The Pot Still, Glasgow

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.

Attractive pub with a split-level interior and a tall bar-back featuring a huge array of malts (some requiring a ladder to reach). Traditional furniture and decor, with unusual decorated ceiling beams above the main part of the bar. Four handpumps, offering Deuchars IPA, Kelburn Red Smiddy and two from Loch Ness: Light Ness and Madness - One Hop Beyond (£2.95). Good atmosphere, and well worth seeking out.