Here’s the 2019 list of Ted and Steve’s favourite pubs in Edinburgh and Glasgow. We visit both cities regularly, and usually manage to call in somewhere for a pint or two – we’ve noted those which we have visited in 2017 and 2018. GBG means that the pub is in Camra’s Good Beer Guide 2019.
EDINBURGH PUBS |
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| 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. | |||
| Café Royal | 19 West Register St, EH2 2AA | GBG | 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 2017 and 2018 | |||
| Cask and Barrel | 115 Broughton St, EH1 3RZ | Buses: 8 | |
| Large corner pub at east end of the New Town. Visited in 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 2017 and 2018 | |||
| 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. 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. | |||
| Oxford Bar | 8 Young St, EH2 4JB | Buses: West End | |
| Now famous from the Inspector Rebus novels, this still retains the feel of a local pub in a New Town back street. | |||
| Old Town and South Side | |||
| Bow Bar | 80 West Bow, EH1 2HH | GBG | Buses: George IV Bridge |
| Excellent selection of whiskies and beers in this impressive small pub in the Old Town. | |||
| Halfwayhouse | 24 Fleshmarket Close, EH1 1BX | GBG | Buses: Princes St Rail: Waverley |
| 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 in 2017 and 2018 | |||
| Hebrides | 17 Market St, EH1 1DE | Buses: Princes St Rail: Waverley | |
| Small and friendly bar, close to Waverley Station. Visited in 2017. | |||
| Sandy Bells | 25 Forrest Rd, EH1 2QH | Buses: Forrest Rd/Bristo Pl | |
| 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 in 2017 | |||
| West – Haymarket, Gorgie | |||
| Athletic Arms (Diggers) | 1-3 Angle Park Terr, EH11 2JX | Buses 1, 34, 35 | |
| Go there. And try the pies as well as the beer. Visited 2017 | |||
| Ryries | 1 Haymarket Terrace, EH12 5EY | Buses, Tram and Rail: Haymarket | |
| Traditional bar though a bit dominated by TV sport. In the list because it is so close to Haymarket station. Wait for / miss trains. | |||
GLASGOW PUBS |
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| City Centre | |||||
| Blackfriars | 36 Bell St, G1 1LG | GBG | Buses: Trongate | ||
| Large open-plan pub on a corner site in the Merchant City. Excellent selection of mainly Scottish real ales. Visited in 2017. | |||||
| Counting House | 2 St Vincent Pl, G1 2DH | GBG | Buses: City Centre Subway: Buchanan St Rail: Queen St | ||
| 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. Visited in 2018. | |||||
| Horse Shoe | 17-19 Drury St, G2 5AE | Buses: City Centre Subway: Buchanan St Rail: Central | |||
| Long, long island bar…friendly, lively and not to be missed (but trains from Central can be). Visited in 2018. | |||||
| Pot Still | 154 Hope Street, G2 2TH | GBG | Buses: City Centre | ||
| Small pub, Mainly known for its incredible range of malt whiskies, including many rarities. And the beer, from local microbreweries, is good too. Visited in 2017 and 2018. | |||||
| Steps Bar | 62 Glassford St, G1 1UP | Buses: Glassford St Rail: Argyle St | |||
| 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. Visited in 2018. | |||||
| Charing X | |||
| Bon Accord | 153 North St, G3 7DA | GBG | Bus and Rail: Charing X |
| The original real ale mecca in Glasgow….still going strong. Visited in 2017 | |||
| State Bar | 148 Holland St, G2 4NG | GBG | Bus and Rail: Charing X |
| Welcoming bar, with a good selection of beers, and fine lunchtime food. Visited in 2017 and 2018. | |||
| South Side | |||
| Laurieston Bar | 58 Bridge St, G5 9HU | GBG | Buses: 3,4,38,57
Subway: Bridge St |
| Unspoilt 1960s bar, mainly serving Fyne Ales. Fairly recent reputation for good beer is deserved. Visited in 2018. | |||
| West End | |||||
| Doublet | 74 Park Road, G4 9JF | Buses: 4,4A,6,6A
Subway: Kelvinbridge |
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| Local pub near Kelvinbridge. Small bar, friendly, with good beer. Visited in 2017. | |||||
| Grove | 8 Kelvingrove St, G3 7RX | Buses: 2,3,77 | |||
| Unspoilt, friendly locals boozer in Kelvingrove. No Real Ale. Visited in 2017 | |||||
| Lismore | 206 Dumbarton Road, Partick, G11 6UN | Buses: 2,3,77 Subway: Kelvinhall | |
| Friendly, local pub. Some real ale and plenty of whiskies. Visited in 2017 and 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 in 2018. | ||||
| 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 in 2017 and 2018. | ||||
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 2019.
