The Laurieston Bar, Glasgow

Located on the crossroads opposite Bridge Street subway station, this is a remarkable pub with an evocative, and somewhat uninviting, exterior and a quite magnificent, well preserved 1960's interior. The entrance porch gives you the option of heading left into the Public Bar or right into a smarter Lounge. The Public Bar has bare boards and runs in a roughly semi-circular shape with fixed seating around the perimeter. The windows all have heavy drapes, many of which were closed on a cold winter's afternoon and I noticed a TV was on, showing some dull daytime TV show. At such a quiet period of the day, the lounge seemed like the better option, so I turned left into a smart and comfortable space with some lovely dark wood panelling and a nice panelled section of bar counter. The bar seems to be older than the majority of fittings in the pub and has a pretty grand gantry, nice curved bar end, frosted partitioning screens and a hatch which was presumably once part of the jug and bottle operation. The walls have red anglypta uppers and are broken by frosted windows along the font of the pub, with a tile ceiling above. Tartan carpet covers most of the floor and red upholstered banquettes and smart chairs follow the perimeter of the room, with a few bell pushes still apparent behind some of the banquettes. The walls have been decorated with a variety of old photographs, including an incredible shot of a truck that spilt its load outside the pub in 1956, a sculpture of a woman covered in cherries, window sills full of books and files, a model ship, photo collages and a battered looking old juke box. The barman here was extremely friendly, stopping for a good chat about the pubs of Glasgow and giving me a few recommendations as to where to head next (and where to avoid!). He poured me a lovely pint of Fyne Ales Highlander which was one of three ales available, but I was so busy chatting that I forgot to note the other options. I thought this was a great pub which really conveys a great sense of history and gives a feel for what the pubs in this part of town must've been like 50 years ago. It's only a short hop over the river from the city centre and is well worth including on any itinerary for the good beer, warm welcome and remarkable interior. Quite comfortably my favourite pub in Glasgow and one I hope to return to in the future.