Heisenberg’s

YEAH, BITCH, MAGNETS.
I’m a big Breaking Bad fan. Big, mahooosive fan. I wanted this to be a theme bar so badly, because my addiction to this show is so far gone that I’ll draw goatee beards on the faces of my future children.
Hopped in here one night with a friend, who is also a massive fan. Expected graffiti on the walls to emulate crack den. Shots served up in test tubes. Cocktails in beakers. Los Pollos Hermanos menu, Sheiderbrau on tap. And the Walt JNR special (which is breakfast, in case you wondered.).
Felt saddened to find it was just your average boozer. There are a couple of shots of Walt on the wall (the owner loves the show, too, obviously), but mostly of musicians which have no affiliation with the show. The booths were rich mahogany, it was clean, but not themed or of character.
After an hour of passionate chat about what we would do with the bar if we were rich, we decided to speak to the owner. Turns out he’s a really approachable guy and we got some much appreciated insight. The owner said he tried a food menu but it wasn’t busy enough mid week to justify costs, so he had to scrap it. He is however a big fan of local foodies like Smoak, and would consider them in the future if it takes off.
There were originally dedicated attempts to make it a bit more BB — for instance, they used to dye bacon and burgers blue with food colouring in a nod to our favourite brand of crystal meth — but the idea died on its arse.
The owner was sensitive to a varied clientele and didn’t want to drive regulars out of the bar after he’d taken it over. I found that to be really admirable and rare since business language teaches you to be ruthless and plough over the community spirit of a pub. This guy seems really sensitive to that need, and I dig that.
I would drink in here again since it’s pleasant mid-​week, and I’ve heard the weekend rock DJ is good. But it’s a bit misleading, and didn’t break Bad this time…

I wasn’t massively impressed with Heisenberg’s when I popped in for a quick drink with my family. Having grown up in Partick and being familiar with its predecessor, the Ettrick, this is essentially just the same pub with a few thrown-​up bits and pieces to try and adhere to a theme.
Having said that I do see the potential for a good themed bar to shine through, I witnessed the bar-​maids making cocktails and planning pub-​quizzes that were a bit more in line with the ethos of a Breaking Bad theme pub. I think if they really work at changing the image and thinking through the theme it could be good. At the moment however it’s a bit bleurgh, just a typical Partick pub sadly.

Replacing an old bar that seemed to have been there for ages, the Ettrick, is Heisenberg’s. Trying to cash in on the Breaking Bad bandwagon in the middle of Partick seems a weird business plan, to be honest, and bar a few Breaking Bad posters and drawings, not much has changed inside from what I remember of the Ettrick.
There was a strange atmosphere when I was in, almost foreboding, it felt like it was about to kick off something terrible, with 2 or 3 arguments going on at once behind me. For that reason, I didn’t stay long.
The music was suitably rocky — Innagaddadavida by Iron Butterfly was playing as I left — and my pint of Guinness was fine; I believe they have DJ nights featuring rock music themes and so, maybe I just caught it at the wrong time.
I can’t honestly say I’d recommend it based on my first impressions, I’m afraid.