Glasgow food & drink

St Vincent Street, city centre

Well-sourced beef burgers with a following across the city.

Great Western Road, West End

Michelin-starred Scottish-sourced cooking with a serious wine list — the answer for anyone who thinks Glasgow doesn't have good restaurants.

Alexandra Parade, East End

Italian-Scottish institution — lunch counter at the front, fuller restaurant at the back. Avoid Saturdays unless you've booked.

Argyle Street, Finnieston

Glasgow's defining seafood restaurant — small dining room, big oysters and shellfish counter. Book ahead.

West George Street, city centre

Long-running city-centre seafood specialist, more formal than Crabshakk.

Pollokshaws Road, Southside

South-side Malaysian with a reputation worth crossing the river for. Small menu, cooked from scratch. BYOB, cash only.

Sauchiehall Street, Finnieston

A long-established Finnieston small-plates restaurant with a strong reputation. No reservations for parties under four.

Miller Street (also Great Western Road)

Neapolitan pizza at Scottish prices with a big local following. No bookings — expect to queue at peak times.

Duke Street, East End

Three or four pasta sauces rotated daily, a short no-frills menu and cheap prices.

Ashton Lane, West End

A Glasgow institution since 1971, in a touristy lane but genuinely earning its reputation.

Kelvingrove Street, Finnieston

Michelin-starred modern French-Scottish cooking.

Southside

One of Glasgow's best breakfasts.

Hyndland

The Glasgow brunch institution.

Garnethill

A small café with a well-regarded breakfast and brunch menu at reasonable prices.

Multiple locations

Glasgow's chippy institution — open late, and nothing artisan about it, which is the point.

Argyle Street, Finnieston

Small, no-frills whisky bar with a deep gantry and live trad music most evenings — a smaller, plainer alternative to The Pot Still for a late-evening dram.

Argyle Street, city centre

Scotland's oldest pub-restaurant, with regular ceilidhs in the upstairs ballroom — the Burns Night one is among the best known in the country.

North Street, Charing Cross

Glasgow's best cask ale pub, full stop — 8–10 hand-pulls and over 500 whiskies behind the bar. No food beyond bar snacks.

Hope Street, city centre

Glasgow's defining whisky bar — family-run three generations deep, a vast gantry, and ask the bar for a steer in your price band. The food is pies.

Stockwell Street

Established 1792 and Glasgow's claim to the city's oldest pub, with regular folk and trad sessions — small, busy, cash bar.

Parnie Street, Trongate

Small, inventive Trongate cocktail bar with a UK Top 50 listing, a playful customisable menu and homemade pizza.

Argyle Street, Finnieston

The classicist of the Finnieston strip — no concept, just the classics — Martinis and Old Fashioneds.

Great Western Road, West End

A converted church at the top of Byres Road with a lower-level bar, a trad-music tradition, and a busy events programme.

Brunswick Street, Merchant City

Glasgow’s proper speakeasy — hidden entrance, Van Gogh-themed room, award-winning seasonal cocktail menu.

Argyle Street, Finnieston

Around 100 gins, a strong seafood menu, and a neighbourhood-restaurant format.

Miller Street, Merchant City

A well-regarded pick for modern Scottish cocktails in the Merchant City.

Duke Street, East End

The best brewery taproom in the city — eight to twelve of their own beers plus guests, pub food, and £10 Sunday brewery tours.

Templeton Building, Glasgow Green

A Bavarian-style brewery in one of Glasgow's most distinctive buildings, brewing German styles — helles, hefeweizen, dunkel and pilsner. The food is German-Scottish — schnitzels and currywurst next to haggis and chips.

Haugh Road, Finnieston

Food-hall-style weekend market with rotating Glasgow street-food traders, walking distance from the SEC. Best for lunch.

Southside

Part fishmonger, part café, with one of Glasgow's best-regarded fish counters and a fish soup with its own reputation. Get there early on Saturday.

Byres Road, West End

Small West End cheesemonger with a strong Scottish selection — ask to taste before you buy, and look for the Isle of Mull Cheddar.

Great Western Road

The best cheesemonger in Scotland — they mature many cheeses in their own cellars. If you're buying one Scottish cheese, buy it here.

Byres Road, West End

Traditional West End butcher — Scottish beef and lamb and its own sausages. Not cheap, and a step up from supermarket meat.

Victoria Road, Govanhill (also Dumbarton Road, Partick)

Organic grocery with a strong emphasis on Scottish and local sourcing — more expensive than Tesco, cheaper than you'd expect for organic. Good for pantry staples as well as fresh produce.

Great Western Road & Byres Road

Good range of seasonal Scottish produce alongside imported exotics — a greengrocer alternative to supermarket produce sections.

Bain Street, near the Barras

Glasgow's Chinese supermarket — essential for anything East Asian, significantly cheaper and better stocked than any supermarket's world food aisle.

Hyndland Road, West End

The best craft-beer specialist in the West End — strong rotating Scottish range.