The Skinny Guide to Glasgow's Riverside

The Skinny Guide to Glasgow is out now. Inside, you can find summaries of venues across Glasgow's different areas, as well as articles breaking down Glasgow culture. This article, and tons more like it, can be found in The Glasgow City Guide 2023.

Once over-industrialised and deprived, the modern riverside would be unrecognisable to the shipbuilding generations of the past. Government investment and a boom of slick hotels and office blocks rehabilitated the quay – but behind the glamour, working-class communities and immigrant-owned businesses thrive alongside the district’s myriad shops, restaurants and venues.

See the sights the second you’re off the subway: Old Govan Parish Church (866 Govan Rd) across from the station became a history-lover hotspot for its hoard of Viking-age artefacts, the Govan Stones. Recharge at the Elder Cafe (17 Elder St) – a dessert place as traditional as the name suggests – trendy Cafe 13 (794 Govan Rd), or The Amethyst (1209 Govan Rd) for an alcoholic slushie. From Cessnock station, seek out Scottish Sandwich Shop of the Year, Bite Me (383 Paisley Rd W), Lebanese restaurant Beirut Star (450 Paisley Rd), and aptly-named Flavour Bomb Kitchen (534 Paisley Rd W).

The Gorbals gives us authentic Afghan eatery Namak Mandi (17-23 Bridge St), and dessert’s just up the road at Istanbul Cakes and Baklavas (63 Bridge St). In the very likely event that you enjoy the Middle Eastern menu at Palmtree Kitchen (22 Bridge St), head over to Babylon Supermarket (3-5 Commerce St) to plan your own Mediterranean and Middle Eastern meals, thanks to their bountifully stocked shelves and in-house bakery. 

Discover great drama at The Citizens Theatre (119 Gorbals St), and if Lizzo, George Ezra, or the other stars who have headlined the O2 Academy (121 Eglinton St) don’t get your blood pumping, perhaps you’d prefer a prowl in the eerie, ancient Southern Necropolis (Caledonia Rd).

Speaking of ageing well, The Old Toll Bar (1 Paisley Rd W) is one of Glasgow’s oldest watering holes – Art Deco furnishings make it more Victorian Gin Palace than Old Man Pub. In Tradeston, The Laurieston (58 Bridge St) also embraces its classic status, refusing refurbishment since the 60s to become a time capsule of Glasgow pubs past. It was Kinning Park’s warehouses that were repurposed, now housing roller rinks at Rollerstop CIC, or crazy golf and arcade games at Fayre Play. But there’s more fun for all ages to be had elsewhere in the City Guide...