Lismore.

Lismore

The urinals are dedicated by name to the Duke of Sutherland and the other men who ran the Highland Clearances, which tells you most of what you need to know about who drinks in this Partick corner pub and why.

Why go

CAMRA's Glasgow branch lists the room as an outstanding restoration: a tenement corner bar rebuilt with a Scottish baronial interior of dark wood panelling and bare stonework, Art Deco lamps, a stone fireplace, and six stained-glass windows showing beer-related scenes, with a second room carrying a spirit barrel gantry and the coopers' trade worked into the front window panels (CAMRA). The drink holds up its end. The same branch record, updated in February 2026, says the pub runs two changing beers and no regular beer, with breweries rarely seen in the Glasgow area turning up on the front bar and Cromarty among the names that recur. The whisky is the deeper half: 300-plus malts and counting, with a Malt of the Month that makes the gantry worth working through (Scottish Whisky Bars). Folk sessions run Sunday, Monday and Tuesday evenings, and Thursday is an open mic.

Order this / avoid

• Order: the Malt of the Month first, then whichever cask is on, since it will not be there next week.
• Avoid: the main bar on a session afternoon if you want to sit down, and any expectation of a kitchen.

What locals & experts say

• CAMRA, Glasgow & West of Scotland branch, February 2026: There is a strong Highland connection in this split-level pub whose decor gives it an old fashioned feel. The pub name is spelt in Gaelic by the side entrance, while stained-glass windows by local artists portray scenes from the infamous clearances, with the urinals dedicated to the Duke of Sutherland and other perpetrators. The cask ales can be found in the front bar and beers rarely seen in the Glasgow area are often available.1
• GlasgowWorld, June 2025, putting it first among ten West End Good Beer Guide pubs and quoting the same branch text.2
• Scottish Whisky Bars, on the back bar: A previous winner of the Wee DRAM Whisky Bar of the Year trophy, The Lismore has an excellent range of malts (300-plus and counting), and also does a very reasonable Malt of the Month.3
• A pub blogger's first-hand visit, July 2025, cited as community signal rather than expertise, and carrying the only published reservation about the drink: The music is sensational, the second Irish beer in a row a bit less so, but it matters not a jot. He also found no space in the main bar on a Tuesday trad afternoon.4

Jeff's take (his words)

• Note: "One of my favorites and often top rated pubs. Great whisky selection. Hef a hauf and hauf."

Good to know

• Where: 206 Dumbarton Road at Partick, a few minutes from the subway.
• Timing: folk sessions Sunday, Monday and Tuesday evenings, open mic on Thursday. The main bar fills on session afternoons.
• Booking: walk-in. There is a quieter lounge and an outdoor suntrap if the front bar is full.
• Beer: two changing cask lines and no regular beer, so ask what is on.
• A common mix-up: the nine-handpump description that search results attach to this pub belongs to the Three Judges at 141 Dumbarton Road, a different bar on the same street.
• Channels: no website. CAMRA records the pub as running on Facebook.
• Hygiene: there is no current rating. The live registration for the premises, FHRSID 1419118, has been listed as Awaiting Inspection since 20 October 2021; an older registration for the same address holds a Pass dated 10 November 2010. For a bar with no kitchen that absence is unremarkable, and it is stated rather than left out.5

Verdict

should-visit — A Partick corner pub with a Scottish baronial interior, six stained-glass windows, Art Deco lamps, and urinals dedicated by name to the men who ran the Highland Clearances so that regulars descended from the cleared can respond appropriately. CAMRA lists it as an outstanding restoration and in the Good Beer Guide, and the same branch record says it runs two changing beers and no regular beer at all, with brewery names rarely seen in Glasgow turning up on the front bar. Behind that sits a gantry of 300-plus malts and a Malt of the Month that makes the range affordable to explore. Folk sessions run Sunday, Monday and Tuesday evenings with an open mic on Thursday, and a pub blogger who walked in on a Tuesday afternoon in July 2025 found it heaving and the music sensational. This is the answer to the Laurieston problem: the same class of heritage room, with a list that moves and a back bar with real depth, which is what makes it a send rather than a stop.