The Steps Bar

A nice little haven of normality in the Merchant City area. Surrounded by style bars and high class restaurants; places that would try and figure out a way to charge you for the air that you breathe. None of that nonsense in here.
It’s a guid auld pub. Nothing more, nothing less. Inside, the style is a bit of a surprise — it’s very 1950s slash art deco inspired. Lovely stained glass windows and tiled floors, sweeping gantry on the bar — if you’ve seen the styling of Batman The Animated Series, it’s very similar indeed. It’s well woirth a visit for a wee swatch at it.
The bar prices are cheap, the staff chatter away to anyone and everyone, and the punters who inhabit the place are happy and friendly; there’s a wee room at the back that would be great if there’s a group of you.
It’s not somewhere you’ll instinctively make a beeline for, but it’s a nice wee surprise to stumble upon. It’s very much in line with The Scotia, The Doublet and the like as proper old style Glasgow pubs.

One of the best pubs in glasgow.
With one of the largest selection of whisky, I’ve ever saw.
We’re there in 2006 and I’ll go to Steps Bar in ²⁰¹³⁄₄ and I hope it also will be good as ever.

Classic Glasgow boozer. Full of friendly folks and decently poured pints. Clean and well lit. Breaking all of the old man pub stereotypes.
You may dismiss it when you enter but I would love it if half of the establishments in Glasgow had this much character and attention to a well pulled pint.
I will give you the point that the bolted down tables do look slightly «1970’s Prison Movie». But they add to the quirkiness. Who knows? You may be ordering fashionable «70’s Prison» décor for your place in five years?
Would I go here often? Probably not. However, they are not taking a fiver from you for every beer pulled and in the Merchant City — — - that is a bloody miracle.

Sweet fancy Moses! This is an amazing wee pub!
Having recently changed owners, I had my concerns that it would change too much and lose what made it great. Well, I’m happy to say, that hasn’t happened!
Given it’s rather trendy locale and the obvious trendyness that exists in The Merchant City, The Steps Bar is a complete departure from it’s neighbours. An old fashioned, no-​nonsense, family-​run bar — which does exactly as a bar should.
Cheap drinks, friendly staff, a good selection of spirits, a cracking pint of Guinness and lovely regulars full of character.
I love this wee place!

This place pretty much does what it’s supposed to do, and what it has done for many years.
I guess the best way to describe this is as a departure from the usual high class bars and establishments of the Merchant City. Some might call it a breath of fresh air, but there’s nothing really fresh about the air in here. It’s old, it’s dated, it’s traditional but not in the quaint way. You can’t accuse it of having style over substance because it has neither style nor substance. The drinks are the usual suspects, fizzy ambers and generic spirits.
There’s a betting shop right next door and there has been horse racing on the tele every time I’ve been in which results in an atmosphere of hope and depression.
There are two things this place has going for it, the price of the drinks and that you can have a relatively quiet drink here. I can’t see the place getting packed out on a Splaturday night but I could be wrong. The thing is tho’ I have better places to be on a Splaturday night, so I may never know.

Only ever been here for a quick pint on the move, but it’s a charming enough wee pub that’s more in line with the likes of the Scotia bar, or places down near the Trongate.
The patrons are a good ten years my senior and I don’t really find myself mixing in with them much but it’s a decent enough pub for a quick pint. Not the sort of place I would go for a night out.
It’s not exactly a spit and sawdust pub, but it isn’t as swanky as many of the other places down this area.

There seems to be a misconception on this site that The Merchant City is some sort of exclusive area. In general, it’s not really, and while there are indeed a lot of nice restaurants and a few upmarket bars, places like Tiger Tiger bring in a crowd that’s about as refined as Pat Butcher’s jewellery box, despite masquerading to the contrary. There’s never any trouble in the area, but there is a peculiar seedy undertone about the place at weekends that simply isn’t present inthe city’s other nightlife districts.
Steps then, is a breath of fresh air in this part of town, a grubby, dingy old dive of a pub, that dishes up booze and a bit of chat to the punters, with no pretensions, minimalist décor, or sleazy used car salesmen out on the hunt for a drunken old slapper to spoil it.

The Steps Bar stands out like a sore thumb on Glassford Street, near to the much bigger and plusher Tiger Tiger and Bacchus. And it isn’t one of these places that looks small from the outside but is bigger once you step inside — it is still small, I tell you.
The size and old traditional look of this pub does, at least, provide a pleasant distraction from the more up-​market places. Variety is after all the spice of life. It is a no-​frills pub; dark and somewhat dingy and predictably attracts an older crowd in. It is never usually busy, except for an Old Firm game, when Rangers fans crowd in to watch the big match on the telly.
As a bit of a Rangers pub, the Steps used to even be popular with the players — Andy Goram and Ally McCoist amongst others being regulars here back in the day. Unfortunately the only excitement you’ll ever get here these days is when the football is on though.

classic art deco pub with great stained glass

Good, no nonsense pub on the edge of the Merchant City area. Fine for watching the football or taking over the snug with your mates for a good, well priced session. Limited selection of taps but manages to still stock something for everyone.