Here’s the 2021 list of Ted and Steve’s favourite pubs in Edinburgh and Glasgow. We usually (tricky in the last year) visit both cities regularly and call in somewhere for a pint or two – we’ve noted when we last visited each pub. GBG means that the pub is in Camra’s Good Beer Guide 2021. Hopefully, they will reopen soon and none of them will be permanently lost.
Steve and Ted, March 2021
| EDINBURGH PUBS | |||
| City Centre – New Town | |||
| Abbotsford | 3-5 Rose St, EH2 2PR | GBG | Buses: Princes St Tram: St Andrew Sq Rail: Waverley |
| Fine old pub, best of the Rose Street boozers, impressive island bar, good selection of beers and whiskies, and helpful staff. Visited in 2019. | |||
| Café Royal | 19 West Register St, EH2 2AA | Buses: Princes St Tram: St Andrew Sq Rail: Waverley | |
| Huge Victorian island bar, famous for its ornate décor and ceramic tile murals. Fine choice of beers and good food. Visited in 2019 | |||
| Cask and Barrel | 115 Broughton St, EH1 3RZ | Buses: 8 | |
| Large corner pub at east end of the New Town. Last visited 2017. | |||
| Guildford Arms | 1 West Register St, EH2 2AA | GBG | Buses: Princes St Tram: St Andrew Sq Rail: Waverley |
| Next door to the Café Royal, another ornate Victorian pub with a particularly impressive ceiling and an excellent selection of real ales. Visited in 2019, 2020 | |||
| Kay’s Bar | 39 Jamaica St West, EH3 6HF | GBG | Buses: 24, 29, 42 |
| Small and friendly upmarket pub with good selection of beers and whiskies. In a mews lane in the posh bit of the New Town. Last visited in 2017. | |||
| HP Mathers | 1 Queensferry St, EH2 4PA | Buses: West End Tram: West End | |
| At the West End of Princes St, a fine pub. Impressive décor and mirrors. Visited in 2019. | |||
| Oxford Bar | 8 Young St, EH2 4JB | GBG | Buses: West End |
| Now famous from the Inspector Rebus novels, this still retains the feel of a local pub in a New Townback street. Last visited several years ago – hope it is still the same. | |||
| Regent | 2 Montrose Terr, EH7 5DL | GBG | Buses: London Rd |
| To the east of the centre, near Calton Hill, a rarity….an LGBT pub with real ale. Good pub, good beer and the food looks good. Visited 2019. | |||
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Old Town and South Side |
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Bennets |
8 Leven St, EH3 9LG |
GBG |
Buses: 11, 16, 23 |
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Tollcross pub with tremendous interior featuring brewery mirrors and whisky barrels. Visited 2019. |
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Bow Bar |
80 West Bow, EH1 2HH |
GBG |
Buses: George IV Bridge |
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Excellent selection of whiskies and beers in this impressive small pub in the Old Town. Visited 2019. |
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Canny Man’s |
237 Morningside Rd, EH10 4QU |
Buses: 11, 16, 23 |
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Famous Morningside pub…justly so. Series of rooms, full of paraphernalia. Visited 2019 |
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Halfwayhouse |
24 Fleshmarket Close, EH1 1BX |
GBG |
Buses: Princes St, Rail: Waverley |
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Tiny pub, halfway up the stairs from the Market Street exit from Waverley. Good food – try the stovies. Ideal place to miss a few trains. Visited 2019 |
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Hebrides |
17 Market St, EH1 1DE |
Buses: Princes St, Rail: Waverley |
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Small and friendly bar, close to Waverley Station. Visited 2019. |
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Sandy Bells |
25 Forrest Rd, EH1 2QH |
Buses: Forrest Rd/Bristo Pl |
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Famous mainly for its folk music sessions. During the daytime it’s a quiet and friendly pub near the university and the National Museum of Scotland. Visited 2019. |
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West – Haymarket, Gorgie |
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Athletic Arms (Diggers) |
1-3 Angle Park Terr, EH11 2JX |
GBG |
Buses 1, 34 |
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Go there. And try the pies as well as the beer. Last visited 2017. |
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Ryries |
1 Haymarket Terrace, EH12 5EY |
Buses, Tram and Rail: Haymarket |
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Traditional bar though a bit dominated by TV sport. In the list because it is so close to Haymarket station. Wait for / miss trains. Last visited several years ago but still looks the same. |
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City Centre and Merchant City |
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Babbity Bowster |
16-18 Blackfriars St, G1 1PE |
Buses: George St, Trongate, Rail: High Street |
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Good beer and food in a relaxing and friendly pub. Note: Closed for refurbishment Feb 2020. Visited 2019. |
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Blackfriars |
36 Bell St, G1 1LG |
GBG |
Buses: Trongate, Rail: Argyle Street |
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Large open-plan pub on a corner site in the Merchant City. Excellent selection of mainly Scottish real ales. Very bright inside when visited in 2019. |
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Counting House |
2 St Vincent Pl, G1 2DH |
GBG |
Buses: City Centre, Subway: Buchanan St, Rail: Queen St |
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A Wetherspoons pub, with the pluses and minuses that implies. Extremely central, on the corner of George Square, and an impressive former bank building. Good range of real ales. Last drank in in 2018, visited for breakfast 2019. |
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Horse Shoe |
17-19 Drury St, G2 5AE |
GBG |
Buses: City Centre Subway: Buchanan St Rail: Central |
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Long, long island bar…friendly, lively and not to be missed (but trains from Central can be). Visited 2019. |
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Pot Still |
154 Hope Street, G2 2TH |
GBG |
Buses: City Centre |
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Small pub, Mainly known for its incredible range of malt whiskies, including many rarities. And the beer, from local microbreweries, is good too. Visited 2019. |
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Sloans |
Argyll Arcade, G2 8AG |
Buses: City Centre, Subway: St Enoch, Rail: Central, Argyle St |
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Enter via the arcade or lane from Argyle St. Fine old pub interior and large courtyard drinking area. Visited 2019. |
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Steps Bar |
62 Glassford St, G1 1UP |
Buses: Glassford St, Rail: Argyle St |
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Small pub on edge of Merchant City, largely unchanged since it opened in 1938, though the formica tables have been replaced by wood. Friendly. Unfortunately no real ale. Last visited 2018. |
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| Charing X | |||
| Bon Accord | 153 North St, G3 7DA | GBG | Buses and Rail: Charing X |
| The original real ale mecca in Glasgow….still going strong. Visited 2019. | |||
| State Bar | 148 Holland St, G2 4NG | GBG | Buses and Rail: Charing X |
| Welcoming bar, with a good selection of beers, and fine lunchtime food. Visited 2019. | |||
| South Side | |||
| Clockwork Beer Co. | 1153-1155 Cathcart Rd, G42 9HB | Buses: 5, Rail: Mount Florida | |
| Large and friendly brewpub near Hampden Park. Visited 2019. | |||
| Laurieston Bar | 58 Bridge St, G5 9HU | GBG | Buses: 3,4,38,57, Subway: Bridge St |
| Unspoilt 1960s bar just across the river from the city centre, mainly serving Fyne Ales. Reputation for good beer is deserved. Visited 2019. | |||
| West End | |||||
| Doublet | 74 Park Road, G4 9JF | Buses: 4,4A,6,6A,Subway: Kelvinbridge | |||
| Local pub near Kelvinbridge. Small bar, friendly, with good beer. Visited 2019. | |||||
| Grove | 8 Kelvingrove St, G3 7RX | Buses: 2,3,77 | |||
| Unspoilt, friendly locals boozer in Kelvingrove. No Real Ale. Last visited 2017. | |||||
| Inn Deep | 445 Great Western Rd, G12 8HH | GBG | Buses: 6, 6A,Subway: Kelvinbridge | ||
| Modern pub in railway arches beneath Kelvinbridge. Good selection of cask and craft beers. Visited 2019. | |||||
| Lismore | 206 Dumbarton Rd, Partick, G11 6UN | Buses: 2,3,77, Subway: Kelvinhall | ||
| Friendly, local pub, with some real ale and plenty of whiskies. Last visited 2018. | ||||
| Tennents | 191 Byres Rd, Hillhead G12 8TN | GBG | Buses: 4,4A Subway: Hillhead | |
| The centre of the West End. Tennent’s flagship Victorian tenement corner pub with fine beer and usually an interesting mix of people. Pity about the TVs visible from every corner. Visited 2019. | ||||
| Three Judges | 141 Dumbarton Rd, Partick G11 6PR | GBG | Buses: 2,3,77 Subway: Kelvinhall | |
| Real Ale pub at Partick Cross. Ever changing selection of beers, well kept. Visited 2019. | ||||
Finally: One that got away (more or less). The Mitre Bar, Brunswick St, Glasgow, photographed in 1994, later closed, demolished and now reconstructed inside Glasgow’s Riverside Museum.
© Copyright Steve Gillon 2021.
