The Crystal Palace (JD Wetherspoon), Glasgow

Another Glasgow branch of Wetherspoons and, as with the nearby Sir John Moore, another Wetherspoons catering to those passing through Glasgow Central station. It’s another massive premises, made to look even larger on my visit when there can’t have been more than a dozen customers in on a Monday night. Huge plate glass windows down two sides of the room give plenty of light but set you up for plenty of ogling from passersby. The bar is all the way over on the right hand wall with a very typical ‘Spoons counter and bar back. Loads of high tables and stools run through the centre of the pub, leaving standard tables and chairs confined to a series of raised areas to the front and rear of the room. There is also additional seating to the rear in a secluded space that was pretty much unlit on my visit, making it tricky to take a proper look. Some nice wood panelling can be found around the room and the staircase to the toilets had a beautifully worked banister, but once again, you really have to scratch around to find anything of much interest. There are ‘crystal’ chandeliers throughout the room, which I assume is a nod to the pub’s name, but aside from that, it was left to the TV screens showing a muted sports channel and the ‘Spoons info boards to create some visual distraction. I noted three ‘Spoons regulars on the bar but an impressive seven guest ales from which I opted for a pint of Rudgate Evil Elf, which was in pretty good shape. The lone barman seemed very friendly and brought drinks over to one table which I thought was good of him. He also dealt with some spilt drinks very quickly and efficiently, despite seemingly being the only person on duty. It’s difficult to warm to these Wetherspoons, as they are just so big and devoid of interest, but this one seemed to have a little something extra that made it marginally more enjoyable than others I had tried. Worth a look if you’re waiting for a train or perhaps as part of a crawl, but Glasgow has plenty of better pubs and I can’t see me coming back here again.

The Crystal Palace is a large open plan Wetherspoons with floor to ceiling windows that offer magnificent views of the Lidl supermarket opposite. Along the length of the right-hand wall is the long bar that faces a sea of high tables. There is a flight of stairs that lead up to a first-floor seating area, but I did not investigate during this visit. Behind the staircase to the left of the bar is some standard seating used for dining or when the pub is busy at the weekends. The usual JDW menu with meal deals aplenty is available. The bar is stocked with standard keg products and I counted ten hand pumps in two banks of five. There is also a large bottled craft beer menu for those with money to burn. I found the service to be polite and would have no problem returning here for another beer.