Cocktails, wine bars and dives: drinking in Glasgow for grown-ups.
Cocktail bars, wine bars, dive bars and gastropubs: drinking in Glasgow for grown-ups.
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 Kelbourne Saint is a neighbourhood bar on Queen Margaret Drive in Glasgow's West End, mixing craft beer, cocktails and a well-regarded pizza kitchen.
Signature drink: Rotating Scottish craft beer
Food: Wood-fired pizza
Tip: The pizza kitchen is a genuine draw, not an afterthought, so come hungry as well as thirsty.
The Ben Nevis is a snug whisky and folk-music bar on Argyle Street in Glasgow's Finnieston, with over 100 malts and traditional sessions most weeks.
Signature drink: Malt whisky from over 100 bottles
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: Turn up for a midweek folk session; the bar works first-come-first-served rather than taking bookings.
Kelvingrove Cafe is a dark, seasonal cocktail bar on Argyle Street in Glasgow's Finnieston, reviving lost drinks in the old cafe's original room.
Signature drink: Seasonal cocktail menu
Food: Small plates
Tip: The cocktail list changes with the seasons; ask the bartenders what is new before defaulting to a classic.
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.
Brel is a Belgian beer bar in a converted Ashton Lane mews in Glasgow's West End, pouring Trappist ales and mussels with one of the city's best beer gardens.
Signature drink: Belgian Trappist and abbey beer
Food: Moules-frites and Belgian dishes
Tip: The covered, heated beer garden means it works year-round; it is one of the few Ashton Lane spots with real outdoor space.
Inn Deep is a craft-beer bar in the railway arches beside the River Kelvin in Glasgow, pouring 33 taps and Sub Rosa pizza on a canalside West End terrace.
Signature drink: Rotating craft beer from 33 taps
Food: Sub Rosa pizza
Tip: On a warm day the riverside steps down to the Kelvin fill up fast; grab a pizza and a can and head outside.
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.
Brutti Compadres is a candlelit tapas and cocktail bar hidden in cobbled Virginia Court in Glasgow's Merchant City, set in the old tobacco exchange.
Signature drink: House cocktails and sherry
Food: Mediterranean small plates
Tip: It is tucked down a lane off Virginia Street and easy to miss; look for the courtyard entrance.
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.
Òran Mór is a bar and arts venue in a converted church at the top of Byres Road in Glasgow's West End, famous for its lunchtime plays and painted ceiling.
Signature drink: Whisky and Scottish beer
Food: Scottish brasserie menu
Tip: A Play, a Pie and a Pint runs weekday lunchtimes; you get a short play, a pie and a drink for one ticket.
The Spiritualist is a grand cocktail bar and dining room on Miller Street in Glasgow's Merchant City, set in a former bank with a long list of drinks.
Signature drink: Long list of signature cocktails
Food: Small plates and boozy brunch
Tip: The Thursday-to-Sunday bottomless brunch is the busy shift; weekday evenings are calmer for the cocktail list.
The Absent Ear is an award-winning hidden cocktail bar on Brunswick Street in Glasgow's Merchant City, a Van Gogh-themed speakeasy that takes bookings only.
Signature drink: Van Gogh-themed signature cocktails
Food: Bar snacks
Tip: Entry is by reservation through a hidden door, so book ahead via their website rather than turning up.
Babbity Bowster is a Merchant City institution on Blackfriars Street in Glasgow, a French-Scottish bar, inn and eatery pouring cask ale since 1985.
Signature drink: Cask ale and Scottish whisky
Food: French-Scottish pub menu
Tip: It is a rare Merchant City pub with a beer garden and folk sessions; the upstairs eatery does a fuller menu.