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

For your seasonal enjoyment, here’s every Bar Files entry from 2025 in one satisfying bumper article. Grab a drink of your choosing and dive into some of these top recommendations. 

Singer-songwriter Jill Lorean

I live in Glasgow and I like a lot of the pubs here for different reasons but if I had to choose one then I’d say The Old Hairdressers in town. I grew up in Chicago, where everything is covered in asphalt, so to me, Renfield Lane feels like walking into a noir fantasy novel or a painting. The interior is very pared-back and unassuming and quiet, so I feel like I can really focus and have a good conversation in there. The beer on tap is nice but also the selection is small, which is ideal because I hate having too many choices. It also has an exhibition/theatre/film space/gig venue upstairs and the programme is thoughtfully curated, so on any given night you’re likely to see or hear something weird and wonderful.

Comedian Stuart Nixon

Glasgow’s West End is great for pubs but my favourite has to be The Rock. I’ve been to The Rock for birthdays. I’ve been to The Rock for funerals. One time when we were in school, we snuck in and I saw the girl I fancied getting off with my friend, and I cried in the car park on the roof. It’s very friendly and is maybe the most reasonably priced boozer in the area. I went to Hyndland Secondary and a lot of my old teachers still drink there and tell me I’m actually a good boy. I always said I would get married in The Rock. I am not married. 

Author Kirsty Logan

I’m thinking of Chinaski’s in Glasgow. Specifically on Monday nights, 5–7pm. Specifically in autumn and winter when it’s already dark at that time. Specifically after I’ve spent the day writing at the Mitchell Library, forgetting the real world exists and living only in the imaginary world of my novel-in-progress. I’ll order a cold glass of gavi and the whipped feta with pomegranate. I’ll spread out in a corner booth and daydream. Evening-dream. For me, these evenings at Chinaski’s are part of the trance-like, half-conscious writing mood. I’ve finished work for the day, but I’m not ready to go home yet and become a real person: to navigate trains, to do my toddler’s dinner-bath-bed routine, to sort laundry. I want to exist in a haze, let myself blur. Wine, cheese, candlelight, low lyric-less music. And I stretch out the dream just a little longer. 

Comedian Kim Blythe

I love Glasgow and could probably do a top 20 favourite pubs, but I’ll try my best to narrow it down. When it comes to it, I measure a pub by the quality of a pint. I don’t need any thrills and I’m absolutely sound with your toilets being sub-par if the beer makes up for it. With the good weather we’ve been having recently, I’ve found myself in the beer garden at Hootenanny next to St Enoch Centre. Cracking pint and good price, and their garden is brilliant for that week of summer we get. When I’m not being wee-lad-drinking-pints, I love to go for a nice cocktail. In 2018 before a Kendrick Lamar gig, I went to Dukes Bar in Finnieston and got a Pomegranate Sour. It was the greatest cocktail I’ve ever had and I think about her a lot. 

Singer-songwriter Stephen Henderson

One of my favourite spots to go for a wee pint is Redmond’s Of Dennistoun. I’ve lived in Dennistoun for the past two years; it’s a cool area with nice bars and lots of food choices; well worth checking out if you’re visiting Glasgow. Redmond’s offer a wide selection of beers and tasty food too. On Sundays they host live music, rotating jazz, folk and singer-songwriter sessions every week. They also have a vast record collection with a turntable spinning out classic albums: a very nice touch. You can even pick a record you’d like to have played while you enjoy your beverage of choice. 

Singer-songwriter Josie Duncan

Over the past few years, The Machair has become my favourite pub in Glasgow, which was unexpected as a southside girl! With twinkly fairy lights, charming wooden furnishings and friendly staff, it has old-school cosy pub vibes but somehow feels modern; especially with its delicious vegan options. I host a monthly informal Song Session there, and we always feel warmly welcomed. It’s the ideal place for music whether you’re dramming or not (but I can vouch that the drams are great). Even though my work means I’m often travelling far and wide, I make a huge effort to be at The Machair every month for that session because the community we’ve built and the setting feels so homely; especially with a cold crisp glass of Prosecco in my hand!

Comedian MC Hammersmith

When I was a student at Edinburgh Uni, we did a pub crawl where everyone wrote down their favourite (and least favourite) drinking establishment, and we picked eight of them at random. Long story short, we ended up going to the Slug & Lettuce in the Omni Centre three times in one night; and I would like to defend the Slug & Lettuce, and extol its virtues as a drinking venue. After the restaurant area closes, it’s always quiet and clean, the staff are lovely, cocktails are cheap and service is immediate! Plus it’s next door to Cosmo World Buffet and, in my opinion, every night out should end with curry, pasta, sushi, tiramisu and a full carvery on the same plate.

Scottish Storytelling Centre’s Daniel Abercrombie

The Waverley has hosted our monthly storytelling night Guid Crack for over 30 years. The former landlord welcomed our stories and met our storytelling eccentricities with his own particular brand of pub management. It was ramshackle, haphazard and full of character (all things you’d want in a pub), and has brilliantly retained all of that after re-opening, only with cleaner toilets. It’s a place that’s alive; you can sense the tales that have been told in there, especially in that upstairs room which is as evocative and other-worldly as many of the stories it has witnessed. Cracking pint of T, too.

Singer-songwriter Shay O’Dowd

In recent times, Òran Mór has quickly become one of my favourite go-to spots for a drink in Glasgow. It’s got such a warm cosy feel to it with its old wooden furnishings. Being from the Southside, it’s always a nice change heading over to the West End for a night out. Me and my mates often enjoy several pints of Guinness there on a packed-to-the-brim Saturday night where we always bump into people we know. We always say ‘deffo not gonna end up in Òran Mór tonight’ yet somehow we always do. It feels like a hotspot where everyone gathers for some pints, tunes and a good atmosphere. As if it couldn’t get any better, it’s usually open until 2am which is class because most pubs in Glasgow shut at midnight. However, if the pub has served its purpose and I’m looking for a boogie then I’ll likely end up in the club downstairs, singing my heart out to Taylor Swift’s ‘Love Story’ with the boys. 

Comedian Amanda Dwyer

Look, I’m not mad about drinking much these days, but if I’m ever treating myself, it will be in Babbity Bowster. They make the best Margaritas I’ve ever had in Glasgow. It’s tucked away in the Merchant City and I think, because it’s also a hotel, it has an especially warm, inviting feel about it. The staff are always lovely and the mix of locals and visitors gives it a wee edge. Years ago, when I worked in hospitality, myself and pals would go there after shifts to decompress. Over the years I’ve found myself talking to tourists from all over the world there and have often felt you could be mistaken for feeling you’re in a pub on somewhere like the Isle Of Skye. This is helped by the traditional Scottish/Irish music sessions in the bar which bring everyone to life. There’s an outdoor beer garden for the few scorching days we get a year and a highlight for me is the bar is dog friendly. I’ve managed to pat loads of wee doggies while out for a pint and that always makes everything better.