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- Hours:
Mon-Sat 11:00 - 0:00
Sun 12:30 - 0:00
- Good for Children:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
£
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Music:
- Live
- Best Nights:
- Thu, Fri, Sat
- Happy Hour:
- No
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Smoking:
- Outdoor Area/ Patio Only
- Coat Check:
- No
13 reviews for Blackfriars
All Reviews
Now this is a pub.
Warm, relaxed, cosy, inviting. It's my bar of choice in the Merchant City. I can't comment on the food just yet, though I've heard good things, but the Beer selection is incredible.
Don't just take my word for it though. I was sat at the bar on a wet Thursday evening reading the paper and enjoying one of my favourite local ales, Brewdog's Punk IPA, when a strange thing happened.
About 15 men suddenly entered the bar. All of them with rucksacks, fresh from the train. Without saying a word, they all took a seat at a group of tables and all of them, to a man, took out a notebook and started making notes.
'What's that all about?' I enquired.
'They're from the internet,' The barman answered. 'Some beer forum. We get groups of them in from all over Europe to try the Beers and make notes.'
'Seriously?'
He nods.
Like Ray's baseball field in Field of Dreams, people will come. Only it's for beer, not baseball.
Side note: If you're a Rock n Roll fan, check out the resident band, 'The Shivering Sheiks' every Tuesday night. They're pretty sharp, Daddy-O.
Amidst all the trendy (sometimes pretentious) spots scattered throughout Merchant City, it's nice to find a pub like Blackfriars to chillax and enjoy drinks with friends. Blackfriars is a great wee gastropub that also features live music throughout the week, and has a basement club as well. They whip up some tasty grub at a reasonable price, as well as dish out some mouth-watering brews. I'm a big fan of the Hoegaarden, especially since I used to distribute it in southern US ;-)
You'll find a mix of students and professionals... all seeking a break from the daily grind or trying to avoid coursework. There's never a dull moment here... from an anonymous person farting at the bar and the bar staff handing another patron a can of oust to neutralize the offensive odour and the crowd cheering... to arriving ready for a stiff drink only to be greeted with a major sausage-fest (hey single ladies, you might find your man here because there's plenty of them!!). Blackfriars is also where my MBA class came together, and said their last goodbye over the course of the year.
Blackfriars, you hold a special place in my wee heart.
The Merchant City is still missing something for me. Despite all the good restaurants, bars and pubs, even when it's busy it rarely feels truly buzzing. Quite a few nightspots, notably Citation, Arta and Tiger Tiger attract the appaling demographic best desribed as "neds with money", and a few others I'll spare the dignity of naming, seem to attract punters from the very armpit of Glasgow society. They're very much in the minority, but still a sign that the area has in some ways, not lived up to expectations.
Blackfriars, to my delight, has no such problem. It remains one of the best, perhaps one of the only, proper pubs in the area, with pub grub on the menu, plenty of ales and fancy beer, and a bustling, varied crowd of punters.
They also get marks for having the balls to put on some very eccentric, underground and arty club / band nights in the venue downstairs, some of which do very well. The Merchant City needs more places like this if it's to truly live up to the "Covent Garden of the north" tag it's been aiming for.
Now in all honesty i'm not a big Merchant City fan as i find it a little to up itself as an area for what it actually is......this aside i do like this pub.
This was the place where i had my first pint of the delectable wheaty goodness that the creatures of earth refer to as Hoegaarden, good lord it's some tasty ass shit.
Beside this special wee place in my heart that Blackfriars will always have for this moment, I've always kind of liked the joint for its laid back and slightly arty feel which almost belies it location in Snobby Mc Snobville.
Along with some kick ass beers, this place also does so right good food, live music, themed DJ nights and other such pub/venue type doo dah's.
"eek!, I'm in the Merchant City, quick find somewhere to hide before they credit check my ass and whisk me away to the poor house.....ah!!!!!!, Blackfriars, thank you Jeebus."
Can I just say one word?
Brunch
This is one of the best gastropubs for brunch that I've found. Melt-in-your-mouth-delicious and in a classy way.
At night-time, it's a swinging pub, nearly impossible to get a seat, as it's usually packed. But you won't mind...small price for a great venue.
Ii don't know how they managed it, but even on a tueday night it's jumping. It may be the band; but surely that can't be the only reason it's always busy in there.
Perhaps it's because you think to yourself, 'It's a Tuesday. I want to go to a place for a drink that isn't dead as a doornail.' and everyone in Glasgow thinks the same thing and then you all end up in Blackfriars.
Hence why all the other places are dead as a doornail.
It is a bit pricey here, but nevermind. They've got ale here, and they don't try TOO hard to make it a typical Scottish pub, it is one anyway, but with a jazzy edge.
Great for an ice-cold pint, or a premium gin and tonic. It has outdoor seating in the summer, and you can easily spend hours that pass like minutes sipping your pint lazily among friends.
One of the best bars in the Merchant City, Blackfriars keeps itself more interesting than its neighbours through its hosting of varied events in its downstairs section. For instance, during the recent comedy festival they even managed to bag Kevin Bridges for an intimate show.
Upstairs is pricey but given you're probably in this area for a proper night out, this isn't too much of a problem. The staff are friendly and the atmosphere welcoming.
I like this place.
It's a good lazy afternoon pint on a day off sort of place for me and the sort of place I can happily kill time on my own waiting for someone if I am early or more commonly, when my friends are running late.
The staff are nice enough and the bar is impressive, with a good range of ales and spirits.
Havent sampled this place in a 'night-out' capacity, but I hear only good things.
Blackfriars is definitely worth a look as it provides sanctuary for those of us in the Merchant City who don't want to go to Tiger Tiger because its too expensive, O'Neill's because its too Irish or the Steps because its too much of an old man pub.
I've usually ended up in Blackfriars on my way to gigs at the Barrowlands, getting a drink as close to the Barras as I can without going too far into the dodgy area beyond Glasgow Cross. Although I've found the Merchant City can be a dodgy area, the area around Blackfriars is pretty quiet and there is certainly no threatening atmosphere in this pub.
The clientele is very mixed and during the evening it can be a very warm and atmospheric place with it being busy and a bit of music on in the background. There are quite a few unusual guest ales here, though at the same time there isn't much of the common pints of beer to choose from. The prices are okay though. My only real complaint in here is that the mens' toilets are far too small and in quite poor condition.
Blackfriars is a proper pub. With a great range of ales, spirits, wines, and with food that isn't pretending to be upmarket to suit the area, it's the kind of pub the big chains try and fail to replicate.
With a single, lonely telly hanging up near the bar (it's rarely on), this isn't the pub for Sky Sports and the jeering football mobs. It's where you go when you want a quality pint of ale that's kept well and served by friendly staff that look like they take pride in their place of work.
And rightly so - the bar is well run, and the regular music and stand-up events make it the kind of pub you can keep going back to even when you're in the mood for different kinds of evening.
The only downside are the tiny, cramped toilets off to the side of the bar. I've been in a pub in London (The Captain's Cabin, near Picadilly) that has smaller toilets... but that's the only one!
If you're at all a fan of ale, live entertainment, or both, then Blackfriars is well worth a visit.
Blackfriars is a very hip, ear to the ground type of place.
It acts as a venue during the Glasgow International Comedy Festival, and also hosts other stand-up acts and gigs throughout the year in its basement.
During the day, the food always fills an ample space and while the fact that there are no televisions will divide opinion, it's somewhere that given the chance will grow on most punters.
Good selection of beers, some foreign lagers and a few guest ales. Food served during the day.
The pub is a nice corner to find yourself in when the surrounding establishments fill up.
During the day, this places serves almost painfully obvious pub food. Although Blackfriars seems to know that it is just a pub and so they serve the kind of food you'd expect which is nice.
The bar staff are really friendly and they have a lot of interesting club nights on. Blackfriars "Shout Bamalama" is one of the few Rock N Roll nights in Glasgow, but I must say that it is a bit depressingly empty and populated by middle aged couples who don't dance but sit and watch the young folks do the twist.
A good pub with an broad selection of bottled and cask beers. This is not a pub I've deliberately frequented, but somehow, I have found myself in here loads of times--a handy local landmark, I suppose.
The pub is generally quite comfortable and bar staff seem friendly enough. I've never eaten in here, and in honesty, it's not somewhere where I'd even think of going to for food.
A pub that does what it sets out to do well, it seems, and a little pub oasis in the otherwise wine-bar-and-chain-pub-centric Merchant City.
