Pubs & bars, Student friendly

133 places

Sorted by popularity

Chinaski's

239 North Street, Glasgow, G3 7DL

Patrons here live it up while the bar’s inspiration Charles Bukowski looks disdainfully down from a portrait on the wall. Mind you, even the hedonistic Buk would have struggled to work his way through the extensive range of quality rums and bourbons.

The King's Wark

36 The Shore, Edinburgh, EH6 6QU

With a history dating back to 1432, this is one of Leith’s most venerable buildings. Although it has only been in its present guise for a comparatively short 22 years, its stone walls, hardwood floorboards, open fire and dark wooden furniture lend it an…

Bar Ten

10 Mitchell Lane, Glasgow, G1 3NU

Tucked down an alleyway opposite the Lighthouse, this 1990s café-style bar is a befitting sanctuary to escape the hustle and bustle of Buchanan Street. This converted warehouse is as much an arts space as it is a watering hole. It has the feel of an…

The Canons' Gait

232 Canongate, Edinburgh, EH8 8DQ

The Royal Mile isn't short on pubs, so you've got to do something to mark yourself out. In the case of the Canon's Gait, part of the DM Stewart group that also runs the venerable Abbotsford and Guildford Arms in the New Town, various points of…

Home

80 Albion Street, Glasgow, G1 1NY
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Nice'n'Sleazy

421 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3LG

Sleazy’s, as the city’s hipsters so fondly call it, is a Glasgow institution as far as music/arts venues go, and among those rarities with a 3am licence all week. The interior may feel like a well-worn leather jacket, dragged through the bowels of…

Big Slope

36a Kelvingrove Street, Glasgow, G3 7SA

Favorit

19–20 Teviot Place, Edinburgh, EH1 2QZ

Barioja

15-19 Jeffrey Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1DR

Barioja, right next door to sister restaurant Iggs, distinguishes itself from its more mature, refined sibling by offering a wide selection of tapas in a laidback atmosphere. The smart interior features a well-stocked bar, comfortable leather benches…

The Rio Café

27 Hyndland Street, Glasgow, G11 5QF

Brightening up Partick for several years now with its 1950s American diner-style décor and assorted retro touches such as big tubs of sweets behind the bar, Rio Café offers a little something for everyone. Serving food from breakfast through dinner…

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The Bank Café Bar

443 Clarkston Road, Glasgow, G44 3LL

The Maclay Inns group, five of whose premises are featured in this section, tend to choose interesting buildings for their ventures that add a nice bit of character. In the case of The Bank it is, indeed, a former bank, now popular residential café/bar…

Drouthy Neebours

1-2 West Preston Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9PX

Bar Soba

11 Mitchell Lane, Glasgow, G1 3NU

The stylish City Centre branch of Bar Soba attracts a cosmopolitan mix of shoppers sipping wine, pre-clubbers enjoying unusual cocktails and diners looking for contemporary Asian food. All rub shoulders with ease as the bar area, with subdued lighting…

The Basement Bar and Restaurant

10–12a Broughton Street, Edinburgh, EH1 3RH

Given its neon signage and the staff’s long-standing penchant for Hawaiian shirts, the Basement has never been a byword for subtlety and sophistication, but instead is a slightly ironic slice of Miami teleported into a Scottish cellar. It’s clearly a…

The 78

10–14 Kelvinhaugh Street, Glasgow, G3 8NU

Chintzy armchairs, soft blue velvet chesterfields and rustic wooden dining tables give The 78 a homey, inclusive air that spans all generations, no mean feat given the area in which it sits. Dogs, families, and solitary drinkers reading the paper are as…

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Tusk

18 Moss Side Road, Glasgow, G41 3TN

One can't help being overwhelmed when entering Tusk; the vast, high-ceilinged former filmhouse carries off a contemporary Asian-inspired design with a luxurious flourish. At centre stage sits a giant golden Buddha, and the faint smell of incense drifts…

The Ben Nevis

1147 Argyle Street, Glasgow, G3 8TB

It could be the glowing fire or the island malt but ten minutes here and you feel the warm glow it usually takes a ramble across the glen to earn. Somewhat like being in the front room of a long lost relative, there’s much to enjoy from the extensive…

The Brass Monkey

14 Drummond Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9TU

There are plenty of things a pub will put on to help attract the punters: quiz nights, TV sport, DJs, knitting circles. Only the Brass Monkey, tucked along Drummond Street, does films. Which gives it a bit of a cult following, particularly among…

The Caley Sample Room

42–58 Angle Park Terrace, Edinburgh, EH11 2JR

This building used to house nearby Caledonian Brewery’s beer tasting warehouse, but now the world’s IPAs, porters, pale ales and pilsners fill the tankards, including 50 craft beers and eight Scottish casks. The saloon splits equally into a bar and…

The Cloisters

26 Brougham Street, Edinburgh, EH3 9JH

Beer is now the only religion left in Cloisters: a dark sanctum of guest cask ales, and a shrine to craft beer bottles from Alloa to Australia. And lo, all else was sacrificed to the holy trinity of malt, yeast and hops. Once the token, no-nonsense pies…

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Distill

1102–1106 Argyle Street, Glasgow, G3 8TD

Until recently called the Ivy, Distill's new name hasn't changed it from being a haunt for the hip, with a young cool crowd attracted to a fashionable part of the city. The range of rums is the widest in Scotland and the house rum is the excellent…

Driftwood

2–4 St Georges Road, Glasgow, G3 6UJ

Edinburgh Folk Club

Cabaret Bar, 60 The Pleasance, Edinburgh, EH8 9TJ

GHQ

4 Picardy Place, Edinburgh, EH1 3JT

King Tut's Wah Wah Hut

272a St Vincent Street, Glasgow, G2 5RL

Everyone in Glasgow and beyond knows the live venue regularly voted one the of the UK’s best. Less well known is that Tut’s goes beyond simply having a bar for the nightly gigs. Food is surprisingly good and makes it a good option for a bar meal in…