The Drum & Monkey in Glasgow City

Edit. Apologies to the management and staff at the Drum and Monkey for the previous iteration of this review. Here's my actual review which is well deserved. The pub stands in fine form and looks both inside out to be a top, beautiful establishment. The place was packed with a fantastic atmosphere building late on a Friday afternoon. We managed against the odds to find a table and opened the drinks menu. We were spoiled for choice. We tried a couple of pints of St Mungos and then followed with some IPA. The service was fantastic, the beer was on the same level. I wanted to stay to have a few drams from the menu but time and hunger got the better of us. I hope to return soon and if I review it again, will ensure I have my glasses on first. Many thanks for helping making Glasgow a must-return city for the pair of us.

Love Drum and Monkey. Great atmosphere, food and staff. My husband loves real ale and theres always a great choice at Nicholsons pubs.

We didn't eat there just had a drink

This was a bank now a great pub

Clearly a very popular place, and very welcoming for us and our dog. For example, I asked about the beer and was immediately given a taste, asked my opinion, and then we found another that was better suited. Comfortable chairs, great atmosphere and understandably very popular. 2 large glasses of wine and one pint of beer was about £24 - not cheap!

My go to pub for cask In Glasgow City centre when I'm on my own and en route to the train station. Normally 4 cask on. Staff are friendly and chatty and it's always busy. Toilets are a bit grim.

This is the friendliest pub i have ever been in, from other patrons to the staff it is such a lovely atmosphere. I was surprised to hear it is part of a chain... I must visit more Nicholsons Pubs.

Drum & Monkey is great for anyone looking for a traditional Scottish experience. I was worried the food might be like wetherspoons but the plating and quality of food is leagues ahead. Great service from Jan who saw it was very busy and informed us there's a great little space in the back for me and my partner. He came around, cleaned the tables with charming chat and brought us drinks. Great attention to detail! Will be back again and recommend!

Popped in for a drink on Sunday evening as we heard the band. The food looked so good as it went by we stayed for dinner. The haggis is lovely and fish and chips is huge, good selection of real ales. We will be back.

Fantastic lunch the club sandwich was enough to fill two of us. And a nice bottle of Pino to wash it down. Lovely building and friendly staff.

Went up to Scotland for a short break and really enjoyed a few hours at the Drum and Monkey. Great service and highly recommended

Excellent every visit. nice atmosphere and staff

Dropped in here for a quick drink and stayed for a few. The building is amazing as was the pub. Very good cask selection and some decent whiskies. Service was great and very friendly.

Well we certainly were not disappointed. This pub is a beautiful place from the outside and continues when you venture in. We’d had a busy day around the city and this was or 3rd pub of the session. We’d recently eaten so it was a beer we were after, and we were not let down. Loads of choice, and heaps of quality. As a real ale fan, it’s great to se so much passion for quality beer. Keep up the good work!!!

Went in for a cheeky few pints over our lunch break. The pie and ale selection were mind blowing. Kris serviced us brilliantly. Lovely young man. Hope to see him again...

Brilliant service and well priced. The bar man Kerr was very helpful. Did not get food but it looked great. Great atmosphere and handy location for all transport

Place admittedly is very nice and the interior on initial entry is impressive. Food wasn't bad to be fair but I left and went somewhere else to eat as I was still hungry. Small, very average (overhyped) pie with a spoonful of microwave mash and two slices of reheated rubbery carrot for £17.

1 star for service as it’s not a place where service is given. We booked a table for my partners birthday, was a nice booth. We weren’t sat and found our table ourselves as it had my name on as we had stood and waited for a bit, we did confirm at the bar that it was our table and didn’t just sit ourselves didn’t really know how it worked as I thought it would be table service but when my partner went to the toilet he noticed a sign saying order at bar, which was fine but would have been nice to be told. I had the mac and cheese which was brilliant cannot Recommend enough absolutely lovely. My partner had the balmoral chicken which was meant to be with a whiskey sauce … it was definitely not whiskey sauce it tasted like carrot soup we did mention this to the staff who assured us it was definitely whiskey sauce (it wasn’t whiskey sauce) we eat out quite regularly so have had many whiskey sauces and I mean who doesn’t know what whiskey sauce tastes like? We were going to stay for a while have some dessert and some drinks but decided to just head elsewhere.have attached a photo of said “whiskey sauce”

Loved this place so much! Good drinks and lovely staff all round. Bryan was great. I really enjoyed the live music and the atmosphere, defo recommend!!

Nice pub with a really delicious salmon and shrimp pie.

Hotel recomended coming here and it was just perfect for my solo work dinner. Lovely atmosphere, sophisticated customers and delightful staff. I had the broth to start followed by a beef rib pie (amazing) and a sticky toffee pudding to see me ready for bed. Plus a few great pints!

Wonderful pub, great friendly staff!

It's the Drum, enough said really

The best pub we were in on our tour if the united kingdom. Friendly staff, great beers and live music. They even let well behaved dogs in! We loved it.

This pub used to be so full of character, and characters. Some 10 years after our last visit, so a long time admittedly the pub is not the same. On entry the old, cool bar is still there. The decor is fantastic. But right from the off we are confronted with, 'your child is only allowed in if you are all eating' which we were. To back this up, our party of 3 ordered 5 drinks, and the bar man asked if it was a party of 4, he then thought I didn't see him check. Really this pub hates future punters or believes in strict seat control. But if this is the case, sign post it outside as some could be embarrassed. We ordered the Nelson sandwich, the Fish Finger Sandwich and the Haggis, Neeps and Tatties. Service was swift enough, but the food was poor value, tastless and not worth the money. As a Glasgow citizen, now displaced, I had recommended this place for years. Never again. If you visit Glasgow and want some culture, respect and decent pun food, look elsewhere.

A great pub where you can sip excellent draft beer and stay in an environment typical of the Scottish climate. Haggis served on mash. You can only eat at the tables. Friendly staff.

Visited with a friend for dinner. We had a reservation and I'd recommend booking a table in advance as it was busy. There aren't many tables available in the dining area. The food was amazing. I had a beef brisket burger and my friend had a pie. We both had sticky toffee pudding for dessert. The only thing I didn't fully enjoy was the atmosphere. It was way too busy for my liking as I'm not a pub goer. However, I'm happy to have visited as it was a recommendation and the food was top notch.

Good selection of beer and ale on olde trad bar surroundings. Good meeting place for a day/ night out in Glasgow

Great old building so full of atmosphere

Neck oil on tap. 6 hand pulls. What more could you want. Great atmosphere and perfect place to have a cheeky pint after work.

Popped in for a drink on the way home. Bar service available & due to the time of day, it wasn't busy

This was my first visit to the Drum and Monkey and I liked it. It's ideally located. I have allergies and the staff took time to ensure that my order did not contain any of the allergens I had listed. Service was good, staff were friendly. Food was tasty and good value for money. I would recommend the Drum and Monkey for lunch, good choice on the menus.

Great pub with friendly staff. We had a really nice time here.

Busy city centre pub with range of seating and standing space. Often has live bands for relaxed atmosphere. Usually has the rugby on as well.

Had a great meal there today, Cullen Skink followed by a Steak and Ale pie, creamy mash with griddles carrot strips. Really good fare and the portions were more than adequate. Dog friendly too!

Very lively on a weeknight. Vibe was very warm and welcoming. Luckily we found a table in the main room. Had some pints and pub food (soup and fish pie) - all very delicious.

Excellent bar and Ned Free no doubt due to the cost of alcohol!!

Tahnee was so incredibly sweet, she really made our dinner/drinks experience special. Such a fun spot!

Had a great few hours in here, staff were amazingly friendly and a good atmosphere

A traditional style pub in the heart of Glasgow. It's quite a large ground floor Inn with a large bar and fireplace at its heart.

Lovely pub...Nice atmosphere with candles on each table...beer good...prices not bad...service a little mechanical, but all in all, a nice cosy place for a pint or two...

Just called in for a quick beer on a mini pub crawl. Nicely kept pint of Jarl

The atmosphere was great, staff friendly and great service from Cameron on Sunday - remembers your drinks order and has a good laugh with you!

Come in, grab a table, and send someone to order at the bar! This pub with high ceilings, columns & moldings, wooden furniture, warm as can be, offers a large section of alcoholic drinks, soft drinks, and hot drinks. To have a bite to eat, a menu of appetizing burgers, a few sides to share, and a lovely selection of desserts. I force you to taste Cranachan! 💯

Shut the pub early with no warning. We were told to go without finishing our drinks. Very rude. I believe his name was Scott. Not sure but extremely rude. Shame as it is a nice place but the staff wanted to have an early night regardless of their customers .

Had it not been for the excellent way *Danny* dealt with the problem, this establishments review would be far more cutting. On arriving, at lunch time during the working week, the greeting was friendly and bar staff / front of house helpful and informative. My first impression were that this was going to be a great find and potentially a place to come to for sanctuary between meetings during the working week - with a potential for weekend visits owing to its location and proximity to the train stations. Danny was on hand to offer insight into time that meals would be able to be prepared in, helping to aid the information process allowing easier decision making. The Chicken burger was settled on, as it has all the ingredients I wanted such as avocado, cheese and bacon. Settling down in my seat, my drink was brought over and nothing seemed too much trouble. Sadly this was the best part of the experience as the staff who are client facing were to be catastrophically let down by the kitchen. On arriving the Chicken Burger looked okay, chips were better than McDonalds (which is great in my book) so I was looking forward to the burger. It took one bite for the whole illusion and mirage, as well as aspirations and hopes, for the establishment to come crashing down! The chicken was like something of an apocalypse, dry and shrunken as well as somehow encased in something (which must have formally been representing bread crumbs). On opening the burger to see what I had put in my mouth, the devastation became clear. The fresh lettuce and tomato had clear been camouflage, to surround what had been described as chicken on the menu, prior to it evidently being frozen and then cremated (possibly repeatedly due to the shrinkage). What remained encrusted in the charred remains of the breadcrumbs was white meat that reminded me what I felt like as a man in ice cold water. Danny was called over and asked his opinion on the decidedly poor offering described as a burger on the menu - seeing the picked apart contents, options of something else or a refund were offered. Profusely apologetic and sympathetic to what was on the plate, Danny deserves commendation in the way he handled such a terrible representation of food from the kitchen.

Popped in on Saturday quickly before dinner in Sartis. My husbands a big ale fan and Nicholsons is a great pint! Called back on Sunday for dinner. A great steak pie for him and a chicken burger for me. Really tasty. There was session music on. Friendly staff. Great atmosphere. Totally recommend.

A top proper pub with nice beer and drams

A truly impressive pub - as you would expect from the Nicholson’s chain with 6 cask ales on sale and offering 20% discount on these ales for members of CAMRA.

Having been before, we were deeply disappointed at the length of time we had to wait to get our order.

Very nice atmosphere. Knowledgeable, attentive and friendly staff. Good range of quality beers. Unfortunately, the gents toilet was not very nice - unpleasant odour and poor facilities.

Brilliant pub. Really good location and a great atmosphere. Class food, class booze and fantastic, helpful staff. Can't ask for better!

We booked our work Christmas night out here a few weeks ago and were very impressed. Our waitress was very speedy, professional and friendly. All 13 of the party were very impressed with the food too. Will definitely be back for our Christmas do next year!

Warm inviting atmosphere. Order on the app and food comes out quickly. All delicious. Also great location!

A chilled atmosphere while eating a good scran n having a few pints, you cant go wrong woth the Drum. Please, never change! x

Went in for a few drinks. Lovely service and great atmosphere!

My husband and I always visit the Drum & Monkey when we are in the city centre. It has a brilliant atmosphere & the staff are always friendly. We normally go for drinks but have been for food too & it’s always really nice. We...

great food, super service by Danny, will definitely be back next time i’m in glasgow !

Traditional pub in a beautiful building. Decent choice of beers on tap and whilst we didn't eat, the menu looks varied too. Handy location for the train stations.

Amazing food and great service! Staff were friendly and approachable. Everything was perfect, would come back with my family again!

Lovely food and drinks, staff were great and it's a beautiful pub inside. Will be back 😁

Lovely centra pub, great atmosphere, lovely food, really helpful staff

The best night out we have ever had. The best pint, the best wine, the best gin, the best whisky, the best food. Simply the best

Always come in when visiting glasgow. It’s always a friendly welcome and quick service. Lovely food and good drinks!

I've been to The Drum and Monkey a few times for drinks and the staff have always been great. Atmosphere spot on.

I took my dad in for a couple of pints where he was over from Australia, he loved the authentic scottish feel of the bar and the great choice of beers

Lovely food service by staff was amazing Couldn't fault the place I would highly recommend for people to go here

Nice pub with nice staff and nice food. It's very nice. Nice ales, nice gins and nice whiskies. Nice pies, nice fish and chips and nice desserts.

I was in Glasgow briefly before Christmas and had to pop into my favourite post and pre train travel watering hole. The beer, food and whiskey selection were as usual first rate and it was good to see some familiar faces still working there. The...

This place really surpasses all expectations, friendly staff and great food, all at an affordable price. Great location too.

Great food and service. Interesting building with lots of pieces of history on the wall.

Excellent. Top notch grub and great bants.

We stopped for a meal as it was central and ended up staying the full night. The staff couldn't do enough for us. Highly recommend.

Good food, nice place, lovely staff, especially cameron 🤌

We were worried about bringing our darling dog Billy but this lovely girl, I think she said she was called Heather? I’m not sure she had red hair ..brought us a water bowl and gave our dog the best pets like he deserves! Great service will be back again especially to have the mashed potato.

I can say with absolute certainty that this is the best Nicholson's pub in Glasgow City Centre. The staff give off an aura of "We work hard. We play hard" I can't speak for how hard they play, but boy do they work hard. Special mention goes out to Kris. I requested a VAT receipt only to see that we spell our names the same way. What followed was such a moment. He gave me my change and said "have a nice day" in a manner that literally oozed warmth. Speaking of warmth. The food was the only thing hotter than the atmosphere. Young go getters gathered drinking pints of their favourite cask ale, while the speakers bellowed out contemporary hits such as Subbuteo - the ultimate song about tabletop football - by Phil Collins.

Great fish and chips, staff were very attentive

Great bar. Staff were excellent. Great night was had by all, highly recommend having a night out/food here. Food was great!!

Lovely city centre pub, stopped in with some mates for a couple pints. Served by a young man called review great service and good pints would recommend this pub to anyone visiting the city centre

Went for Christmas day out with friends. Great traditional pub, good food. Staff were all friendly. Will be back for a pint very soon

This is my family’s favourite place in Glasgow. Consistently good service and tasty food. Although the pub can be very busy the staff are attentive and friendly so there is always a great atmosphere. I highly recon the drum and monkey for a nice meal...

Great Pub. Great atmosphere. Excellent team lunch.

Great place to go in the city centre for food and drink. Highly recommended.

Great central pub. Excellent service even when busy. Would recommend

Good honest boozer. Great food and staff. Only fault I can find is the lack of coat hooks at the bar.

My go to for after work pints, good atmosphere, beer selections and reasonably priced, can't fault it. Close to Central too for getting home.

Great traditional pub with lovely food and great beer and whisky selection

Was in last week with my brother. We're both whisky fans and I heard they had a good price on the Balvenie 25 year old so we decided to treat ourselves. Lovely dram! We stayed for lunch and a few pints. Macaroni cheese was great....

Outstanding pub. Think it used to be a bank and they haven't changed a lot, so still has that traditional feel. Me and the Mrs went in for food and it was the best pub grub I've had in a while. I got the mac...

Fantastic service. Highly recommend for after work drinks and or lunch or dinner. Good grub and staff are class.

Had a great time in the Drum and Monkey. Attentitive staff, decent selection of beers and the food was excellent. A very well run establishment.

Brilliant we traditional pub, authentic and quality pub grub. Right in the city centre, few pub experiences like this left these days. Staff were lovely

Beautiful pub with excellent service, very experienced staff. Close to both Glasgow Central and Queen Street stations, and all buses

Lovely building, great choice of real ales and brilliant staff. I had a steak and ale pie and my wife had a Balmoral chicken. Couldn't fault the food at all, we'll definitely be back!

A beautiful pub, excellent service from very experienced staff. Great selection of beers, real ales, whiskies and gins, as well as all other spirits and wines. The food is very good as well.

It’s got all you want from a pub, lager and grub. I’m in all the time. Love it. I’ll be back!

Staff were lovely … loved they atmosphere and surroundings… looking forward to coming back and trying out the menu

Went with my English in-laws for some Scottish food. They loved it and will be back for more haggsi,neeps and tatties and stovies next time they are in Glasgow.

Thanks for the fab food, service and atmosphere, have been in a few times over Christmas and new year with friends and family’s and remains one of my top central Glasgow stops! Will be returning soon 🤩

Cracking pub, a visit many time and the staff are some of Glasgow finest