Babbity Bowster, Glasgow

This is quite a smart, modernised little pub which has a few hints to a much older history. You enter into a roughly L-shaped room with nice modern floorboards and a deep, square servery to the rear left with a huge mirror on the bar back, surrounded by a pleasant decorative tile strip. The bar has a nice dark wood counter, broken at the corner by a small wooden pillar against which a board is stood listing the ale options. The room has been fitted out with smart padded banquettes with grey and white wooden backs, standard tables and chairs and a few nice-looking bar stools. The walls are painted in neutral shades and there are floral prints along the ceiling beams, creating a clean but somewhat sterile feel. The left side of the room has minimal décor but there were a few old black and white photos on show plus some evocative paintings. Similar décor can be found in the cosier right-hand side of the room where you will also find a marvellous carved stone pub sign above a small fireplace, an old map of Corsica and the framed sheet music and lyrics to La Marseillaise, for reasons I couldn’t quite fathom out. There is just the one curved banquette to the rear, opposite the bar, where you will also find some bookshelves, various bits of pub literature and a TV screen that remained turned off throughout my visit. Unusually, there was a garden spade mounted on the back wall, again with no real indication as to why. A door to the right leads down to the toilets and on your way through, you pass a nice mural depicting what appears to be a live music session in the pub, whilst the landing area beyond is liberally papered with live music flyers. Just the two ales available on this visit – Kelburn Jaguar and Tryst Brockville (£3.70). A friendly barman served me a pretty satisfying pint of the latter which I enjoyed whilst exploring the pub on a fairly quiet Sunday night. This struck me as a relatively upmarket alternative to a lot of Glasgow’s city centre boozers – the sort of place you’d bring friends who aren’t necessarily big pub fans. The warm welcome and good beer were big plus points and whilst the interior only worked in part for me, I’d still be more than happy to return.

The Babbity Bowster official site - www.babbitybowster.com

The Babbity Bowster official site - www.babbitybowster.com