The Steps Bar, Glasgow

The pub's name comes from the two steps leading into the building. The interior of the pub is Art Deco and was refitted in 1938. It has also been owned by the same family for over 40 years. The back bar is finished in Australian Walnut, along with the original counter. The stained glass panel, which can be found in the snug, depicts the Cunard Liner RMS Queen Mary, built on the Clyde and launched in 1938. The gents toilet has recently been refurbished and was very upmarket. The locals were friendly and welcoming and they had Melody radio playing on a flat screen wall mounted TV. No cask ale on our visit, so it was either Tennants or Stella on draught, I went for the latter.

This is a small bar with a great heritage interior, just off Merchant Square. You enter to a fairly compact room with some off-putting modern laminate flooring that is quickly put to the back of the mind by numerous excellent period features. The servery runs down the right-hand wall and has a rather swish looking dark wood counter, a breath-taking art-deco canopy and supporting pillars and a fairly regimented bar back. The area opposite the bar has been left empty, creating quite a decent sized standing area whilst plush button backed banquettes follow the front and left-hand walls, serving small round tables and supported by several nice padded chairs. The front windows are frosted and contain a nice floral insert, whilst the front porch – quite the spectacle in its own right – also sports some similar glasswork. The whole room is fitted out with marvellous dark wood panelling which looks great and gives it a real air of authenticity, which has somewhat been undermined by the presence of two TV screens showing an NFL fixture and a juke box to the rear, near the toilets. A very narrow door to the rear left, numbered ‘2’, takes you through to a nice snug with anaglypta covered walls and some more banquette seating. The room’s focal point is a fine stained-glass pane on the rear wall depicting a ship. The place was pretty much empty on a Sunday night – just one couple in the snug and a bloke chatting to the friendly barman. Sadly, there was no ale available at the time of my visit, although this could just be because they’d run out after the weekend. I ended up drinking a pint of Caledonian Best on keg which, despite being far too cold, was actually pretty tasty. I really enjoyed sitting in this evocative old room, taking in the fine surroundings and it was just a shame that I couldn’t do so with a decent pint in hand. I’d definitely recommend this to anyone interested in well kept heritage interiors but a swift half would probably be sufficient.