The Raven, Glasgow

Good Beer Guide 2020 entry - all things to all men/women. Loud music, food, cocktails, beer, foorball on, bouncers outside. All a bit manic. Beers from Mobberley Brewery in Cheshire.

Looks like a long established pub but as Aqualung says gone a bit crafty and with bloody handle glasses. Stripped out and greyed up in once trendy style. 3 casks plus a raft, well four, of draught craft keg to oil yer beard with. Big screens here and there. The left hand side is bar and the right is the “Smoke House” where smoked meats, from pig and cattle, can be had.

This one is more crafty than other places visited in Glasgow. It's a split level bar where at least I found somewhere to sit on a Thursday evening. It's all quite modern and probably designed to attract younger folk rather than old soaks. The bar has three hand pumps which had Alechemy Ten Storey Malt Bomb, Lerwick Azure and Orkney Dark Island. I went for the Lerwick Azure where I didn't note the price but it was around £3.50. Sadly it was served in a stupid dimple jug without asking and was on the cold side. Apart from that it was fine. I thought this place was OK, it's GBG 2018 listed.

A comparatively recent addition to the local beer scene, the Raven has pitched itself as something of a craft beer bar but still offers a limited cask selection as well. The pub has a large split-level interior with the bar in the left-hand potion of the premises and what appeared to be a much larger restaurant area in the right-hand section, although this was roped off and in darkness on my late-Sunday evening visit. The whole of the ‘pub’ side is bare boarded except for a small checkerboard tile flooring area around the servery. You enter into the lower level, front seating area where impressive oval-shaped tables and high stools fill the front windows and banquettes run along the left-hand side under a bare stone wall which has TV screens showing muted football along it. Three steps lead up to the bar area which sees the servery tucked away in the rear left corner with its dark painted counter front and tongue and groove bar back topped with a collection of whisky boxes. More banquette and high stool seating can be found here and the décor in general is smart and befitting the sort of bar they are trying to create here. I spent most of my visit chatting to a lovely old lady with an almost impenetrable Glaswegian accent, who was enjoying a quiet half whilst waiting for her bus home. The beer selection seems to have been quite carefully put together and comprises a modest range rather than the usual bewildering range of options. Cask ales on this visit were Dark Revolution Velveteen, Black Iris Snake Eyes and Stewart Cross Fire, whilst four craft keg taps offered beers from Stewart, Brewdog and Williams Bros. My pint of the Velveteen was in good shape and went down very easily. I felt that I didn’t really see this place at its best by visiting late on a Sunday evening, but I was impressed with what I did manage to see. It would be interesting to see what it’s like when the restaurant side is open – I suspect it could be a very different experience, but I enjoyed this late-night stop off.