Two days one night in Glasgow

[Me76]

I'm going to Glasgow for a brief city break at the beginning of July, any recommendations?

Particularly interested in good restaurants and cocktails bars. Also anything a bit different to see / experience.

 

[danny la rouge]

It’s one of the world’s great cities.

I’m afraid I can’t help with cocktail bars: that’s so not my thing. But there are a great many restaurants. What do you like?

Vietnamese: the Hanoi Bike Shop Hanoi Bike Shop

Indian: Ashoka Ashton Lane Ashoka Ashton Lane – The Official Ashoka Restaurants Website

Mother India’s Cafe Mother India's Cafe - Mother India

Scottish cafe culture:
Gandalfi

Glasgow Merchant City Restaurant & Bar

Cafe Gandolfi is one of Glasgow's oldest family-run restaurants. It is renowned as a Scottish institution, offering the best of Scottish produce in dishes which evolve and delight in equal measure. The importance of the all-round dining experience is underpinned by a culture and ethos among...

www.cafegandolfi.com

I mean, there’s so many. I don’t know whether to just keep going!

A bit different to see?

Hmm. Garnethill Synagogue? Home - Scottish Jewish Heritage Centre

Monorail records? Info | Monorail Music

The Necropolis?

Glasgow Necropolis Walking Tours Programme and Events — Friends of Glasgow Necropolis

Dedicated to conserving this Victorian garden cemetery adjacent to Glasgow Cathedral. Includes history and membership information.

www.glasgownecropolis.org

 

[danny la rouge]

More suggestions:

The Govan Stones

The Govan Stones – Early medieval carved stones displayed at the Govan Old Parish Church in Glasgow

Pink Peacock

about – די ראָזעווע פּאַווע

pinkpeacock.gay

Sharmanka Kinetic Theatre

Home - Sharmanka Kinetic Theatre

sharmanka.com

Otago Lane has the Czech Tearoom, Voltaire and Rousseau the most dishevelled bookshop in existence, and Mixed Up Records.

https://tchaiovna.com/

Second Hand Books Glasgow | Voltaire and Rousseau Booksellers | Books Bought & Sold

Glasgows oldest second-hand and antiquarian bookshop. Selling your books? We are always looking for new stock. Contact us today.

voltaireandrousseaubooks.com

Mixed Up Records | New, Secondhand & Collector's Records, Glasgow UK

Mixed Up Records is an independent record shop based in the West End of Glasgow. We specialise in buying and selling of new & secondhand vinyl records, CDs & DVDs. Sell your records at our Glasgow shop. Find us at 16-22 Otago Lane in Hillhead Glasgow.

www.mixeduprecords.com

Round the corner from there is Eusebi’s Deli

Home - Eusebi Deli

eusebideli.com

The Ottoman Coffee House is a great place to hang out. Busy at weekends, though.

Ottoman Coffeehouse

independently owned Speciality Coffee Shop, Coffeehouse and Roastery, offering Sit in or Take Away in Glasgow's West End. Proud Innovators of the Coffee Industry. We offer a wide variety of different Brews and Coffee, Freshly prepared Lunch, Kebabs and Grills.

www.ottomancoffeehouse.co.uk

Pubs are more my thing than cocktail bars.

The Scotia, Cluatha, Dukes, The Doublet, The Horshoe.

Less old-school is my elder daughter’s favourite, Chinaski’s. Cool, literary and with a hidden beer garden in a quiet courtyard that belies its city centre location.

 

[xenon]

I really like Glasgow, could happily live there. I did the usual touristy stuff last time I went. Kelvin Grove, Barras market, People's Museum. I mean as well as a fair bit of wandering round, few pubs and restaurants. A good fish place that I've unfortunately forgotten the name of.

 

[danny la rouge]

Weekends, the Barras market. Go early.

The Barras Market, Glasgow East End | What's On Glasgow

With it's iconic archways The Barras Market it is a Glasgow institution, open to the public every weekend!

www.whatsonglasgow.co.uk

Nearby you’ll find Calton Books and Glasgow Green: Calton Books - The Best Wee Radical Bookshop in the World

Glasgow Green - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Sadly the People’s Palace has been underfunded and allowed to go to waste by the SNP-led council, who don’t care about working class culture in Glasgow.

 

[danny la rouge]

Celebrity Spotting.

My daughters are always seeing either Kevin Bridges or Lewis Capaldi at weekends. If you want to bump into one of them go to Ziques (for small plates of posh food) HOME | Zique's or one of the bars or restaurants in Hyndland or Partick. (Lewis also likes Mother India Restaurant. I recommended their cafe, which is near it).

If Celtic are playing, Rod Stewart (a creature of habit apparently) usually eats in Rogano Rogano Glasgow and drinks at the Thornwood The Thornwood Bar | pub | 724 Dumbarton Road, Glasgow, UK

 

[danny la rouge]

One of my favourite parks (there are many in Glasgow) is Linn Park. On its edge is the Snuff Mill Bridge and nearby is Holmwood House, designed by famous Glasgow architect “Greek” Thomson.

SNUFF MILL BRIDGE (Glasgow) - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go

www.tripadvisor.co.uk

Holmwood House, Cathcart – Historic Buildings & Homes

Discover more details about Holmwood House including opening times, photos and more.

www.visitscotland.com

Of course you’ll already know Pollok Park, where the Burrell Collection is located.

Pollok Park - Glasgow

Pollok Park is an open space a few miles from the centre of Glasgow, housing two museums and providing a range of recreational facilities. The former parkland includes several golf courses, which retain parkland planting. The grounds comprise 18th-century woodland gardens extended in the 20th…

www.parksandgardens.org

Welcome to The Burrell Collection website

Enjoy interactive and immersive experiences for visitors of all ages.

burrellcollection.com

 

[farmerbarleymow]

I'll have to visit Glasgow again at some point - you could take me on a tour of the dive bars danny la rouge

 

[kebabking]

I used to see Nicola Sturgeon on Byres road about once a week, and Carole Smiley in that cafe with the massive bay window on Nithsdale Road in Pollock shields... #who? #OldFart

If you end up on on the South Side - Shawlands/Battlefield/Langside - then Cafe Salmagundi in Mount Florida is a fantastic vege place. Amazing food.

 

[danny la rouge]

Oh, I bet the cocktail bars are all in Finnieston! From Kelvingrove, walk along Argyll Street onto St Vincent Street and you pass all the hipster bars and restaurants. Six by Nico (expensive tasting menu of six courses); Crabshakk (seafood); too many to mention really. The Hidden Lane is along there, if you’re there during the day. (It’s there at night too, but the shops and cafes are closed).

 

[danny la rouge]

I'll have to visit Glasgow again at some point - you could take me on a tour of the dive bars danny la rouge

You’ve picked the right man for the job.

 

[danny la rouge]

More on the Hidden Lane: THE HIDDEN LANE AND THE HIVE GLASGOW

 

[danny la rouge]

University Cafe - Real old style chip shop cafe: University Cafe - Fry-ups, ice cream & fish'n'chips

Fancy a lorne sausage on a Morton’s roll or a falafel wrap in the same cafe? You need Comet Pieces. Comet Pieces in Glasgow - Restaurant menu and reviews

 

[Johnny Vodka]

There are a few famous gig venues, but obv depends if there's anything on to your taste.

If you like Italian food, Sarti is pretty good (or was when I last ate in it years ago). They have a couple of restaurants. If you go to the one on Bath Street, Bar Bloc next door is a cool pub. Obviously loads of great places to drink in Glasgow, but I don't know much about cocktail bars.

I'll second Mother India's Cafe too.

You could nip into Platform to see what used to be The Arches.

 

[danny la rouge]

If you like Italian food, Sarti

I love Sarti’s. Mrs LR and I went there with Mr and Mrs Spymaster

The Wellington Street entrance is the one I like.

 

[Fedayn]

La Lanterna on Hope Street is very good.
Mono on King Street for vegan and veggie food.
University Cafe on Byres Road great for a chippy team and ice cream. Try the Bourdain special. So called after Anthony Bourdain visited and ate there.
Merchant Chippie on Ingram St, near the junction with High Street. If ye fancy a really good chippy tea. .
Another shout for Mother India, cracking food.

Pubs/bars

8f ye want gin. Afton Bar and grill at the entrance to Central Station (on Gordon Street). Gins by the dozen and gin cocktails to go with them.
McChuills on High Street, Celtic minded but good music.
If yer into yer whiskies.
Pot Still on Hope Street, a gantry full to the brim with really good and some notably expensiive tastes whiskies.

To name a few.

 

[Fedayn]

I used to see Nicola Sturgeon on Byres road about once a week, and Carole Smiley in that cafe with the massive bay window on Nithsdale Road in Pollock shields... #who? #OldFart

If you end up on on the South Side - Shawlands/Battlefield/Langside - then Cafe Salmagundi in Mount Florida is a fantastic vege place. Amazing food.

View attachment 376785View attachment 376786

Smiley and her husband used to run The Granary in Shawlands, so her floating about that bit of the Southside would be normal everyday.

 

[quimcunx]

How did I miss this.

Home - Sharmanka Kinetic Theatre

sharmanka.com

 

[19sixtysix]

For Cocktails try The Citizen on St Vincent St or the bar on the corner of the polo lounge.

 

[Me76]

How did I miss this.

Home - Sharmanka Kinetic Theatre

sharmanka.com

Only does shows weds - sat and I'm going Monday and Tuesday.

 

[geminisnake]

if you're in the centre and looking for veggie/vegan food try Geek Retreat in Union St, not a massive range but better than a lot of places

 

[Fedayn]

if you're in the centre and looking for veggie/vegan food try Geek Retreat in Union St, not a massive range but better than a lot of places

Are you here today? Sorry about the weather.

 

[Flavour]

just seen that the pink peacock sadly closed down last year danny la rouge . i'll be visiting glasgow for the first time next month for a day or so and would have been nice to be able to visit an alternative/queer/anarchist sort of space

 

[danny la rouge]

just seen that the pink peacock sadly closed down last year danny la rouge . i'll be visiting glasgow for the first time next month for a day or so and would have been nice to be able to visit an alternative/queer/anarchist sort of space

Near where PP was is Category Is Books. That would probably be your first port of call. Category Is Books

Sadly Bonjour has also closed down. That was great but is no more.

There’s Delmonica’s, which my kids go to. But that’s not somewhere I can give you a recent recommendation on.

Red Rosa’s next to Calton Books often has events on, but it’s more of a place that groups book for events. Similarly the CCA on Sauchiehall Street. Mono is great, near the Saltmarket. A vegan bar, cafe, record shop.

Probably the Southside will have more of what you’re looking for, but I’m old and infirm and not really up on venues these days. So the area around Category is Books. The alternative beating heartland of the revolution.

 

[Johnny Vodka]

Bar Bloc might be okay for you Flavour , though not been in it for a while.

BLOC+

www.bloc.ru

 

[Me76]

I highly recommend this restaurant The Best Scottish Restaurant in Glasgow | Stravaigin

Not ridiculously spendy but some of the best food I have ever had. If I had a private jet I would be nipping up there for dinner all the time.

 

[editor]

I'd also recommend a trip on the Subway, for the novelty factor.

 

[danny la rouge]

I'd also recommend a trip on the Subway, for the novelty factor.

Don’t get lost, though!

 

[Johnny Vodka]

Struggling to see what's so special about Glasgow subway. Surely has to be the most basic subway ever?

 

[danny la rouge]

Struggling to see what's so special about Glasgow subway. Surely has to be the most basic subway ever?

That’s probably the novelty for a Londoner.