Finnieston Neighborhood

Finnieston is a pretty damn amazing part of Glasgow, I have to say!
I remember visiting Finnieston when I first moved to Glasgow in 2009, and all I can remember from the area is Crabshakk. I’m not even sure there was much else then?
It’s come on in leaps and bounds, obviously, and is now one of the trendiest areas of Glasgow. It is bursting with amazing bars and restaurants and makes for a fabulous night out for dinner and cocktails. It’s also worth noting that while the majority of hot spots are on Argyle St, you shouldn’t forget about places like The 78 (off Kelvinhaugh St) and the restaurants on Sauchiehall St like Ox & Finch and Mother India.
My *only* gripe about Finnieston is that apart from bars and restaurants, there isn’t a huge amount else. There’s The Shop of Interest for a browse, and Hidden Lane for some other shops, but it’s mostly eating/​drinking options, and hairdressers.
That being said, it’s a fab area of Glasgow and well worth a visit.

A listing for Finnieston has appeared!?! When did that happen?
If your new to Glasgow you might be thinking, what’s the story with all the chat about Finnieston. Well in a sentence: It used to be a little bit manky (could be considered to harsh, but it rhymed) and now it’s a little bit swanky, it just needs to watch it does not get to ******.
Thankfully it’s still in the swanky phase though. 5 years ago it was not what it is now. Slowly though it’s become the new cool and hip area to go for a pint or a meal. It’s replaced the now slightly Chavy/​neddy Ashton lane and the touristy over priced merchant City and has become the preferred choice of night life area for many of Glasgow’s residents.
There is a multitude of cool places to go for drinks or a meal including, pickled ginger, Ben Nevis, lebowskis, firebird, ox and finch, tarantinos, etc, etc. If your a tourist to Glasgow and looking for a night out this is where you should head to.

Finnieston is one of my favourite parts of Glasgow and as Lucy mentions in her review it has changed dramatically over the last few years. This relatively small area is home to countless fabulous restaurants and bars and more than couple of quirky, independent shops.
Some of my favourite places to eat are The Ox & Finch, Crabshakk, The Scullery and Porter & Rye. I pop in to The Shop of Interest when ever I’m passing (they still do 20% off when you check in on Unilocal,awesome!) and it never, ever disappoints. Roots & Fruits is also well worth a visit. And new places continue to open with Seb &Milli bringing the same delicious cakes they serve up in their city centre location.
Parking is usually okay, some of the side streets are metered but at 20p for the first half an hour it’s definitely not city centre pricing!
The whole area will be jumping if there’s a big gig on at the Hydro regardless of whether it’s a weekend night or a cold, wet Monday in January. If you’ve not made it along to check out the area, I highly recommend it.

Finnieston has had quite the transformation over the last few years, and is rapidly turning into THE place to be.
I’ve lived in Finnieston/​Yorkhill for coming up 5 years now, and during that time, the neighbourhood has exploded with cool new places for eating, drinking, and quirky shopping. It’s been really exciting watching the old unused retail units being boarded up for renovation work, watching sackfuls of rubble being hauled out, hearing the sawing and hammering going on, and then finally the big reveal!
Finnieston hasn’t always been this way. I remember my dad telling me that, back in the day, when I wasn’t even a twinkle in his eye, he and my mum lived in a flat on St Vincent Crescent, but it was a well-​dodgy area, known for run-​down properties and the red light district. Nowadays, you’d pay a King’s ransom for a flat in St Vincent Crescent! It’s a gorgeous, sun drenched Victorian Crescent, a seemingly ever-​lasting stretch of beautiful townhouses and tenements, and some tiny, but very lovely, front gardens, obviously tended with pride.
And I remember the area from when I was wee, when there was an ice rink in Finnieston (now closed) and then a bowling alley (now closed) and it seemed like nothing would stick there. But gradually, no doubt due to cheaper rents than in the rest of the west end, small shops and bars started taking a chance, and managed to establish thriving businesses.
The island bars are amongst the longer standing businesses there — the Ben Nevis, the Park Bar, and the Islay Inn. And of course The Grove pub, popular with me and my pals in the student days. All traditional pubs, and great for a relaxed drink in good company. Then at the other end of the strip there was Lebowskis and The Neighbourhood, and what is now Rockus, but has been about a million other pubs — bit of another fated site that one, and they seemed to get by, but weren’t exactly ‘destination’ bars.
But then The Finnieston opened up, and seemed, well pretty cool, and a bit different. Essentially, aside from the fish, it’s a gin bar! And then, after an agonisingly long construction period, The Kelvingrove Café opened it’s doors, with it’s old original sign. And all of a sudden, Finnieston was getting a bit hipster.
The The Hydro opened up, and BAM, Finnieston was transformed into an area full of bustling, thriving night life. Most evenings now, and particularly when there’s a gig on, this area is jumping!
There’s numerous bars and eateries, and I won’t list them all, but aside from that, it’s a proper locality for the people who live there. It really does feel like a community, because it’s not just about nightlife — Finnieston has a really good spread of everything that you need to live comfortably in an area.
There’s a quirky retro-​style laundry (trust me, it’s a cool laundry), and Roots & Fruits is my favoured shop for all my fruit, veg and wholefoods needs. And lovely vegan cake. There’s some quirky shops such as The Shop of Interest, and antique shop The Real Deal, both of which are great for unique household items.
The Hidden Lane, tucked behind Argyle St, is a must visit. A very cute cobbled lane, with an excellent tea-​room (more vegan cake), and a community of artists and other small businesses. Shanti Yoga studio is based in the lane — an excellent studio run by the lovely Sasha, and Andy Peutherer the artist also has his studio there, selling stunning, grafitti-​inspired Scottish landscape paintings and prints.
The 78 is a stalwart of Finnieston, an ever-​popular pub with a real coal fire, a range of real ales, well-​priced pub grub and some great deals — check out their Meat Free Mondays offer. And more vegan cake. I’ve put on a LOT of weight since moving here! There’s also the vintage-​inspired chippy, Old Salty’s (vegan sausage suppers, oh dear…). It’s amazing. The Grove chippy is a genuine Italian chippy, and is also hanging on in there despite the competition from Salty’s, and does very good authentic pizzas. Hey, it’s Glasgow, a small area will support more than one chippy (there’s actually a third one at The Hydro end).
Moving up the hill from Finnieston and more into Yorkhill, there’s a quirky little street, Old Dumbarton Road, that’s also worth a visit. Firebird is on the corner, but venture further, to the excellent Dukes Bar. There’s also a BMX shop, a vintage furniture shop — Chou Chou Château, a fantastic fishmongers selling fish from the Scottish islands, a cool looking hairdressers with exposed red brick interior, Band Supplies for all your woodwind and brass needs, and a dog-​grooming parlour. This has to be one of the most strangely niche streets in Glasgow! There’s also a wee authentic Chinese place which seems very popular with the Chinese students in the area but slightly unfathomable to the rest of us, and the incredible Banana Leaf for Southern Indian cuisine. Oh and Mother India and Dining Inn just round the corner…
Finnieston has well and truly arrived!