Glasgowist: City's best pubs to enjoy your first post-lockdown pint

It will be an important component of the recovery. Further compromises should be made with public space to challenge the primacy of the car and rethink the local approach to hospitality. It could be the start of long-lasting change.

Enjoying a pint and some food outside will be possible from April 26. Demand for this option will inevitably be overtaken by the familiar appeal of sitting indoors when restrictions are further relaxed in May. Small gatherings outdoors will remain the safest option.

Providing extra space on the street will mitigate lost capacity from social distancing. If we are to give bars, restaurants and cafes the best chance to return this summer, then there needs to be more strident measures to open up public space.

Some steps have been taken. There are new outdoor areas at Cranside Kitchen by the Rotunda, SWG3’s open-air street food space, Glasgow Beer Works on Osborne Street and a Festival Village opened at Candleriggs Square.

Restaurant and bar owners say that the council has been supportive of existing outdoor areas continuing – but what about new applications? At the very start of lockdown I was told of plans for outdoor markets and seating on Sauchiehall Street, ideas for Blythswood Square and semi-permanent shelters in other public space.

There was a call to convert parking spaces in front of cafes and shops into extra capacity. This early creative thinking has evaporated, and the city is failing to prepare adequately for the potential opportunities of an outdoor summer.

That’s before we even start to think about what it will take to keep things going through a difficult autumn and winter.

Great swathes of New York, with some of the busiest streets in the world, have been given over to outdoor seating. Authorities in Cork, Ireland, announced this month that 17 city-centre streets would be permanently pedestrianised to create more public space for hospitality. Roads in Soho, London, have been converted to open-air dining space. Add Tokyo, Los Angeles, Brussels, Amsterdam, Barcelona and Lisbon to that list.

You’ll see planter boxes set out in the Merchant City and Trongate right now to mark space for people to walk by tables placed in front of restaurants and bars. Forget about half-measures and close the whole street to traffic.

Do the same in Finnieston, Duke Street and Shawlands. Put pedestrians and business first. Emulate the success of Partick Market and have space for craft makers and producers across the city.

I know it rains. It rains in a lot of places. Glasgow exceptionalism is used well when we draw attention to our distinctive sense of humour, our music and language, the bits that set us apart from the rest.

It’s that kind of thinking that can also lead us to believe we can’t open bars late, have an outdoor cafe culture or drink in parks safely here, unlike virtually every other European city of comparable size and outlook.

As we awaken from a year of slumber and solitude, it is time to think about what kind of sociable, accessible and successful Dear Green Place we want to live in.

GETTING BACK TO THE BAR? HERE ARE SOME TOP SPOTS...

WHERE will your first pint be? As we start to consider the emergence of a social life in the weeks ahead, here’s some local favourites to revisit.

The Old Toll Bar

1 Paisley Rd West, G51 1LF

A piece of Kinning Park’s history that was pushed into the present when owner Mido Soliman reinvented this Victorian saloon, retaining its classic interior while bringing together local musicians, DJs and comedians to add to the roster of regular entertainment.

Dukes Bar

41 Old Dumbarton Road, G3 8RD

Compact, unassuming and cool corner bar. Regular open mic night, when circumstances allow. The Clash played here in 1985 on their “busking tour”. The tables are made from the running track of nearby Kelvin Hall. This year they have added outside seating, a coffee machine and sourdough toasties made by Kitchenetta in Hyndland.

Tiki Bar & Kitsch Inn

214 Bath Street, G2 4HW

A ray of sunshine on Bath Street. Say aloha to a basement bar with a big personality, take a seat on a peacock chair and sip on a tropical cocktail served in a ceramic tiki mug. Expect a Thai barbeque menu and expanded outdoor area, complete with a customised Airstream caravan bar. A zombie cocktail is not for the faint-hearted.

The Thornwood Bar

724 Dumbarton Road, G11 6RB

Considered one of the city’s first Art Deco pubs, refurbished to show off the original panelling, cornicing and wooden bar.

Order a soup and a sandwich or go for their popular mac ‘n’ cheese with your pint. They have a covered outside area and have been offering cocktails to go during lockdown.

The Doublet

74 Park Road, G4 9JF

A Glasgow pub that found a moment in time and just decided to stay there. It wears it well. A reassuring fixed point in the West End, always ready to offer a friendly welcome. It can look a bit frayed around the edges in places, but don’t we all at this stage. Regulars wouldn’t have it any other way. Go for cask ales and conversation. We like the timeless, homely appeal of the upstairs lounge.

The Sparkle Horse

16 Dowanhill Street, G11 5QS

A firm favourite with the community and headquarters for local musicians since opening in December 2012. They have another place, The Bell Jar in Govanhill. Both are very comfortable spots to while away your statutory two-hour table booking. The interior of The Sparkle Horse has been updated, but there are enough familiar throwbacks to make you think of the old bars in Peter McDougall dramas. Great fish and chips. They’ve been known to play albums in their entirety.

The Amsterdam

106-108 Brunswick Street, G1 1TF

This stylish, dog-friendly bar has an outside area for pints when it’s sunny. Shakshuka baked eggs and a Bloody Mary for brunch. Elsewhere on the menu – burgers, loaded fries and sourdough pizza. Soon to open a basement speakeasy bar that will be an exciting new addition to the city centre scene.

Chinaski’s

239 North Street, G3 7DL

Named after the literary alter ego of writer Charles Bukowski but the theme is more defined by the cadre of regulars that have made this place their own. The bar boasts an impressive split level terrace at the back. Long established and quietly confident in its hip credentials. They stock a fine selection of rum. Bare stone walls, resident DJs, feature art, small plates and a laidback metropolitan style.

The Rum Shack

657 Pollokshaws Road, G41 2AB

A place that has that little bit of random magic. A local bar for Southsiders with Caribbean sensibilities, created in a palette of red, green and yellow with more than 100 rums available from all over the world.

The evening crowd is sprinkled with boho creative, people in bands and people who look like they are in bands. You can also order dishes that pack a vibrant punch. They set a trend by creating a distinctive hangout in Govanhill

Oran Mor

Top of Byres Road, G12 8QX

Oran Mor, within the stately surroundings of what was Kelvinside Parish Church, with its tall Gothic spire, was saved from being turned into flats by Colin Beattie. He has not only created one of the great bars in the West End – a meeting place for pals – but an important venue for art, culture and food, with picnic tables outside for pints.