GLASGOW

The Horse Shoe is a regular in pub books looking for iconic pubs. Set down Drury Street (actually a lane) in Glasgow city centre. A building of historic importance according to Historic Scotland. Downstairs is a centre bar in a horseshoe shape to the front with the rear of each leg curving out to give two lobes. Said to be the longest bar counter in Britain at 104 feet.

History History 2

Reccomended by Anthony Cooke author of A History of Drinking: The Scottish Pub Since 1700 link

Upstairs lounge

Good Beer Guide (CAMRA) regular, including 2023

Have one here 

real ale:     Bitter & Twisted (Harviestoun), Caledonian 80/-, Summer, Deuchars (Caledonian)               

heavy          Belhaven Best; Tennent's Special, Caffrey's

lager         : Tennent's

Drury St bar and Kitchen is a large downstairs bar. More of an evening venue than lunch time.

Have half pint here

heavy:        nil

lager:        Steampunk; Brooklyn Brewery; Grimbergen Blonde; Carlsberg; Staropramen  ; Tuborg; San Miguel

Cider:         Somersby                                          

The Yes Bar (nee Vespars) styles itself as a retro Italian cafe-bar. Street level small bar with formica and plastic retro style furnishing. Upstairs is balcony seating looking over the centre of the small bar. Where is the Scottish beer? Brewdog and Innis & Gunn

Have one here 

real ale:               : 45 IPA

heavy                   : John Smith

lager                     : Heineken; Fosters; Amstel; Birra Moretta; Sagres;  Three Hop Lager

cider                      :Strongbow                                    Guinness

Now the West Nile Street trail proper starts

Vroni's Wine Bar is dark and quiet; low lighting, low ceiling, low music. Small round tables, two to a booth line both walls until the bar counter on right hand side. More seating beyond bar and upstairs in mezzanine level. Some outside tables either side of door.

Not a beer drinker's paradise yet intimate and relaxing so worth visiting

Have a half pint

heavy     :Caledonia Best

lager      : Stella; Bud; Estrella;      Tennent's

                    Guinness

The Shilling Brewing Co (formerly Horton's) opened June 2016 is a large open plan bar and pizza place. the first brewpub in the centre of the city it has around 30 draught beers available. The servery is along the wall to the left of the entrance. This is a brew pub with the brewery to the left of, and behind and above the marble bar counter. The corner building has an impressive interior in height and volume. A variety of styles of seating and tables are available. the right-hand side of the room is slightly raised. The fonts have numbers rather than names, which refer you to beer menu on the wall giving taste descriptions and logos (actual names not always readable). The fonts also have a glass front so that colours of beers can be seen as they flow through. Their own brews are served via fonts on the back wall.

have a pint here.

Real:  Full Nettle Racket (Shilling Brewery)

Craft:  Unicorn; The Steamie; Glasgow red (Shilling brewery);  Joker; Ceasar Augustus (both Williams) Drygate IPA

Lager:  Heverlee;  Tennent's;  Drygate lager Drygate Pilsner

                     Guinness

The Iron Horse has an entrance at either side. Both take you to seating by the windows on a platform. The counter starts a little way in with a rounded end. There are stools along the bar. Further down the bar the room opens out for traditional tables and chairs. There is a small basement lounge for hire and upstirs there is a large conference / event suite.

History

Have a pint here.

Craft                      Dublin Porter

Heavy                   Joker; Caledonia Best

Lager                     Tennent’s; Haverlee; Innes & Gunn; Stella

Cider                     Magners              Caledonia Stout                Guinness

The Station Bar is a small cosy bar on a corner in a tenement building. there is a small traditional bar with a lounge area beyond it. It is the bar area that is busy with both sexes, young and old.

Door at corner with servery in centre of opposite wall. Some stools around wooden servery and gantry. Pub fixtures are wooden with with fabric coverings all dark green. Seating to right of entrance two small round tables and one tall table and along window wall opposite servery. With dining style tables and green coloured Banquette seating with chairs opposite.

 Further into left and beyond servery is a second stirring area.

 Ornate ceiling white with designs picked out in dark green

The Station Bar stopped serving real ale in 2021.

HISTORY

Have one here

real ale :   STOPPED selling real ale .

Heavy/IPA:        Belhaven  Best; East Coast Pale Ale

Lager:               Coors;  Tennents,  Belhaven Saltire;  Carling;  West 4

Cider:               Strongbow   

Stout                Guinness;   Belhaven Black

Cul Cuil (Formerly The Courtyard, first three pics) has changed from a bar with performance area to a bar/restaurant.  The old courtyard area downstairs and the corridor leading to it are set out for dining tables. The front room, a bit more bar, has more variety with tall tables and stools along the centre and barrel tables close to servery.

Have a half pint here.

Lager                     Amstel; Red Stripe; Birra Moretti; Brixton; Heineken;

Cider                     Strongbow and dark Fruit                                                             Guinness

All Bar One is large bar on a corner site with outside seating along one side. The outside walls are all glass which combines with the lighting and the white ceiling to give a very light and spacious feeling to the seating area. The bar is in the opposite corner to the entrance and serves both sides of the room.

Seating and tables are a variety of styles and layout has tables for two and for bigger groups. More seating, of the more traditional square tables with four seats, is upstairs

History

Have a pint here.

beer                       Hazy Jane; Joker

Lager                   Madri; Tennent's; St Mungo; Asahi; Pravha

Cider                      Aspall                                    Guinness       

non-alcoholic                Lucky Saint     

Innes & Gunn   Taproom was a disappointment room wise. It is a big open plan room with full sized windows letting in lots of light.  Easy to see that it is at its best in the evening with lots of room for customers both sitting and standing. The floor of the room seems to be the floor used by the previous premises. The servery takes the middle of the left hand wall. On the servery are only dispensers for Innes & Gunn Lager. On the back wall are lots of other pourers for the drinks shown on the large displays up above the back of the counter.

Once past the lager taps there are another 21 craft beers to feast upon. So not really disappointing.

Against the left wall are seven attractive booths with soft seating. Down the c entre of the room are a row of dining height long wooden tables and benches then a row of tall steel tables with the ever popular ever metal stools. At the far end of the room and also along the right hand side beyond the servery are dining style tables. The long tables have large numbers on them in case you get lost. The minimalist décor is accompanied by air conditioning units handing from the room to give that concrete and metal industrial look.

Meals served and dog friendly.

Beers available: see pictures above

Las Iguanas is a large Latin food restaurant. It has a large servery for standing at while waiting a table or three small round tables with chairs for a very quiet drink.

Pleasant but not a pub

A half pint here

Corona is the choice                                 

Revolution is a large room with access to downstairs in the foyer. Once inside there is seating around to the right and a small coffee table area ahead on the left. Further on the main room has two parts split down the middle by wall and pillars stripped back to the brick. The left-hand side has seating and tall tables and stools against wall and along the pillars leading to a boardroom style area at end of room. The right-hand side has the long metal servery along the right-hand wall and more tall tables along the pillars. Shiny wooden flooring. There are high ceilings with bare metal beams and skylights in the wooden ceiling. Lots of standing room between counter and tables. Food served

History

Bitter:  Brooklyn Stonewall Inn IPA

Lager:  Tennent’s;  San Miguel; Brooklyn Pilsner; Amstel; Birra Moretti

Cider:  Orchard Thieves ; Aspall ; Old Mout Cider Guinness

Ross’s Original Bar has a small frontage from the road but stretches down the lane to the right. It has a long thin bar area which widens out at the far end. There is seating around front and right-hand side by the windows. A very traditional looking bar. Does food.

History

Have a half pint here

Heavy                   Caledonia Best  ; Gladeye

Lager                     Tennent’s; ; Heverlee; Manabrea

Cider                     Magners                                              Guinness+cold               

August House is a cocktail bar and restaurant hidden away in a dark Street. Once in the door the attractive room has the servery on the far wall. Bers are served from taps on the back wall which unfortunately are not named so it needs a quick glance at the menu to see what is available.

Rhe entrance corridor leading to servery has banquette seating and tall tables to the right with some shelve space and stools opposite. The far side has secluded booths while running up the centre is a wide tunnel like room with banquette seating and dining height tables with chairs. Wall and furnishings are reddish and whole place has an orange light to it. At the window end round from entrance are some dining height tables and a DJ space.

IPA: Jubel; (Drygate)

Lager: Menabrea

Cider: Magners Dark fruit

Tabac is a small intimate dark bar room. There is banquette seating to the left of entrance and then the room narrows with the black servery on the right and four small tables and seating opposite it. The small room is dominated by two gigantic black and white posters of glamourous ladies from the 1940s. The room has a high ceiling with several large mirrors on the side and back wall. Paintwork is black and there is some theme of “eye” including in the lights supported by bare steel.

Have a pint here

Bitter:  Brooklyn Defender IPA; Level head

Lager:  Brooklyn Lager; Staropramen; Birra Moretti; Tabac Lager; Madri; Heineken; Cruzcampo

Cider:  Aspall                                           Guinness