Horseshoe Bar

I was taken here one weekend with a group of friends who said that they wanted to do karaōke, so that night I learned two things, one was that there was an upstairs and second that there was karaōke on a Thursday night.
It was pretty descent vibe upstairs with some pretty good singers I got the feeling that they where here most weekends.
Negatives here where that you had to Que up for service at the bar that resembled a school dinner line.
Last orders where not called, don’t know what that was all about, so when 11.45pm came it was in reality throwing out time.
This bar would have early got a ⁵⁄₅ but I’ve had to score them down for bar service & no last orders being called.

Great karaōke bar … A good bar food menu until 6.30 then great singing till finishing time .
Great place for reasonable priced drinks and good singers… BUT a wee tip… Don’t put you’re name up if you’re not a singer!

In this Bar with friends. What a way to make your grand entrance for the first time. We were walking along the street and we thought a woman was being mugged, someone stabbed or something with the screaming we heard.
Right in front of the door was a woman laying flat on her back screaming, with 2 bouncers holding her arms behind her head level. And one guy holding her legs.
This was not far off an assault on this woman. Apparently she attacked the bouncers. There is restraining someone in proper a manor. I may still call the police with regards to this. As this looked like an assault on this woman.

This is one of the best pubs in Glasgow. I make it a point to stop in on every trip to have a pint. The staff is great and good is good but the group of people you can meet is outstanding!

Kris and I went in here on an afternoon jaunt, purely because I had never been to this historical Glasgow institution. First impressions were strong; it was standing room only and the drinks were a-​flowing! Not hard to see why though, for Kris’ pint and my large glass of white wine it was less than £6 — bargainous!
My main gripes with this, making it only 4 stars, was the cleanliness; the bathrooms were pretty minging and the floors needed a proper mopping to stop your shoes from sticking. But then again, I would put up with that for such a cheap and cheerful atmosphere at the Horseshoe.

Well this oub certainly has the longest bar outside of a Weatherspoons I have ever seen but its more keyhole than hirseshoe shaped. Definitely a must to visit on a visit to Glasgow. Lots of Victoriana and original features. It has a few real ales and theres food on offer. To be honest whilst popular its falling below its potential.

It’s the Horsehoe bar. A massive bar, Possibly the most infamous bar in the city. They are know for what was once the longest bar in Europe.
They keep a pretty good beer selection, Some nice guest casks on from time to time along with the staples of bitter and twisted and Duchers IPA. They keep a good selection of whisky in too and nothing is badly priced.
Their food is spilt between the main bar which serves a limited menu and the main lounge bar upstairs where you can get a more expanded choice. The food itself is nothing special however they aren’t looking to take on a gourmet restaurant.
Service is pretty quick but the bar is always busy without much seating. Staff are generally nice and very efficient.
Located close to Central Station it is hidden a little way down a cobbled land and it has a old man’s style pub feel.

Yeah… the pints are cheap compared with Edinburgh, and the bar looks cool.
Beyond that, the clientele are a bit rough and the bar staff appear not to know when to stop serving people.
The Horseshoe Bar is fine — it’s A-​OK even — but is not a place I would recommend anyone go out of their way to visit. It’s good for a pint when you need a pint, but maybe not as good when you are meeting your in-​laws for drinks and the guys next to you are mock-​fighting, purposefully splashing drinks on each other, and are unclear which football team they’re supporting as they’re cheering every goal regardless of which side earned the point.
So… yeah.

Visitors may go there for the hype of Glasgow’s longest bar (it’s round but if you stretched it out, I guess it would be long); locals (or visitors who sing) may go there for the famed karaōke; but visitors to Glasgow would be advised to have a quick pint, strike it off the list and leave.
I notice that the only reference to the food in the reviews below is ‘good value’.
Yes, that’s probably the best you can say. It’s pub food, and it’s fried with no discernible variety or organic material on the plate. The closest thing to a vegetable is the deep-​fried vegetable pakora.
Service is indifferent. It wasn’t particularly busy when we were there but the attention from the servers was perfunctory at best. Even though sitting at the bar we actually were seated next to about four servers discussing weekend plans.
Better off going to Marks & Spencers Food Hall for takeout

Whoa, boy.
By day, Horseshoe Bar could be mistken for being one of those bars you kick back in — with its wide bar in the shape of a horseshoe (funnily enough) it’s busy enough but you have no problems getting served. It’s chilled out, low key and, dare I say it, more like a tavern than a talent contest. All is quiet on the western front.
By night, on the other hand, it’s mental. If you go up the stairs, it’s like a different bar entirely, to the point where it seems pretty cut off from the bustle of the first floor. So while older gents with a few stories to tell are sipping on whisky on the ground floor, Glasgow’s answer to karaōke X Factor is going down upstairs.
You have never seen anything like it. Who knew people took karaōke so seriously? Horseshoe boasts of showcasing local singing talent, including that dude from Stars in your Eyes who appeared from the smoke as Freddy Mercury…15 years ago. Yes, they still talk about it fervently, and are very proud of the fact he often frequented here! (He was actually pretty guid).
You’re not sure if the crowd — a rather large, bustling, diverse crowd I might add — will love you or lunge at you violently if you turn out to be a good singer. And in here, I must admit I’m frightened to be bad. Maybe it’s my Spidey senses tingling, or maybe it’s a sense of pride since the talent who sing in here are pretty professional.
So they have every right to take it seriously, since most of the performers in here (they really are stage standard) are brilliant. It makes it so much more than a cheesy karaōke night, although despite the acclaim these singers hold they are still considerate and you’ll likely have a good night. The karaōke presenter is fun and friendly, full of banter between songs and even sings some himself! It truly trumps all other karaōke nights in the city. So considering it’s free, it’s definitely something I’d recommend trying once since you’ll have a ball — and maybe even spot the next Britain’s Got Talent finalist!

Widely considered Glasgow’s most famous pub, I’ve been in The Horseshoe many a time, and while it does tick all the boxes of a good pub, I’ve never been entirely blown away by it. It’s certainly good, but not somewhere I’d sit all night, and I really like old man pubs.
Perhaps it’s position as a minor tourist attraction is what’s went wrong, as despite always being mobbed, it never really feels like a place for regulars or locals. Bearing in mind it’s bang in the middle of the city centre, where there’s hardly any locals anyway, I’m maybe asking too much.

I must say, I am a big fan of daytime drinking. And it was the Horseshoe that first got me into this ugly habit, a few years ago on my 19^th birthday, when I should have been at a uni lecture. My sisters’ boyfriend called me to join him in here for a pint to kick off the festivities at approximately 12pm and things went down a slippery slope from that point onwards.
The Horseshoe is the place to go to drink during the day, as even on weekday afternoons when many older, traditional pubs are dead, the Horseshoe is busy and even all the seats can be taken. This historic place is in fact so well-​known in Glasgow folklore that even my father, who stopped visiting pubs over two decades ago, told me about its place in his heart. The place won Sunday Mail Pub of the Year 2001, so it must be doing something right.
The prices are okay and there is the added bonus of Sky Sports on the TV. It is a right cosy little place and I like its out of the way setting away from the hustle and bustle of Gordon Street and Central Station.
Although most of the punters seem okay, you do get the odd nutter unfortunately. Like the old guy who kept pestering my sister’s boyfriend, telling him how he looked very like Nicholas Cage, even though he looked nothing like him (?).

What a scene! Says the American girl visiting Scotland for the first time. All types in here, great for people watching and getting a taste of life in Glasgow. Upstairs, one of the most endearing displays of Karaōke I’ve ever seen. Unparalleled enthusiasm from both the performers and the audience. Talent, not so much, but way more enjoyable. It kinda felt stepping into a heartwarming bar scene of a movie.
Downstairs, more of a sports pub. A grittier, less giggly vibe. Quite a large space indeed, with plenty of tables and tv screens. Cheap food. Recommend the steak and ale pie. Probably the dish I like best of Scottish fare I tried. (I am not a big fan of Brittish food, so why pay more than you have to for it?)
We came to this place with my boyfriends 77 year old father, a native of Glasgow, who used to frequent this joint as a young man before he immigrated to the US. He came back here for nostalgia, and it delivered.
My boyfriend’s mother and aunt were supposed to meet us here, however they decided that the place was «filled with drunks, not suitable for two women to wait in» and took their highfalutin standards to the nearest McDonald’s. It created quite a bit of drama, as we waited a couple of hours for them to show up. In reality, there is nothing too sketchy about this place, they just had their own agenda.

Looking for the rowdy locals scene in Glasgow, then The Horseshoe is your new best friend. Good selection of beer and malts. We were in for one of the World Cup qualifying matches and the place was a zoo, but in the fun way. People were packed in like sardines and all glued to the TVs, pints in hand.

A historic site that is also a decent bar. Reasonable whisky selection. Beer is well served. The service is fast. However, it is usually busy due the location close to Central Station. If you arrive in a group after work, don’t expect to get seats for a while.
Upstairs is a Glasgow institution and the food is plain but very inexpensive and filling. Pie and Peas for everyone.
Beers are reasonable price and a nice change from the bistro pint prices taking over Glasgow (£2.50 vs £4.50).

This pub is a landmark — the bar downstairs is quite a scene. Upstairs they serve a very reasonable 3 course lunch — certainly not the best food I had while in Glasgow, but not bad and a very good value.

The longest bar in UK and serves pretty good pub food. This building is listed under historic Scotland. The name has to do with the shape of the bar. They provide entertainment for sports fan! Do you think you’re a sport quiz master? Join them at the quiz games. Not to forget the drinks… THUMBS UP!