Macsorley’s

Food in McSorleys has often been good but sometimes a bit inconsistent but at the moment… its superb.
I had Chargrilled pork shoulder with beetroot, fennel and apple salsa, spiced chickpeas and horseradish dressed mixed leaf which was fantastic (and only £8.50).
The menu is small but I’d rather they did a few things extremely well than loads of stuff badly.

I’ve been here once before the time I’m reviewing, and it was just as awesome an experience as this was. Before this trip, some friends and I met here for a drink to celebrate a birthday. It was absolutely packed out as a band was about to play and it was a friday night. Most of my friends were hanging outside (obvious in warmer weather as there was outdoor seating) and afraid to brave the crowds to order some drinks, so I opted to buy the round and headed inside. I will say that it was a bit difficult to carry loads of drinks through crowds, but luckily, my friends met me half way and grabbed some drinks. We enjoyed our drinks outside and headed to the next pub.
My most recent trip was with my boyfriend after dinner. We decided that instead of staying in after dinner watching TV, why not go out for a pint? We go out plenty both during the week and weekends, but it’s a bit random for us to drink during the week as we’re pretty busy with Uni and work and save most of the fun for the weekends. I mentioned to him that it felt like we were on vacation, heading out on the town after 8pm.
We wanted to go somewhere different, so once we got in to town, we listed our options. I mentioned MacSorley’s and we both agreed it was the place to go, as he’d only been a few times with mates, and this would be my second time.
We walk in and to our surprise, it was pretty dead. No worries at all, that meant we were able to grab a pint, and found a cozy table in the corner where we could chat and actually hear each other. What added to the abiance were the wee candles on the tables. Haha, we goofed that it made for a romantic pint out.
The bartender was super friendly and was a huge help in listing ever single cider they had to offer. My boyfriend went for his favourite, Addlestones which was on tap and I went for one I’d never had before Brother’s Strawberry Cider. Yums!
We only stayed for one, which was exactly what we had planned and headed back in to the Glasgow night and back home just in time for one of our favourite tv shows. Perfect night in a great wee pub.

Every time I come here I remember how much I like it and wonder why I don’t go more often. I used to be in here all the time as a student as they had a lot of good bands who played every week, but over the last few years I’ve been a less frequent visitor and that’s a bit of a shame.
From the outside it looks like a bit of an old man’s pub, quiet and unassuming next to the flashier Wetherspoons with it’s massive big look-​at-​me windows. Inside, it’s a lovely old traditional pub with plenty of space and a nice mezzanine level above the bar. It’s never that busy if you go in straight from work and the staff are friendly and the prices and the selection are good. They still do a lot of bands and music evenings — they have a big blackboard up on the wall with a list of what’s coming up — and it gets a lot busier later in the evening.
What sets this place a good step above most of the other pubs in the area is that a few years ago they got themselves a new chef and they now serve the most amazing food with a traditional Scottish influence. They vary the menu throughout the year so check their website for the latest details — their current menu has cullen skink and stovies as starters, with mains of fish and chips, burgers, cassoulet, sea bream, braised shin of beef — a lot of really nice dishes. The winner for me though is the award-​winning pies — these are round Scotch pies with chicken and black pudding, steak and ale, mince and onion or a traditional Scotch pie, served with mustard mash, mushy peas and a wee jug of gravy — for £4! And they do a pie and a pint deal for £6. It’s really tasty and it’s amazing value. They have a range of smaller side dishes as bar snacks so you can mix and match and have a selection of stuff if you’re not that hungry.
They also do some good food deals — if you go early evening on a night they have a band on you can have a two-​course meal for £10. And they do 2-​for-​1 pies some lunchtimes, which is just astounding value.
From a quiet post-​work drink with some fantastic food to a good live music venue, this is really somewhere you should check out, especially if you haven’t been in a while.

On Saturday afternoons, it’s well worth making your way to MacSorley’s to enjoy their ragtime, jazz and blues band, from 2.30pm until 5.30pm. It’s a wonderful way to spend an afternoon and it’s worth getting in early as these old charmers have quite a following and the tables fill up quickly. I love the lunching ladies, with perms and pearls, who come here every week in their finery for the gin and gentlemen.

If you’re out and about in town and looking for something a bit different to do on a Saturday afternoon then I would highly recommend you pop along to MacSorley’s to be wow-​ed by their afternoon jazz band, cheap drinks and high class pub grub.
First up, it’s free entry — an instant win, and if you head in early enough you’ll be able to find a comfy seat or a standing place at the bar where you can comfortably watch the old jazzers geeing it yaldy.
I visited last weekend with friends and had reserved a table upstairs as we were all going for a pub lunch. We ended up, very uncharacteristically, all ordering the same meal — good old fish and chips and with an expectation of something tasty, greasy and comforting we were not disappointed.
Arriving wrapped in newspaper (pages of The Skinny) we unwrapped this neat package with serious trepidation to unveil the best home cooked fish and chips we have ever eaten. Every last mushy pea was scoffed. We happily sat in silence ooh-​ing and aah-​ing with every bite and quickly became seriously gutted when we realised we were reaching the last chip.
Although the place was jumping we were served quickly and friendly by the lovely waiting staff who will quite happily take drinks orders and bring them to the table to save you trekking up and down the open staircase.
I would totally recommend this friendly wee pub; with bottles of Prosecco at £12 a pop and the live background jazz, you can enjoy your naughty council scran with some serious charm.

Really nice pub in Glasgow, good music, beer and whisky. If you want to eat somerhing make sure you be there befor 8 p.m.

Gotta love this place. Handy for the station, good fish & chips, not bad gin selection, and an open mic on Wednesdays hosted by Becca Starr. Nice.

Cracking wee bar in the heart of the City Centre! Great food, great drink, good prices and anytime I have been in the service has been very friendly. I can happily come in here with a group of friends for a few drinks or by myself for a spot of lunch. I actually love coming in here for a bite to eat and a drink by myself. they have free wifi access so it is easy to while away a couple hours before you realise!
The bar has a laid back, chilled out kinda atmosphere and regularly has good live music. There is usually offers on food at lunchtime and is definetly worthwhile trying out. When I had the burger, admittedly it was a little overdone (they had to open the doors as it was a little smoky!!) but for my tastes it was fine and the fact that it is homemade and not some shop bought nonsense gets the kitchen big brownie points from me! I am fussy on things like that and appreciate the difference a bit of effort makes in the quality and flavour homemade all the way in my book! The pasta with spinach and walnuts was sooooo tasty. big portion too and considering I don’t actually like spinach, it was just yummy clean plate! Presentation also gets a thumbs up. smart without being pretentious. The fish n chips comes wrapped up in newspaper. (but I am guessing is a lot tastier and less greasy than its chippy counterparts)
There are a decent range of drinks and any that I have bought have all been reasonably priced. Would like to see a good local lager on tap though would be a nice touch :)
Pet hate right enough downstairs toilets! Argh! Honestly, I never understand places that sell alcohol but have toilets that involve using stairs MacSorelys is far from alone in this though I appreciate for them it is more to do with the buildings age and layout.
Alltogether a bar I would absolutely recommend visiting!

It pains me to be less than enthusiastic about a visit to MacSorley’s because I’m genuinely fond of the place. The staff are lovely, the music is cool and the vibe is different. The but? Their menu looks good on paper but can be hit and miss in execution. Sadly for me tonight, it was a bit of a miss — though I have to admit that I cleared my plate and didn’t complain because a) I was hungry b) it was perfectly edible and c) I wasn’t entirely sure until I managed to get in front of Google that what I’d ordered was an accurate attempt at chicken supreme (it wasn’t). I ordered ‘oven baked chicken supreme with braised red cabbage and new potatoes’. I’d suspected that chicken supreme involved some sort of creamy sauce (which it should), but what arrived was a flattened chicken drumstick — like a chicken pancake with a leg bone stuck on the top. It was verging on dry (and distinctly lacking any kind of sauce) and was nestled on a bed of blanched and tasteless cabbage, with admittedly nice potatoes. My dining partner’s burger was judged as ‘good but nothing spectacular’. At around £8-£9 a pop though, I think there could have been a bit more yum.
It has to be said though, that the desert of ginger cake, coconut ice cream and rum syrup was pretty delicious. It was also the first time I’d encountered Abbot’s KA Ginger Beer, which is now officially my favourite brand of non-​alcoholic ginger beer.
So three stars today, in the hope that the food is better the next time I go.

Glasgow is famed for its music scene yet there was hardly anything on the weekend I was there — story of my life, crap timing!
Anyhow I happened upon that Macsorleys were hosting a Jamaican Independence day, it was £6 at the door but some guy gave us his tickets for free — maybe timing is on my side.
Great night overall. They had free Jamaican style food — goat stew anyone? Delicious! Special drinks offers like £2.50 for a can of Red Stripe.
I’m definitely not an expert when it comes to reggae but it was great fun. The sound system was a bit suspect, far too much bass from the DJ but the reggae legend, I have no idea if he is I was just told so, was great — wonderful voice and he hugged me at the end, which was rather bizarre as I was at the end of the bar drinking a beer.
I know that an event like this does not happen every night but they do have music everyday and I found the staff so friendly and really into the music too.
One downside that they had no control over was the extremely smelly white crusty dreadlocked hippies — dear God, I gagged each time as I tried to get by them to the loo… They also danced deranged. Ah well each to their own I guess.

I was left very unimpressed with my first, and what will be my last, visit to Macsorley’s. My friend and I were left waiting half an hour for our food, even though the place was dead. When the waitress finally brought it over there was no apology or explanation. The cheese tart I ordered was tasty enough but definitely not worth the wait. It was also quite expensive at over £8. The drinks are pricey too.
There are loads of other pubs in Glasgow city centre that offer better value for money and speedier service.

Macsorley’s is a cut above many pubs in the city, managing to appeal to a wider audience.
Sitting beside Wetherspoon’s on Jamaica Street, Macsorley’s do scrummy pub grub from 12 – 8, live music on certain nights and have a good range of whisky behind the bar. When I used to come here regularly a few years back, they had Guitar Hero tournaments on their projector which were a lot of fun. They usually hosted them on pretty mellow nights so you would always get a shot at riff spittin’ glory.
I was in Macsorley’s tonight and I see they’ve had a bit of a revamp! They have maanged to successfully combine contemporary, hip décor with the old, and the ceiling looks gorgeous. The windows are also a sight to behold if you’re into ornate, old fashioned fixtures in buildings.
Their menu doesn’t have a lot of vegetarian options, as my friend found out when all he could order was Mac and Cheese. But a very helpful gent informed us that the menu is being revised so we’ll see what happens next! And for the record, the mac and cheese was delicious, and served up on a slate complete with chips and garlic bread!
Slightly more expensive than Wetherspoons for food, but in here the food looks lovingly made and is pretty tasty. One of the best kept bars in town without being high brow, you can’t go wrong with Macsorley’s. Great, friendly staff, laid back and good for a gig, it’s cool with a good atmosphere and no bad attitude in sight. It seems to keep out the drunken punters that roam around the city centre like zombies, so I can thank my lucky stars that at least there’s places like Macsorley’s to drink where you’re not going to have to go into combat in order to get to the bar! Love it.

Only popped in for a quick pint on a Saturday afternoon at the start of the month but from that short visit I’d say I’ll go back. Clearly a popular haunt, staff knew what they were about and they’ve obviously regular entertainment on (live jazz when I was in, volume not too bad).

In shouting distance from Crystal Palace Wetherspoons, this is a far livelier place to start off your night if you’re down this way going to Sub Club or Barfly.
The music is varied, with a good bar and quite often, live music on.
Haven’t tried the food yet, but I’ve never really went during the day, only ever in the evening for some pre-​drinkage and always had a good enough night, with no hassles.
Should go more often really, but I’m rarely down this way.

«How long as this pub been open for?» asked my mate Steve.
I pointed up to the blackboard on the wall, which had information about the pub’s history, saying it opened sometime in the late 1800s.
«Oh.»
MacSorley’s is a pleasant traditional pub set in the heart of the city centre. Busy by night and quiet by day, it t least attracts in the younger crowd a lot more than the other old pubs in the city. Whether there’s a live gig, indie music playing through the speakers during the day or a night-​time DJ set (one of my uni lecturers used to DJ here), it definitely appeals to the young ones.
The small balcony, which gives you a sneaky peak behind the bar, is a nice place to sit back and relax. The only real problem I have with the pub is that there is not a great selection of pints and quite often one of them is ‘off’, so you may have to resort to a different drink.

Situation just along from the Sub Club and The Arches, Macsorley’s has become, by default, the pre-​club pub. It does have the appearance of a locals’ bar, but the rock icons on the walls and the plentiful flyers for nightclubs reveal that it has a young, hip clientiele.
There is a DJ playing in the corner on most nights, and it is very convenient as a stop-​off while the queues die down for The Arches. During the day, it is very quiet and if the range of food is limited, it is fairly priced and generous in portion size.

A peculiar one this, as what during the week is a fairly innocuous looking old man pub becomes a pre-​club on the weekends where you could find yourself listening to dub reggae, drum and bass or old Kraftwerk tunes from the DJ in the corner.
Surreal, but worth it for that alone.

On 17 September 2009 I and six others were looking forward to a nice evening out and a meal at MacSorleys with live music. All went well, the pub seemed to have a good atmosphere, the food was allright — and then te band began to play. The music was not LOUD or VERY LOUD but SO RIDICULOUSLY LOUD that all conversation was completely impossible, including conversation with the waitress. We had to communicate by writing lines down, and when not writing or eating we put our fingers in our ears. It wasn’t funny in any sort of way, the «live music» killed our evening. We considered leaving immediately after the AWFULLY LOUD GUITAR STRUMMING began, and I think we should have left, but we didn’t because we had already ordered.
The ORDEAL lasted just till we had finished, eating rapidly so we could get out of the building.
Avoid this place, certainly when they have LIVE MUSIC.

A nice bar in the city centre of Glasgow near to the Arches and Sub Club nightclubs so a great place to have pre club drinks with DJ’s playing from 9pm on Friday and Saturday nights. It has recently been taken over by the Sub Club owners so the once old mans pub as it appearance suggests now has a new breed of clientele whilst still housing some of the old regulars.
Has live music every Thursday night and Saturday during the day until 9pm and a menu consisting of traditional home made pub grub which is well worth savouring. Regular drinks promos are also almost always in place.

A great pub and music venue.
The menu is excellent, offering traditional Scottish food, as well as the usual burgers etc, all with a home-​made flavour.
Atmosphere is excellent and it serves as a good pre-​club warmup at the weekend, with live DJ’s and an excellent crowd.
Its owned by the same people as the subclub so expect some great musical talent throughout the week, as well as friendly helpful staff, up for a party!
Quiz nights, one offs and friendly locals and regulars of all ages frequent it, it still attracts the same regulars whov’e been going for years, before the subclub took over, so a good mix of faces… maybe some bemused ones once the house music gets cranked up on a saturday night! :-)
UPDATE* Macsorleys is re-​opening on the 27^th November 2009 having been totally refurbished, New Chef (Scottish masterchef Sam Carswell) with a new menu and complete re-​furbishment inside. Cant wait to try it out.