Jackson’s Drink Mongers

I’m guilty of judging this place by its cover — for some reason, the exterior of Jackson’s just doesn’t appeal to me. But Glasgow Unilocalers haven’t steered me wrong yet, so when we needed a pre-​drink spot for dinner at Banana Leaf, this is where we headed for my first-​ever visit.
Inside, this place is really good! It’s got a casual vibe, probably most comparable to somewhere like Mono and has some really good beers on offer. I was driving so stuck to the soft drink — the Coke I had tasted really weird so either their post mix was dying, or it was Pepsi. Either way, it was undrinkable. But that didn’t sour our visit — it was a nice place to hang out for an hour, they were playing pretty good music and there was a good vibe. I couldn’t quite pick the mix of people there, it was mostly students maybe from the Conservatoire or Art School. I wasn’t just going to go up and ask them so that’s just my assumption!
I would definitely go back here as the food menu looked pretty good. They also had the HOTTEST ladies loos I’ve been in ever, so if you’re in need of warming up, I’d suggest going here.

I love me some time in Jacksons! I came across here a few years back while wandering around, looking for somewhere to grab lunch with a work colleague.
There’s really nothing I don’t like about Jacksons. The bar is kinda split in 2 — the left is a bit more traditional bar restaurant; the right borders more on the relaxed trendy/​hipstery style bar.
Foodwise, you’ll get all the usual bar food — they do a pretty awesome sharing platter of pakora.
Last time I was here was with this year’s UYE Subcrawl (the Cowcaddens stop) — the staff coped well with a big bunch of (mainly) drunk customers arriving at the same time, all looking for more beers. They have a good range of beers on tap & bottled — and all very reasonably priced.
For me, Jackson’s is just a great place to go and chill out — and I’ll be back soon.

Coming here after dinner was a suggested from a friend whom lived just above Jackson’s.
I really enjoyed the atmosphere! Unpretentious, relaxed and comfortable; it was exactly what we were looking for (also helped it was reasonable close to the bus station there we’d be dropping off our friend later on in the evening). I liked walking in, seeing the fish tank, a big bar, and high ceilings. It’s only a few steps off the busy high street, but this is such a calm and relaxing place. A really lovely pub.
It was wonderful to see a bar what actually has space to move around easily. It’s not cramped but has sufficient seating. Their bar is incredibly well stocked and I would definitely like to come back to have a more succinct look at the available beers.
I didn’t get a chance to look at the menus, but based purely on the Unilocal reviews that precede mine, it’s definitely something I will try.
Can’t wait to come back.

Visited here as a stop off before attending the Opera at the Theatre Royal, as just a block or two around the corner.
Main attraction was the good reviews in respect of variety and quality of beers and Ales on. I wasn‘t disappointed, a good selection of 5 CASK Ales, several Craft taps on as well in addition to the usual suspects.
Add to this a varied bottle selection makes this a good stop off for a bit of a mini Beer Festival.
They also do beer samplers, 4 beers for a £5, assume they will be ¹⁄₃ of a pint per beer.
Nice décor and relaxed atmosphere created a good vibe.
The food menu concentrates on Standard Pub grub as well as daily specials, mains from around £6 to £10.
We went for the 2 daily specials, Haggis Burger and the Chilli Cheese Burger, both came with fries and slaw at £7.95 each.
We were expecting the Haggis burger to be 100% Haggis, it actually was a standard burger with a sizeable slice of Haggis as a topping.
Both Burgers were pretty good for the price and with the good selection of Ales and atmosphere would definitely call in again if in that area of town.

Windows.
That’s the first thing you come to see about Jackons. WINDOWS. HUGE BIG SHINY WINDOWS.
Not something that could have been said about the previous inhabitant of this location, the mystical McIntoshes.
Incidentally, McIntoshes was an insane little place, and deserved to be more visited than it was. For those who never visited it, imagine that the Bay City Rollers went into a pub and exploded. Tartan came here to die. With a karaōke set up that was all over the place and sheer out and out «What are they singing???» glorious fun, it was certainly a place you had to experience to believe.
In any case, RIP McIntoshes, long live Jacksons, for it has taken over.
And it’s actually quite nice. It’s gone the modern, bright, open route for their layout and décor and offer a full menu of fine looking food and interesting on tap ales — I had a Skye beers Black ale, lovely it was… mmmm…
I’ve digressed again there, sorry. Least you can’t see the drool.
*cough*
Yeah, so — Jacksons is fine. If it was more towards the beaten track, I’d imagine it would be a lot busier, but as it is, on the walking path to and from Cowcaddens underground, it’ll pick up a fair few people from that.
Shoogling builds a thirst, you know.
Take a wee wander in and enjoy the ales, have a burger, watch the world go by with thise WINDOWS~~~!!!

Jackson’s has done really well for itself — as mentioned by others there was a lot of «it’ll never last» about the place when it first opened, but it’s rammed most evenings and pleasantly busy most days. It gets an odd mix of trendy types, students and former punters of McConnells (which was not as scary as other reviewers have assumed btw) which seems odd but it’s clearly working out. Much better beer selection than you might expect too — 4 real ale pumps and a broad range of draught. The bottle selection also sometimes has a few surprises — one time I spotted (and bought) a Rogue Ales Yellow Snow IPA. No idea where Jackson’s even got that in the UK!
All in all this is a good choice of boozer in the area. It’s geographically the closest bar to my flat and it’s served me well so far!

Edited to 5 stars. There’s nothing I don’t like about Jackons. Stopped in for a couple of drinks tonight and it’s comfortable, cool décor, great drink selection and cool friendly staff.
It’s definitely a bizarre experience if only due to the mixed crowd from opposites ends of every single social and habitual spectrum, but is that a bad thing?!
Jackson’s is a great looking place, definitely a million miles from the ‘can’t see in’ frontage of its former self which I wouldn’t even dare LOOK into never mind go and sit for a drink.
It’s the last bar I pass on the way home from town, and definitely tempting when it’s cold outside and people are sitting inside all warm with a nice drink…
The staff are very friendly, as are the — dare I say — ‘old’ regulars who prop up the bar. There’s some funny chat on the go as well at times between them!
Haven’t have food yet, but am assured by a friend who has that it is definitely good pub grub, so I’ll be into that in the near future for sure!

What a pleasant surprise! I came here before my night went to shit in Missoula yesterday (see previous review/​moanfest). It’s open, spacious, inviting and relaxing. We sat in a corner, nicely hidden, but were also able to gaze out of the massive windows and watch the world go by, a favourite pub game of mine. It’s a nice change from the pub that used to be in its location, McIntosh’s, which had tiny windows and black décor on the outside and looked like the type of establishment in which you could imagine Lord Voldemort holding secret meetings in the Harry Potter series…
There is a nice selection of drinks, locally-​sourced as well as imported and the food looks delicious, as well as being easy on the purse strings (£4.95 for a main course), although they don’t serve food after 7pm.
Superficially speaking, the barmen are also rather easy on the eye, which always makes me happy. What? Stop judging! Who doesn’t enjoy a splash of eye candy every now and then? :-)
This bar would be great for a date, a night out with chums, an impromptu visit with family or just sitting quietly by yourself with a pint and the paper. The clientele is mixed, from students to old men and everything in between, which I like. I dislike bars that are specifically designed to attract one ‘type’ of person, of which there are plenty, so Jackson’s makes a nice change.
I think I’ll be coming back here more often. Who fancies a drink?

A lively pub housing a variety of live bands. It’s close to the Universities so quite populated with students, indeed there are student bands which play here. The food is amazing with homemade burgers and steak pies which are relatively cheap. Would definitely recommend.

nice replacement for scary old pub… airy and light, lovely staff, and the food is good. i had a burger and curly fires, and i like my curly fries…

preamble:
Kudos to Jackson’s, they are trying hard to be studenty and cool, which for the most part works, it’s a cool looking place, there are student promos and it beats the pants off of Traders…
But:
They have gone down the «Yey» «Cool» «groovy» «mates» route, which does put me (a student) off a little.
For example this is an excerpt from one of their fliers:
«TRAFFIC WARDENS NOT WELCOME!!» followed by:
«But on a serious note!»
«FOOD AND FUNK FRIEND!»
you get the jist.
Anyways…
This is a day time review:
We went here for lunch at 1pm (as it was close to our campus, and we didn’t want to rush), but despite the place being dead (two or thee tables occupied), we didn’t get our food until 1.50, and wee only ordered three main courses.
Also, there were some shady looking characters having a drink, and even one guy who came off of the street to try and sell us a (probably stolen) box of Quality Street for £2. Fair play to the bar staff though as he was escorted out fairly sharpish.
Over the sound of our bellies rumbling was Elton Johns greatest hits playing, and don’t get me wrong, I like a good bit of Elton, but an hours worth whilst waiting for your lunch got a bit tedious.
This being said, our server lady was nice, and the food was pretty good, but unfortunately we couldn’t savour it as we were really pushed for time — Portions were a good size, too much to eat in 5 mins as a guide.

What is a nice place like you doing in a neighbourhood like this?
Jackson’s has taken over from the very scary McIntoshes. The dark tiny windows on the former meant that I never really wandered in — it was not that inviting. Jackson’s, however, has put in some massive front windows and made it a much more inviting place.
Decent booze selection. Some nice imported ales and pretty good wine selection on the board.
It was evening and dark but I could see this being a nice spot to dive into during the day. I would definitely head here rather than the worn out Trader Joe alternative near the Piping Centre.
Food offered during the day but we did not eat here — but I would definitely try the next time I drop by.
Overall, lovely space and nice folks inside. Don’t let the area put you off.

How nice to see a formerly scary «don’t even think about it» pub turned into a fresh-​looking open place with a decent selection of drinks and helpful staff to boot. I used to walk by this pub several times a week when it was McIntoshes, but would never have dreamed of going in for a drink. So it was a very pleasant surprise to find that Jacksons is taking a different tack on Cambridge Street pub life.
With new furnishings, an open floor plan and two different lounges for seating, Jacksons strikes me as a relaxed, non-​crowded place to get a drink after work or a pre-​theater pub meal. They have a decent selection of beers on tap, a wall of spirits and I’m sure a few very drinkable wines. Though I didn’t get anything to eat, the menu looked like it was full of reliable standard pub fare.
It was refreshing to be able to sit and have a conversation in a city centre pub and not walk away with damaged vocal chords. And that doesn’t mean the place was deserted, either; there was a good cross-​section of Thursday-​night drinkers in the pub and nobody was treating it like a library, yet we could all talk and be heard. There was a guy setting up to play a set on his acoustic guitar, but we never found out if he was acting alone or had an ensemble behind him because we had to move on before he started.
In short, I like this place and I’m sure I’ll be back soon. Jackson’s is a breath of fresh air on Cambridge Street. For those who mourn the loss of the dark and forbidding old McIntoshes, The Cambridge pub is still open for business just a few doors down. For the rest of you, there’s an empty seat by the window at Jacksons… but not if I get there first!

Now then, now then. This place used to be the big black fronted mystery pub with the mirrored windows which offered absolutely no clue to a potential drinker whether it housed a gentile group of relaxed happy drinkers, or a vicious mob of blood hungry monkeys… I never did find out which of the latter it housed and now I’ll never know (my money was on the monkeys.)
Anyway, the former McIntoshes has been replaced by a nice and shiny new place that’s done away with the scary cave look and went for the ‘big windies’ approach. In addition, the place has been kitted out quite nicely with lots of exposed, distressed wood, black and white photies and other trendy type touches. Don’t get me wrong, aye it’s trendy but for me it feels more natural than some of the forced offerings at other joints.
Drinks wise it’s fairly standard. Nice to see a West beer on tap, in addition to the usual suspects, plus a nice wee selection of whiskys. I think I also swatched some menus kicking around, so it appears that food is on the offer. but yeah, I never had the opportunity to sample (update ahoy!).
As long as I’m doing the check list, might as well comment on the service. I thought a nice came when I was paying for a round of drinks and the extra server on shift took the drinks over to the table whilst I paid up with the barmaid. (nice)
I like it. But as one Andrew C mentioned on the night. Is it in the right location? Time will tell for Jackson’s. It looks the part. Has plenty of strings to it’s bow: Big tellies for football, food, decent drink selection, live music (dude was tuning up as we left) and friendly service… so yeah. I’d like to see this last. My fingers are crossed.