A74(M) and the M74. From Edinburgh, the M8 connects both cities.
Car Rentals - as I do a lot of road trips around the world, I use Rentalcars.com which is very reliable for booking car hire in advance. I also use Turo (the airbnb of car rentals) and never had a problem with them. The cars are insured, owners vetted and never had an issue.
Accommodation: There are a lot of accommodation options and a lot of websites which can do some great deals. My first point of call is always Booking.com and can offer a range of hostels, hotels, campsites, apartments, guesthouses and bed and breakfasts.. After that I always have a look through AirBnb and Vrbo for great deals on apartments and other lodgings especially when traveling as a family.
Currency: Scotland uses the British Pound Sterling currency and also has their own bank notes from the Bank of Scotland which is also legal tender anywhere else in the United Kingdom. Currency can be exchanged at the airports and train stations (for a huge fee) so I would recommend either going to a currency exchange place downtown, to a bank (if they have good rates) or if you got a good bank account with fantastic exchange rates, then use an ATM machine (may incur a small fee but I always do this option as I got good bank accounts). A great website I use to compare currency exchange rates is XE, which gives people up to date information.
Language: Scotland uses English but they also have their own language in the highlands and western isles (mainly) called Gaelic. Although speakers of the Scottish language were persecuted over the centuries, Gaelic is still spoken today by around 60,000 Scots. Endowed with a rich heritage of music, folklore and cultural ecology, Gaelic in Scotland is thriving and enjoying a revival!
Travel insurance: This is essential to anywhere you go in the world. I always carry travel insurance. Having travel insurance will cover you from theft, illness and those annoying cancellations which can happen on the road. Safety Wing offers coverage for a lot of adventure activities as well as emergency medical, lost luggage, trip cancellation and so forth.
Need a visa for the UK? Always check if you need a visa when coming to the United Kingdom. Since leaving the European Union because of BrExit in January 2020, visa rules apply for those coming from the European Union.
If you would like to share my blog post via Pinterest, please share the pin below
Please note that while I was not working with any pubs in Glasgow, my review and experiences written about in this post are 100% genuine. I value my readers too much to lie to you. My blog would be nothing without you and your continued support! There maybe some links above which are affiliate and are at no additional cost to you. If my readers use them, I earn a commission to buy their products and remember, I only mentioned products and companies I use. The income from this keeps this website going. Thank you.
Comments