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Beer of the Week (w/e 27th April 2025) with Thuck Phat
on the Pub Forum
Detail Pages
The Pot Still, Glasgow
Glasgow
G2 2TH
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 8 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Pot Still
This place is easy enough to miss in passing, but it’s a superb city centre ale house with a fantastic heritage interior that really demands a visit whenever you’re in Glasgow. You enter through a quite brilliant stained-glass porch into a compact bare boarded room with the servery immediately over to the left. The bar has a nice dark wood counter and impressive high bar back with mirrored and stained-glass sections. It also has some really dazzling high shelves which have been used to store various bottles, mainly whisky, and which extend around the front and back walls, requiring a ladder to access them. The ceiling is crossed with attractive filigreed beams and is supported by a few sturdy pillars through the centre of the room. Seating comes mainly in the form of benches and chairs, some organised into semi-private, booth-like forms, with additional seating available in a nice raised rear section under a collection of black and white photos and a few mirrors. Elsewhere, the old photos cover much of the pubs anaglypta lined walls, along with a few bits of breweriana and other interesting odds and ends. The pub was still nice and busy as it approached closing time on a Sunday evening, generating a nice, warm atmosphere in its cosy, slightly cramped confines.
The pub seemed to have a Harviestoun’s theme going at the bar, as four of their ales were on – Engine Oil, Veterans, Tracer and Golden Ale – alongside Jaw Brew Drift. I gave the latter a try and received a very easy drinking pint from the cheerful barman. The landlord of another Glasgow pub that I visited the following day, commented that this was his favourite pub in the city for beer and service (other than his own, of course!).
This is a great little bolt-hole in the middle of the city which rewards visitors with warm, comfortable surrounds and some top-quality ale. I really liked this place and regretted leaving to the end of a long day in the field, as I probably didn’t do it proper justice. Definitely one to put near the top of any ‘to do’ list for the city.
On 20th March 2018
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3350 recommendations about 3350 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Roger Button left this review about The Pot Still
Dating from 1835, the Pot Still has a long standing history of family ownership that has given the place a degree of stability rarely enjoyed and to this day it remains a fairly unspoilt, unfussy and traditional pub removed from the more trendy bars and theme pubs that tend to blight city centres.
The interior was significantly altered in the early 1980’s and now has a single room main bar with the counter to left, bare floors, high ceilings propped up by a series of columns, patterned glass windows depicting the pub name and 2 large bays of seating. At the rear is a cosy raised balcony section with tartan carpet, leather banquette seating and a handful of pictures and mirrors. The pride of place must be the impressive bar back laden with around 300 bottles of whisky for which the pub is reknown. The ales aren’t quite so statistically impressive with 3 available across the 4 handpumps at the time of my visit - a brace from Fyne Ales (Hurricane Jack and Jarl) and one from Kelburn (Cart Noir) with the fourth pump unused. Unfortunately the Jarl ran out before I had a chance to try it leaving just 2 for the evening. Quality was fine and service friendly.
My Sunday evening visit was initially no more than a one pinter to tick the place off the “to do” list however a shortage of seating led me to the balcony section where I was ushered in by a group of traditional musicians (who apparently meet every Sunday evening) and was treated to an entire evening of high quality folk singing and musicianship that I would have gladly paid to see in any concert hall although I declined the offer to play and sing! Only the loud grating voice of an inconsiderate American tourist took the shine off things. Before I knew it, 8pm had become 11.30pm and I left having had one of the best pub sessions in memory. If I ever find myself in Glasgow on a Sunday evening, I know where I’ll be heading. Well worth a visit.
On 10th February 2012
- rating: 8
[User has posted 1239 recommendations about 1233 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
E TA left this review about The Pot Still
Pot Still is a popular, pleasant traditional Scottish pub in the town centre attracting workers and tourists (drunk Americans being irritating this time). Popular with CAMRA members. There's a large main bar area and a smaller, quieter landing area off to the side which is generally a better place to be. Three ales available, I tried some Caledonian which was fine. Also of note is the large selection of whiskies - over a hundred by my reckoning. Worth a visit for a pint and a chat, and recommended for inclusion in a crawl.
On 12th August 2010
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3516 recommendations about 3480 pubs]