For 12 months, our monthly column Bar Files has quizzed the creative crème de la crème of Scotland about their favourite bars, cafes, and venues across the central belt. 

For your seasonal delectation, here’s every Bar Files entry from 2023 in one chunky, satisfying bumper article. Pull up a pew, grab a pint and dive into some of these top recommendations. 

Comedian Stuart McPherson

The Laurieston is my favourite pub in Glasgow. It’s reasonably priced and usually has a good mix of people. It looks sensational, with 60s red leather seats and those thin tables with the rounded ends. It does a decent Guinness, has an interesting crisps selection and a jukebox. One time, someone queued up about 20 Smiths songs in a row. I think of this person often. I hope they’re doing well. There’s a bit where you can smoke as it’s kinda somehow technically outdoors. I’ve been loved-up and heartbroken in The Laurieston, and in both cases it felt like the right place to be. 

Musician Esther Swift 

Here I am, sitting in my Airbnb in Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand, thinking about pubs and bars that I love in Edinburgh. I miss many of them and wish I could pick them up and plonk them right in the cabbage patch outside my front door, complete with locally brewed beers, raucous banter and pickled eggs on the counter. Today my pub of choice would be The Tourmalet on the corner of Iona Street and Buchanan Street. I’ve sat there with my dog and my laptop many times . . . and with pals. It’s the place for the big and the small, the wild and comforting, the soft and the hard, and all those shades and shadows that make Leith.

Shambolics vocalist Darren Forbes

Glasgow is full of amazing bars and venues so this is a tough one. Sauchiehall Street is usually my favourite place to go as it’s always a great night out. Nice N Sleazy and Broadcast are two bars/venues that are reliably brilliant. Slouch is another go-to just round the corner from Sauchiehall Street. A bit further away from the centre I would choose the Tennent’s Bar on Byres Road in the West End. This is my local and it’s a proper good old-fashioned bar in an area close to my heart.

Comedian Mark Nelson 

As a touring comedian I could write 10,000 words on mental boozers next to train stations that I’ve had a quick pint in. However, my favourite pub is one closer to home, both domestically and comedically: The Old Schoolhouse in Woodlands, Glasgow. Situated next door to The Stand, it has been the location of countless panicked scribblings by myself; trying to reword a bit I want to try onstage that night whilst taking the nerves away with a pint of Guinness. Cracking food, brilliant atmosphere (particularly on rugby days) and the nicest staff you could ever ask for. Belter of a place.

Artist and gamemaker Benjamin Hall 

I do love Bonjour in Glasgow. As a space co-operatively and non-hierarchically owned by its workers, it’s the exact type of model I believe we need more of absolutely everywhere: driven by supporting and celebrating the local queer community and never by profit. Film screenings! Poetry readings! Community kitchens! Sexy club nights! Karaoke! My favourite £5 cocktail in there is the Alien Abduction because it’s green and has a cherry in it. I cannot currently tie a knot in its stem with my tongue, but I’m getting closer every time. Save Bonjour forever!

Singer-songwriter Ant Thomaz

I love living in Glasgow. It has a buzz that follows you; it’s contagious and so alive and present, especially in everyday conversations. There is no better place to capture the buzz than popping into a local pub; you’re guaranteed a laugh and it constantly inspires me to write new songs. With that being said, I do enjoy a good watering hole for a pint. At the moment, The Dockyard Social is ticking all my needs. A great weekend spot to enjoy a cold brew or a quirky cocktail, and an excellent selection of diverse street food from top-class vendors. DJs spin hip tunes in an airy space with big tables, so lots of friends can join you.

Actress Gayle Telfer Stevens 

So, my perfect watering hole isn’t a place in the big bad cities of Edinburgh or Glasgow, even though my heart is in them. It’s a wee place 20 miles outside of Glasgow and faces onto the bonnie, bonnie banks of my hometown, Balloch. I live the full-scale country bumpkin life with two working dogs and a wee designer one. They are my happiness and stuck to my side, so going for a wee refreshment can be tricky. The Balloch House has a country-cosy feel, a roaring fire for dreich days, and welcomes my dogs for a drink or food. They have a seating area outside looking onto the mouth of the loch which is just picture perfect. I swear, if I come back in another life it’s going to be as that view of Loch Lomond. Takes my breath away EVERY time!

Actor Paul McCole 

My favourite watering hole has to be The Star Bar on Eglinton Street in Glasgow. It’s the gateway to the Southside (if you’re coming from town) and home to the famous £4 three-course lunch (also long-time residency spot of Glasgow legend, the recently deceased Ken Manners, RIP). The guitar sign bearing his name is almost as big a Glasgow landmark as the cone on Wellington’s head. The booze is affordable (rare these days) and I always go for the Guinness which is very good indeed. The clientele ranges from locals to students to hipsters and everything in between, with a personal highlight being the karaoke nights. It’s traditional, welcoming and very, very real. The staff are amazing and I always feel at home in this Glasgow institution.

Musician Kapil Seshasayee

My origin story with whisky is an amusing one. Near the end of one messy night out, a friend got me the smokiest dram they could find in a bid to make me recoil; but instead, I ended up being sent into an obsession with everything Islay. It has made me incredibly selective about where I drink: I need that reliable selection of peated whiskies but I also want the option of being more adventurous with my next round. It’s just as well that such a place exists in the heart of Glasgow: The Pot Still on Hope Street. There are not many places that feel just as versatile for entertaining friends from abroad (back when I worked as a promoter, my tour of Glasgow for American acts often began there) or just heading for a couple after work with colleagues who have also grown up here.

Musician Tom Walker

Whenever I’m asked to recommend a bar in Glasgow, it’s always King Tut’s. It’s been the place for many family reunions with my gran and uncles, usually until we get kicked out. The downstairs bar has a great atmosphere and their own lager is a good pint. The food’s great too, and one of the perks of my job is I’ve never had to pay for a meal there. When you play, they’re always incredibly welcoming, even the first time when I’d only sold about three tickets. I’ve sold it out a few times since and now I’ve got the ultimate honour of having my name on the stairs which, as any musician will tell you, is a very big deal.