Glasgow is pub city - we’ve got some of the best bars in Scotland, whether your tipple be cocktails, pints or just a place to enjoy some live music and that’s well known - but what about some of the city’s lesser-known pubs that deserve attention.
We put together this list of 15 of the best hidden gem pubs in Glasgow that are often overlooked, whether that be because of their location, their niche offerings, or even just because that’s their chosen vibe - all of these bars deserve more attention than they get.
Some of these pubs may be well-known to Glaswegians - in many cases just through word of mouth - but to the millions of visitors Glasgow gets every year, they’ll be overlooked, and in our opinion that’s criminal.
From humble family-run boozers like The Cabin Bar on the Gallowgate to the opulent interiors of cocktail bars like the Devil of Brooklyn on Renfield Street -
1. Hide & Seek
Hidden in plain sight just off Buchanan Street - this late-night pub is great for drinks in the city centre right up until 3am.
2. The Cabin Bar
Right next door to the Barrowlands but often overlooked, The Cabin Bar in Glasgow may just be one of the smallest pubs in the city - but that just adds to its atmosphere. It’s a cash-only bar, there’s no draught, and the place is often completely packed with drunk strangers screaming karaoke into an old machine mere feet from the bar - it may just be my favourite pub in Glasgow.
3. Chinaskis
Chinaskis on North Street is so cool it doesn’t even have a sign - once you’re full up on pints or cocktails for the night you’ve always got the option of dancing it off in the equally understated Berkeley Suite next door.
4. Devil of Brooklyn
The Devil of Brooklyn offers one of the boujee-ist interiors in Glasgow - perfect for that next big Instagram post.