The State, Glasgow

Very nice traditional pub - with central bar serving multiple Oakham brews. All deep mahogany woods and traditional pub furniture. Good Beer Guide 2020.

This is an old Scottish bar that has been more than well described below. The huge island bar at the front is an unusual feature. The only annoying thing for me was the TV screens showing some boring sport "news" that nobody seemed to be taking much notice of. I found a board in a corner listing the beers dotted around the bar and they were Stewart's State IPA & Radical Road Porter, Oakham Citra, Bishop's Farewell & Green Devil IPA, a Torrside Stout and Anarchy Straight Jacket. I went straight for the Green Devil which was a very reasonable £3.50 and in excellent nick. I liked this one a lot. On the day the beer choice was miles better than the JDW over the road. It's GBG 2018 listed.

This is a lovely traditional pub just off the main thoroughfare of Sauchiehall Street. The pub is dominated by a magnificent island servery which is in an oval shape with a marble topped counter, brass foot and hand rails, and some lovely worked wooden pillars supporting a great curved gantry with old tankards hanging from it and slogans printed on the inside. The bar back is similarly constructed and the overall effect is pretty outstanding, with the servery being the undoubted star of the pub. It serves a well appointed room which is partly bare boarded and partly carpeted. A large stone relief next to the entrance is a most unusual feature and there is very limited seating on this side of the pub thanks to the narrow gap between bar and side wall. Things open out more to the right and rear where padded banquettes and chairs serve a wide range of tables. This part of the room is decorated with old playbills, photos of stars of the stage and other such theatrical bits and there is also a particularly pleasant stained glass window here too, depicting a Scottish terrier. The back wall has lots of historic photos of Glasgow and a huge mirror in a very unusual frame. Several TV screens dotted around the room were showing a live football match with the commentary just about audible over a very busy Monday evening crowd. There seemed to be handpulls dotted around all corners of the bar, so working out the full range took a bit of time but gave me the chance to properly take in the excellent servery. The options I noted were Oakham JHB and Citra, Cromarty Red Rocker, Farmhouse and Credence Valhalla, Anarchy Sublime Chaos and Stewartstown State No 3, which I believe is a house beer. An attentive barman picked me out in the crowd and served up a very nice pint of the JHB which was in great shape and one of the best pints I had in Glasgow. I really warmed to this place which I thought had bags of character, a good, lively atmosphere and some great beer. The place obviously has a strong local following, as evidenced by the great turnout on a Monday evening and I would most certainly look to call in here again the next time I’m in the city.