Bon Accord, Glasgow

This is probably the most famous real ale venue in Glasgow having been a pioneer of it for many years. Today it is also big on whisky having hundreds on sale at the bar. It's been well described below but briefly it's a long open plan room with the bar on the left and a large area of low seating at the rear. There seemed to be a lot of football memorabilia but I only saw one TV screen which was showing music videos. They do nine beers and a cider here but on my visit the cider was off. One row of pumps was blocked by bar stools and the chalked list only showed the beer names so all I know is that two beers were Caledonia Deuchars IPA & Edinburgh Castle and the one I had was North Yorkshire NYPA. This was in good nick but at £4.00 was on the expensive side. It is worth a visit and you don't have to walk as Charing Cross Rail Station is just the other side of the Motorway. It's GBG 2018 listed.

This quality, traditional pub and whisky house feels like something of a survivor, perched rather precariously on the side of the M8 which thunders past outside and must’ve come close to swallowing this place up, as it did with so many premises back when it was being constructed. Thankfully, the pub survived and now offers a warm and welcoming environment along with good selections of both whisky and ale. You enter into a bare boarded room with the servery over on the left hand wall. Some nice bench seating is available under the front windows and this is ably supported by further tables and chairs and the odd drinking ledge in what is essentially the main bar area. You know you’re in a Scottish pub, as a huge picture of Jim Baxter and Billy Bremner celebrating a Scottish victory at Wembley hangs next to the bar, alongside shelves full of whisky boxes and whiskey appreciation books. An attractive pub mirror to the right has a TV screen above showing a live football fixture with the commentary still audible. The bar is a lovely feature, with its curved, wood panelled counter and grand dark wood bar back topped with more whisky boxes. Somewhat incongruously, a tall tropical fish tank stands on one end of the bar, whilst a shelf above holds a collection of footballs from various clubs around the UK. A mirrored pillar opposite the bar splits the pub in two, as beyond, the room opens out into a decent sized rear seating area. A lot of CAMRA certificates and other such indicators of excellence have been put on display here, along with a signed photograph of Archie Gemmill. The rear space feels a little more generic than the front bar, but there are lots of good seating options back here and some decent panelling, suitable partitioning and muted lighting made for a reasonably atmospheric spot to settle down in. A no nonsense landlord and chatty barmaid presided over proceedings on my Monday evening visit where a good ale line up was available, consisting of Caledonian Deuchars IPA and Edinburgh Castle, Green Duck Duck & Dab, Kelburn Carte Blanche and Stout Keith. I gave the Duck and Dab a try and thought it was in really good shape, to the point that I nearly abandoned my plans to tick off a couple more pubs before closing, so that I could stay here and try some more of their beer (although the call of the crawl eventually won out, as it so often does). I really liked this place which felt in a way like a fairly authentic old Glaswegian boozer given a bit of a tidy up. The welcome was warm, the beer was great and the pub is well worth spending a little time exploring, making this one of the city’s must-do pubs.

Through the entrance of the Bon Accord the bar on the left-hand wall faces some booth seating that runs down the right. At the end of the bar some steps lead down to a larger seating area and the toilets at the rear. Plasma screens are located throughout and Sky Sports is advertised, although a muted music channel was airing during my recent early Tuesday evening visit. Live music is held here on Saturdays and the 3rd Tuesday of each month is time for traditional Scottish music. I counted ten hand pumps on the bar alongside a range of standard and premium keg products. Food is available all day, and I must say that it is very reasonably priced with cheeseburger and chips coming in at £5.25. There are a couple of picnic tables on the path out the front and another couple in the rear yard area where access can be gained to the Bon Accord Whisky Shop. I’m a big fan of traditional boozers so I was not disappointed with this place. It is a bit of a walk from the main drag, but worth it for the good atmosphere and friendly service.