The Doublet

The Doublet prides itself on being a rock of friendly tradition in the West End’s ever-shifting pub scene. It’s one of the last of a dying breed – the traditional West End boozer.

Describing itself as a ‘pub for conversation,’ it’s been run by the Don family since 1961, and has a faithful clientele of all ages from students to hipsters to silver-haired gents. Generally speaking, you’ll find most of the former in the upstairs lounge and the latter downstairs in the main bar – but as the night winds on, the two crowds tend to merge, with interesting results.

The lounge bar is especially recommended, with its solid jukebox and charmingly cheesy décor. Accessible both via the main door and through an unsignposted side entrance down South Woodside Road towards Kelvinbridge Underground – adding to that hidden-away feel – it’s packed at weekends. Since The Stand Comedy Club is situated just across the road, you’ll often spot comedians propping up the bar.

Real ales and malt whiskies are a specialty at The Doublet, but then so too are continental beers and lagers. They do Budvar on draught, as well as Andalucian lager Cruzcampo – or ‘mad fella’ as it’s affectionately known by staff (owing to the beer mug-toting chap on the logo). The pints are all pretty reasonably priced, although you can expect to pay a fair extra whack for the rarer ones. There are a smattering of tables and chairs on the street outside for alfresco drinking, but they’re generally hogged by the typically friendly but somewhat ingrained older clientele.