The Absent Ear is a bar in Merchant City, Glasgow.
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.
Editorially verified July 1, 2026 by Lewis Vaughan, TableJourney editor. Source.
Food program: Bar snacks
Tip: Entry is by reservation through a hidden door, so book ahead via their website rather than turning up.
Address: Brunswick Street, Glasgow G1 1TF
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.
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.
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.
