Blackfriars of Bell St, Glasgow

Another of my favourite pubs in Glasgow, the Blackfriars is a lively modern pub in the Merchant City area, not too far from the Babbity Bowster. It can be a bit "art-studenty" at times, verging on the Bohemian even, but the staff and clientele are always friendly and the beer is always very good quality. The pub regularly hosts live music, but none was on this visit. Four ales on, the Kelburn was excellent. There is also a very good selection of whiskies. Blackfriars continues to be one of the better real ale pubs in Glasgow and I can recommned it for inclusion in a crawl or a lively night out.

Basic darkly lit drinking house styled bar with a beer mat finish to the servery ceiling, lots of music posters, sticky tables and not all the furniture matches so the atmosphere is decidedly studenty. It is in the Merchant City so it has pricing to match and the bare board floor is actually laminate. A five pull set of pumps on the bar dispense a mix of Scottish and English micro/small brewery beers and it appears to be a regular outlet for Brewdog although sadly not on my visit but the Inveralmond Lia Fail was quite superb. A mix of ordinary and interesting kegs both European and UK are also available. I liked the small, individual, blackboard beer names above the bar made for easy changes when a beer runs out. Not many students about but there was a mix of ages, classes and nationalities, the bar staff were mainly younger and enthusiastic.

A corner bar, with a brick faced exterior and large windows. The interior is open plan, with two central supporting columns plastered in music posters. The place has the now ubiquitous modern look, with plain walls, wood floor, arty pictures, formal tables and chair, sofas, then the odd piano and barrel thrown in. Service was fine and the place was rammed by the younger more than all ages. Beerwise; Inveralmond Indie Pinke, Strathaven Old Mortality 80/-, Kelburn Red Smiddy, Brewdog IPA and Easy Rider - the OM and the Red Smiddy were very nice. Definately worth a visit, best choice of beer i had in central Glasgow in the pubs i went in - interior is modern, but apart from Scotia Bar, they all seemed to be