Pub Hopping

This weekend we met up with another International Student from Canada to check up some pubs we had read about. They were supposed to be great Glaswegian pubs and were listed in Scotland the Best guide as being the best of the unique and old unspoilt pubs of Glasgow. As there were three that were all right next to each other, we decided to hit them all at once. That and they are right near the Clyde, in a slightly sketchy part of town. Elise and I were glad that Mike was with us! Well... here is what we thought of the pubs we visited that evening...

The first pub was the Scotia Bar. Its a wee pub right near St Enoch Square (a fairly large shopping mall.) Mike really liked this one because of the architecture. He had written a paper on the social aspects of pubs regarding to class in London. As he was writing the paper he learned quite a bit about the structure of the old pubs and why it was that way, and so on. Well, this pub still had the original snug dividers, which he found really interesting. And this was the most interesting bar, but it also happened to be the most popular bar. Because of this we were not able to get seats, so only were able to look around. I suppose we'll just have to go back to check out the ales!

The next on the list was Clutha Vaults. Now given the name I thought it was going to be a lot more intriguing than it was. Just your normal hole in the wall pub. It did have really beautiful watercolors of the city up on the walls though. It was your typical Glaswegian pub though, complete with the staring regulars, and loud arguments over who knows what. More than likely football (soccer) as there was a big match over here that day.

The third pub of the night was The Victoria Bar, or the Briggait. This one wasn't as bad as the Clutha Vaults. There was a small band playing on one side of the pub and it was nice to listen to. The bar staff were nice, although fairly inattentive since again, there was a football game on the tele. I had the oddest beer at this pub though. It was called Belhaven's Best. It was okay at first, but then came the unmistakable stench of vomit. And it wasn't from someone in the pub, it was from my glass. The beer had the most horrendous smell of vomit and it was awful. I WILL NOT be having that again!!

Either way, I think that Elise thought we were crazy for (1) walking that close to the Clyde right before nightfall and (2) we actually took her to those pubs. After those three we headed to the wonderful O'Neill's for something to eat. Interestingly enough it was in a beautiful old building in the Merchant City and the interior was amazing! Out of all four we went to that evening, this would be the one we bring people to. Slightly sad since its one of many in a mega pub chain, but its still really wonderful!
(stay tuned for photos of the pubs later on in the week!)

4 February 2007