Glasgow Commonwealth Games 2026: Where to Eat and Drink (A Local's Guide)

Glasgow hosts the 2026 Commonwealth Games from 23 July to 2 August — eleven days of competition spread across venue clusters the city already built for 2014. If you're flying in for a few days you'll spend most of your trip moving between the East End (Emirates Arena, the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, Tollcross), the West End (Scotstoun area) and the city centre (the SEC complex by the Clyde).

This is the Glasgow food and drink guide for those days. I've lived here most of my life. None of these places are sponsored, none paid to be listed, and I've eaten or drunk in every one of them. There are also a few honest "don't bother" notes at the end, because there's a lot of mediocre food being sold to Games visitors at premium prices and someone should say so.

For broader context on the city's food scene year-round, see our Glasgow food guide. For the wider Scottish craft-beer story see best Scottish craft beer online and our BrewDog vs Tennent's comparison if you want the honest read on Scotland's two biggest beer brands before you arrive.

The Games in one paragraph (food/drink edition)

This is a scaled-back Commonwealth Games — Glasgow stepped in after Victoria, Australia withdrew, and the programme is leaner than 2014's. The practical upshot for visitors is that the same three or four venue clusters host most events, which makes pre-planning your food and drink genuinely useful. Bars and restaurants near each cluster will be busy on event days and the better places near the Emirates Arena (Dalmarnock, East End) and SEC (city centre, by the River Clyde) will book out a week in advance. Book ahead is the single most useful sentence in this guide.

Near the East End venue cluster (Emirates Arena / Velodrome / Tollcross)

The East End is Glasgow's most underrated food-and-drink quadrant. The 2014 Games kicked off a slow-burn restaurant and brewery renaissance here that's still going.

Drygate Brewery (Duke Street, ~10 min walk from Tennent Caledonian)

A working brewery and taproom in a building that overlooks Glasgow Necropolis. Eight to twelve of their own beers on tap, plus guest taps. Sunday brewery tours at noon and 5pm, £10, 45 minutes — book ahead because they sell out around big events. The food is honest, hearty pub-fare aimed at people who've spent the afternoon outside in the East End. The best brewery taproom in the city.

WEST Brewery (Glasgow Green / Templeton Building)

The Templeton-on-the-Green building is one of Glasgow's most distinctive — a 19th-century carpet factory built to look like the Doge's Palace in Venice. WEST is a German-style Bavarian brewery inside it, brewing helles, hefeweizen, dunkel and pilsner. Genuinely good beer; the food is German-Scottish (schnitzels, currywurst, plus haggis and chips). A 10-15 minute walk from the SEC across the Clyde, and an easy 20-minute walk from the Emirates Arena. If you're spending a day at events on Glasgow Green, this is where you eat.

Tennent's Wellpark Brewery tour

Tennent's has been brewed at Wellpark Brewery on Duke Street since 1885 (the brewery site itself dates to 1556). The tour runs about an hour and covers the lager's history plus the production floor. It costs around £15–20 and books up fast for Games week. Worth doing if you want to understand what "a pint of lager" actually means in Glasgow — it'll be Tennent's at every pub you walk into, and the tour gives you the context.

Eating in the East End

• Cafezique (Hyndland) — not strictly East End but easy from the venues; the Glasgow brunch institution.
• Celino's (Alexandra Parade) — Italian-Scottish institution, lunch counter at the front, fuller restaurant at the back. Walking distance from the Emirates Arena. Avoid Saturdays unless you've booked.
• Bar 67 (London Road) — proper old-school pub. Good for a pint after the velodrome.

Near the city-centre venue cluster (SEC / Hydro / Argyle Street)

The SEC and Hydro are the city's biggest indoor venues, sitting on the Clyde a 5-minute walk from Finnieston. This is the cluster with the highest concentration of good food and drink in Glasgow.

The Pot Still (Hope Street)

Glasgow's defining whisky bar. Over 1,000 whiskies on the gantry (their own figure, and they don't exaggerate). Family-run, three generations deep, no pretension. They'll talk you through anything in your price band, from a £4 dram of Famous Grouse to a £180 pour of something rare. The food is pies — Scotch pies, steak pies, haggis pies — which is exactly what you want with whisky.

It's a 15-minute walk from the SEC, or 5 minutes from Glasgow Central if you're staying out of town. Walk-ins are possible on weekday lunchtimes, but during Games week book a seat after 5pm.

Bon Accord (North Street)

The other great Glasgow whisky bar, on the western edge of the city centre near Charing Cross. Over 500 whiskies, real-ale cask gantry, food that runs to pies, sausages, and Sunday roasts. Quieter than The Pot Still and closer to the SEC. If The Pot Still is rammed, this is the answer.

Finnieston food cluster (5-minute walk from SEC)

Finnieston is the city's foodie strip and walking distance from the SEC. Three picks:

• Crabshakk (Argyle Street) — Glasgow's defining seafood restaurant. Small dining room, big oysters and shellfish counter. Book a week ahead during Games week.
• The Finnieston (Argyle Street) — gin-and-seafood combination. Around 100 gins, a strong seafood menu, a smart neighbourhood-restaurant feel.
• Ox and Finch (Sauchiehall Street) — Michelin Bib Gourmand, modern Scottish small plates, no reservations for parties under four — get there early.

Other city-centre essentials

• Cail Bruich (Great Western Road, West End) — Glasgow's Michelin-starred fine-dining anchor. Book the moment you have flights booked, not a moment later.
• Unalome by Graeme Cheevers (Vinicombe Street) — Michelin-starred, modern French-Scottish. Same advice on booking.
• Gamba (West George Street) — long-running city-centre seafood specialist, more formal than Crabshakk.

Near the West End venue cluster (Scotstoun and beyond)

The West End is Glasgow's leafy university quarter and its food scene is built around Byres Road, Great Western Road and Ashton Lane. If you're attending events in the Scotstoun area, the West End is where you'll come back to eat and drink.

Ben Nevis Bar (Argyle Street, Finnieston)

A small, no-frills whisky bar in Finnieston with a deep gantry and live trad music most evenings. Less polished than The Pot Still but better atmosphere for a long late-evening dram. Half the people in any session will be locals; half will be musicians. Both kinds are friendly.

Ashton Lane (off Byres Road)

A cobbled lane lined with bars and restaurants — touristy and proud of it, but the Ubiquitous Chip (a Glasgow institution since 1971) and Brel genuinely earn their reputations. Avoid the chain-bar end of the lane.

Booze you can take home

Mór Bottle Shop (Hyndland Road) is the best craft-beer specialist in the West End — a strong rotating Scottish range and a knowledgeable staff. If you want to take Scottish beer home with you, here.

Food markets within reach

Two food markets worth planning around:

• The Barras (East End, Saturdays and Sundays) — Glasgow's century-old market. A mixed bag of food stalls, junk stalls, hot food. The food angle is improving but it's primarily a Glasgow cultural experience. Walking distance from the Emirates Arena.
• Dockyard Social (Haugh Road, Finnieston, weekend) — a food-hall-style market with rotating Glasgow street-food traders. Walking distance from the SEC. Best for lunch.

What to drink

Glasgow's drinks scene is bigger than its food scene. A short menu of what's worth ordering and where:

• Tennent's Lager — the city's everyday pint. Drink it in any pub. Don't overthink it.
• A Scottish craft pint — ask for Drygate, WEST, Overtone, Fierce, or anything from Stewart Brewing or Pilot. Most decent Glasgow pubs will have at least one Scottish craft beer on tap.
• A blended Scotch at a proper whisky bar (Pot Still / Bon Accord / Ben Nevis Bar). Start with a Famous Grouse or Monkey Shoulder; let the bartender talk you up from there.
• A modern Scottish cocktail — a Bobby Burns or a Rob Roy at a serious cocktail bar. The Spiritualist (Miller Street, Merchant City) and The Absent Ear (Argyle Street, Finnieston) are the dependable picks.

For the broader argument on Scotland's two biggest beer brands and which one belongs in your fridge, see our BrewDog vs Tennent's comparison.

What to eat

The honest list of what's actually worth trying as a visitor:

• Haggis — at any pub serving Scottish food, or as part of a haggis-neeps-and-tatties plate. Almost universally good in Glasgow because there's enough demand from locals that bad haggis doesn't survive.
• A Scotch pie with a pint — The Pot Still, Bon Accord, most decent old pubs do them.
• Scottish seafood — Crabshakk, The Finnieston, or Gamba. Scottish langoustines and oysters are world-class and Glasgow has the supply chain.
• A square sausage roll from any decent bakery in the morning. Pricier than you'd expect now but worth doing once.

What to skip

A few honest warnings:

1. The pre-event "Games specials" at chain pubs in the city centre. These will be inflated prices for a sub-standard Sunday roast. Walk five extra minutes to a proper pub.
2. Anything billed as "traditional Scottish dining experience" with set Burns Supper-style menus at £45+. The proper version of this is a £25 dinner in a regular Glasgow restaurant.
3. The big chain "Scottish" gift-shop whiskies. If you want to take whisky home, walk into a specialist whisky shop in the city centre rather than the airport branded bottles, or just buy a bottle of Glenmorangie or Glenfiddich from a supermarket on the way to the airport.
4. Hotel bar cocktails at £14+ unless the hotel actually has a serious bar programme (a few do). Walk to a real cocktail bar.

Booking advice

• Anywhere in Finnieston, expect a week-ahead lead time during Games week. Walk-ins are possible at lunch but unreliable at dinner.
• The Michelin-starred places (Cail Bruich, Unalome) book up months in advance for Games week. If you don't already have a reservation, you won't get one by July — accept it and book a brilliant non-starred restaurant instead.
• Whisky bars don't generally take bookings — The Pot Still and Bon Accord work as walk-ins, but during big events arrive before 5pm or after 9pm to get a seat.
• Brewery tours (Drygate, Tennent's, WEST) — book online a week or two ahead minimum.

Getting between clusters

Glasgow is compact and the venue clusters are roughly:

• East End → city centre: 15-20 min train (Dalmarnock or Bridgeton to Glasgow Central); 10 min by taxi.
• City centre → SEC: 5-min walk from Anderston station; 10 min walk from Glasgow Central along the Clyde.
• City centre → West End / Scotstoun: 15-20 min subway (the "Clockwork Orange"); 15 min by taxi.

The Subway (the small orange one-loop underground) is your friend for West End-to-city movements. The mainline train is the answer to East End. The bus network works but Google Maps the times — Glasgow buses are good but venue traffic on event days makes them slow.

For broader Glasgow itinerary planning beyond food and drink, our sister site TripSCOT covers the wider visitor side.

In short

Three hours, three picks:

1. A whisky at The Pot Still — Glasgow's defining drinking experience.
2. Dinner at Crabshakk or The Finnieston — the seafood pillar of the city's modern food scene.
3. A pint at Drygate or WEST — Glasgow's craft-brewery taprooms doing what they do best.

That's Glasgow's drinks scene in a sentence each. Add a haggis lunch somewhere, a coffee from one of the Finnieston independents, and you've eaten Glasgow properly. The Games are the reason you're here; the food and drink are the reason you'll come back.