glasgow pubs: the best bars in glasgow

Welcome to the Drink in the Sights Guide to the best pubs in Glasgow. I didn't really know what to expect from Scotland's largest city other than it seemed to have a fair few local breweries, and that was enough of an excuse for me.  Needless to say I've been pleasantly surprised by the city. All over Glasgow there's signs saying 'People make Glasgow' and I have to say I completely agree with the sentiment. I've travelled to some of the most hospitable countries in Europe including the likes of Ireland and Denmark, both of which are famed for their hospitality, but the Scottish bar staff are something else. Their all so friendly and welcoming it feels like every pub I visited was my local.

While visiting Glasgow keep an eye out for some of the exceptional local brews from the likes of Drygate Brewing, Shilling Brewing, and slightly further afield Stewart Brewing, and Barney's beer, which are both in Edinburgh. You'll also find Innis Gunn beers everywhere and their Caribbean Rum beer is a bit special. I also want to add quickly that I've also written guides to the best Edinburgh pubs, and best Leith bars so if you're spending some time in Glasgow take a day or two to go check them out too. Right on we go with our guide to the best bars in Glasgow.

Glasgow Pubs

Drygate Brewing Co

Everyone loves a taproom don't they? And you'll be pleased to know the Drygate one is wonderful. If you shop at LIDL you'll probably have spotted a fair few Drygate beers in their beer festivals. They're probably most famous for their Mango Pale Ale Disco Forklift Truck, but as a dark beer drinker I enjoy Orinoco and the 9.1% Poor Things. The brewery isn't a million miles away from Glasgow Cathedral, and sits next door to the much bigger Tennants Brewery, but unlike that one this has decent beer. The Drygate Brewery Taproom is a seriously impressive building where you can have a pint right next to where the magic happens.

Throughout the spacious, and seriously good looking building you'll be able to smell the malts, which is something I enjoy. You'll get wooden benches to sit on below which there's a nice wooden floorboard floor surrounded by bare brick walls. Drygate Taproom really is a bit of a looker, and with 18 of their beers on tap you won't be going thirsty anytime soon. On top of all this the staff are top notch and happy to help you pick the beer, or six, that's right for you. An excellent place that should be in any list of the best pubs in Glasgow.

Shilling Brewing Co

Shilling Brewing Co is Glasgow's first brewpub and boy have they every set the bar high. I started counting the amount of beers on tap and decided to just go with shed loads, however I then decided to be more professional and check their website which says 31 beers on tap, including several from Shilling. I can tell you from experience Glasgow Red and Black Star Teleporter are both quality beers. It's not just the beers that make Shilling Brewing Co one of the best bars in Glasgow though as the staff are excellent, and the place is absolutely stunning.

I mean really how often do you see a marble bar? Even the entrance is a work of art that feels like it belongs in the Art Deco wonderland of Riga in Latvia. If you've not been to Riga give it a go, it's gorgeous and there's some wonderful Riga pubs. Anyway my point is that Shilling Brewing Co is probably the classiest looking brewpub I've ever walked into, the place really is stunning. What more can you really say about the place? 31 beers in a beautiful Art Deco building what's not to like? One of the truly excellent Glasgow pubs.

West Beer

If German beers are more your style then West Brewery is an absolute must visit. Everything here is brewed to the German Purity Law which I first came across while drinking the incredibly smoky Sclenkerla beer a few years ago. The rule basically means German beers could only use water, hops, and barley, the law has been rescinded but loads of German brewers stick to it anyway. West Brewing has a huge beer garden outside a spectacular building looking out onto a park, so it's the ideal location for a summer pint, or stein. Unfortunately I visited at the end of November and it was minus 3 degrees so thought it better to drink inside.

On the plus side the interior is also pretty snazzy with a long wooden bar, wooden floorboards, wood panel walls, and benches, as well as a few animal skulls, just to give an extra unique touch. You'll find 10 West Brewery beers on tap, just for a change I went for the Heidi Weisse, which was a very nice wheat beer with a banana tinge. I don't think anyone who visits will doubt that West Brewery is one of the best bars in Glasgow. Just as a side note they do offer brewery tours, which I would imagine are well worth going on but aren't running in covid times.

Inn Deep

The Inn Deep is a true beer drinkers paradise. There's far too many beers on tap to fit on the screen but I counted well over 20 as it scrolled along, plus there's an absolute abundance of bottles and cans. I believe this was originally a Williams Bros pub, and it certainly still has plenty of their beers, but I think it's independent now. As you enter you're wander down a small staircase covered in fun artwork that takes you down to a wonderful bare brick arched bar with more seriously cool artwork all over the place. The pub is beautifully lit up and as always in this city the staff are excellent and friendly. The Inn Deep is one of the very best pubs in Glasgow.

The Raven

Another one of the best looking Glasgow pubs is The Raven, which is a Cold Town Beer pub so you'll find a few of their offerings on tap. What you'll also find is lots of cool pictures of ravens, I like ravens. The Raven is a seriously nice bar with wooden floorboards, a wooden bar, very comfy seats, and bare brick walls covered in greenery, giving the place a really nice laid back feel. This is a really nice place for a drink or some good meaty food. Certainly one of the top Glasgow bars.

Innis and Gunn Taproom

You'll find Innis and Gunn Taprooms in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Leith, and they're all excellent, as much as anything because they all have Innis and Gunn's Barrel Aged Caribbean Rum beer. It'd be unfair to leave it there though as you'll find another 13 beers on tap including 6 more from Innis and Gunn and 7 guest beers. As usual for these bars the room is beautiful with some brewing equipment on show, some very cool glass and neon features, wooden floors, and just a generally nice, relaxed feel. I'm a big fan of Innis and Gunn Taproom's and this is as good as any of the others so it has to be one of the best bars in Glasgow.

Waxy O'Connor's 

I recently wrote a piece on the 30 best pubs in Dublin and vowed after that not to set foot in another Irish bar for a long, long time. That was until I saw Waxy O'Connors. This place is absolutely stunning, I mean really it'd have made the top few on my Dublin list easily. For a start the place is absolutely huge covering 3 floors, 9 rooms, and 6 bars. The size isn't really the impressive thing though, it really is the gorgeous interior, honestly it's like drinking in a church, and not just any church, a properly ornate one. The ceilings, walls, and even the floors are works of art. There's wood and stained glass everywhere, and sure the best thing you can get to drink is a Guinness, but you know what it doesn't matter, you could even just about enjoy a pint of Tennants here it's that pretty. This has to be one of the best Irish pubs in the world let alone Scotland.

Glasgow Bars

The Pot Still

Another one of Glasgow's great wood covered pubs is The Pot Still. This wonderful boozer has all the usual Scottish pub trappings over two levels along with an ornate ceiling, 5 Scottish ales on tap, and a pretty good selection in the fridge. There's always a bit of a buzz in The Pot Still as it's one of the busiest pubs I came across in Glasgow. You'll still be able to find a nice comfy leather sofa to enjoy your pint on though so you can just enjoy the wonderful surroundings and excellent hospitality. Certainly one of the best pubs in Glasgow.

The Drum and Monkey

The Drum and Monkey is a properly good looking pub covered in marble, which lets be honest always makes a place look seriously classy. Where there isn't marble there's wood, and where there isn't wood there's the gorgeous ceiling. There's a nice little snug if you want to escape the busy bar area, but given how good looking it is why would you? You'll find 6 predominantly Scottish beers on tap, one of which will often be from Stewart brewing, and a few more in bottles. Well worth a visit as you make your way around the top Glasgow pubs. 

Bon Accord

Also known as The World Famous Bon Accord is a proper stalwart of the Glasgow drinking scene. You'll find 10 ales on tap and a fair few in bottles in this proper old boozers pub. There's a nice mixture of carpeted areas and wooden floorboards in this very attractive, and pretty spacious venue. If you're looking for a proper traditional ale house in Glasgow this is probably the one for you. The staff know their stuff, the atmosphere is good, and it maintains that proper pub feel so many lack these days. To be honest I'd have probably put it higher on the list if it didn't describe itself as The World Famous Bon Accord, but that might just be me getting a little petty, especially as the amount of awards on the walls seem to back up the claim. It certainly deserves its place on the world famous Drink in the Sights best bars in Glasgow list though.

The State Bar

Finally we come to a pub with a central bar, and anyone who has read a few of my guides will know I seriously love a central bar area, they just look so classy. The State Bar is one of the best looking bars in Glasgow. There's stained glass and wood everywhere here which I just love, and I have to say the bar staff even by Glasgow's high standards are exceptional. If that wasn't enough of a reason to visit you'll also find 7 beers on tap including slightly surprisingly up here at least one from Oakham Ales. One of the busiest, one of the best looking, and simply one of the best pubs in Glasgow.

Beer Cafe

Boasting beers from every continent on the globe the Beer cafe's selection of 80 odd beers in bottles, and a few on tap won't leave you short for choice. It's also a pretty busy place that manages to maintain a calm vibe. Despite the vast beer quantities on offer I found a lot of them were relatively easy to find in supermarkets or similar pubs in most cities, but lets not let the detract from the fact there's a shed load of beers, and you're bound to find something you like. They also do bottles as take out which is pretty useful as it's not far from either train station making this the perfect way to end a Glasgow pub crawl.

Thanks for reading my guide to the best bars and pubs in Glasgow. While you're in the city why not take a trip to the Scottish capital Edinburgh to check out the best Edinburgh pubs and the best pubs in Leith. The city is only 50 minutes away by train and there's plenty of great drinking opportunities there.