Clutha Vaults

We stopped in here for a drink on a rainy Monday afternoon during our last few hours of Glasgow. It’s a bit run down, but perhaps they keep it that way for the charm (the bench I was sitting on was in serious need of some replacement cushions). From the wall it seems that they do open mic nights and have quite a range of bands playing in there in the evenings. It seemed kind of cool and relaxing.
The only downside for me was the lack of any cask ale. I know it’s a bit petty and a bit of a personal preference, but at least one would have been nice. Otherwise the beer was good and the people were friendly.

One of the first pubs I frequented when I got to Glasgow it holds a special place in my memory. I’m fairly sure it holds special places in areas which used to be my memory also.
It’s a great wee pub. A very nice place to hang out during the day time and a favourite of the folks at the Naughty College accross the river. During the weekends and at night it can be quite the busy little pub with a cracking atmosphere helped along by a fantastic mix of old locals, new blood and the odd tourist from the euro hostel down the road all accompanied by live music.
This place has a colourful history, and can lay claim to being amongst the oldest pubs in Glasgow. Several musicians and entertainers gigged here in their early days, including the ‘Big Yin’ Billy Connolly.
A few years ago, with the introduction of the smoking ban in pubs, they opened up the beer garden out back, linked to the neighbouring Victoria Bar. This is a great wee space to hang out in the summertime, even for non-​smokers. It is soon, however, going to be no more.
The owners are now developing a new beer garden, on the roof of the pub. How awesome is that? Sitting on the roof of the pub, overlooking the Clyde with a pint of fizzy good make feel better in your hand.

I was here on the Saturday afternoon watching the live entertainment. I have been a couple of times before and knew just what to expect.
The live acts have always been of the highest standard. The crowd are obviously regulars as they are comfortable enough to get up on stage and sing a song or recite some poetry while the band is having a break.
The prices are reasonable and they even let men wearing football colours buy a pint, (which is quite rare in Glasgow).
I didn’t give it the full five stars simply because the seating is limited and mostly little stools, probably because it can get very busy at times.
The staff are all attentive and friendly.

Traditional bar down by the river. Good beer, reasonably priced and they have some great bands on, notably Cahoots, on a Saturday afternoon. As per previous comment, the gents toilet is a joke where two is literally a crowd if you want to use the urinal.

I do see the Clutha as a music pub: rather old fashioned but, as Andrew points out, safe, cosy and lively. It doesn’t look inviting– frankly, nowhere this close to the Clyde does, but passing it late at night is always nice, as the music spills out into the cold street, sometimes persuading me than one more pint is just what I need.
It is not the sort of venue that pulls in hip punters– this is why the acoustic scene feels safe enough here, as connoisseurs are the audience, not the hipsters seeking new thrills. But it is welcoming, and while I can’t say I am a regular, I feel like a welcome guest when I do turn up.

good beer at reasonable prices, just outside the city centre down from the Merchant City. Ok we have had a bad winter, but the night we where in they hadnt even turned the heating on. Shocking really, the staff where all wearing hats and gloves. Band where playing quite awful cover versions, but once you get a few drinks in you its quite good fun. Had’nt been in the place in a few years and to be honest I wouldnt rush back.
Staff seem to like having a laugh with each other rather than serving folk, (one of them even was doing shots in front of me with his mate)
Go to the Scotia just up the road a bit, its far better.
oh aye, the male tioilets are a joke, door opens and everyone can see ya having a pee.

The Clutha vaults, or simply the Clutha, is a unique pub among the vast number of choices in Glasgow. It is ideally situated at the Victoria Bridge on the Clyde, the river’s walkway providing the perfect place for an evening stroll (or stagger) upon leaving the pub, centrally located within the sprawling city and a mere five minutes walk from Glasgow Central Station, St. Enoch’s subway station, and most importantly the shops of Buchanan street, Union Street and the St. Enoch’s Centre among others, for when the shops shut and the pubs beckon.
The pub itself comprises of a front and back room linked by the peaceful beer garden, in which on a clear afternoon (as and when they come in Glasgow) you can sit and enjoy a drink and, looking up at the ivy climbing the building behind the pub, the tree in the centre of the garden, and the blue sky above forget that you are in the middle Britain’s second largest city. The front pub area can be both extremely mellow and relaxing or booming with atmosphere depending on time and day. Live music plays on weekday evenings from a sizeable circle of groups, including the ‘regulars’ who play almost every week, and there is an open mic night once a week in which anyone is welcome, including the bar staff! When no one is serenading the customers the jukebox plays the catchy ska rhythms of the B-52’s, the rumbling, crooning «Sixteen Tonnes» by Tennessee Ernie Ford, and everything in between, all of which you can see the friendly staff singing along to as they work. In addition to their shared passion for music they all seem to be very close and relaxed around each other, an ambience which transmits to us, the customers, and adds to the enjoyable experience of the Clutha.
Along the walls both inside each building and out in the garden hang various skilful, comical and original paintings done by previous and current employees, and even Ibrox regulars have to smirk at the far from obscure symbolism in one picture through in the back room. This back area is split down the middle by the bar which faces the main section, and on the other side lies an area with the standard pub entertainment of fruit machines and pool table. This set up is ideal because from the bar section customers don’t have to put up with the often intrusive noise of balls banging together and coins hitting the payout tray (as and when it happens in Glasgow).
In addition to music creating a vibrant atmosphere every match shown live on Sky Sports is played on flatscreen TV’s in both buildings and outside, but even during the Old Firm there is nothing but benevolent and good-​natured fans and unlike many of the pubs in a city that lives and breathes football there is never any trouble. And if you aren’t a football fan and are put off going because there is a match on, the sound is usually off anyway, replaced by the jukebox or live bands, so you can pick a table that doesn’t face the telly and forget it’s even on. And if you are a football fan and are put off by not hearing being able to hear it then you can take solace in the fact that there will be plenty of atmosphere in the pub, especially through the back.
One final point to mention is the appetising subject of food. Obviously as a pub it isn’t gourmet but as far as pub grub goes its cheap, its filling and its more than half decent, my personal favourite being the ‘burger — with cheese’ and fried onion. Definitely worth a go for around £2.
If you’re in the city centre, or even just the city, you won’t come across many pubs more appealing than the Clutha. With music always on the go — live or not, footy on flatscreens, a unique atmosphere and supreme location it has everything you could hope to find, and you won’t even need to look hard.

The Clutha is a cozy pub with low ceilings and pictures of old Gorbals on the walls. It gets its name from the old name for the Clyde (Clutha).
Good range of ales, but the mainstay of this pub is the music. They serve it up live five nights a week. Most of the stuff played is acoustic folk and blues but rock shows up on occasion.
This is a place for regulars and locals but visitors are welcome and the atmosphere is always buzzing. Just up the river from the International Youth Hostels usually means there are new faces being engaged in a gibber by several locals.
It can serve as a relaxing afternoon place for weekend papers and pints, but it will get get very busy in the evenings as the crowds come.

Great live music and the beer garden is excellent with a large screen telly for watching the football