The Sparkle Horse
The pub takes its name from Mark Linkous's band Sparklehorse and its owners include members of Bis, which tells you more about the jukebox than any beer list would (Time Out, Malcolm Jack).
Why go
It opened in late 2012 in the old Dowanhill bar behind Kelvinhall subway, and The Skinny describes the conversion as a lick of black paint,
with low lighting and comfy booths
(The Skinny). Glasgowist's Paul Trainer put the case for the place in January 2024: A good local is difficult to engineer. It has to form over the years, building up in overlapping layers that add character
(Glasgowist). The programming is the layer that matters, a Monday quiz Time Out called a local institution,
plus band sets, book groups and a monthly baby disco. The drinks are a WEST-led tap range with a short list of world bottles, which is a modest offer for a room this well liked (The Skinny).
Order this / avoid
- Order: a pint of St Mungo, the WEST lager Trainer drinks there (Glasgowist), or work through the world bottles. There are 14 wines by Trainer's count. Monday, take the quiz seriously.
- Avoid: planning to eat. The pub's own site states
WE NO LONGER SERVE FOOD,
so the cajun chicken burger and the GBP 5 weekday deals that Time Out wrote up in 2014 are history4.
What locals & experts say
- Glasgowist (Paul Trainer, January 2024):
a cool wee hangout,
and on what makes it work,A good local is difficult to engineer. It has to form over the years, building up in overlapping layers that add character.
1 - Time Out Glasgow (Malcolm Jack, 2014, four stars):
a family-friendly, community-spirited hangout with music at its heart,
witha left-field jukebox
and a Monday quiz thathas become a local institution.
3 - The Skinny: the room is
low lighting and comfy booths,
pouring WEST brewery beers on tap with a small range of world bottled beers.2 - Local rec: Jeff's own save, and his verdict runs against the drinks while agreeing on the room.
Good to know
- Timing: open daily noon to midnight. Quiz on Monday.
- Booking: walk-in. Outdoor seating in summer, per Glasgowist.
- Kitchen: closed. The site says so plainly, and the FSA hygiene record has not been refreshed since a Pass on 12 February 2020 (FHRSID 534356).5
- Where: 16 Dowanhill Street, two minutes from Kelvinhall subway on the Partick side.
Craft signals (drinks: a short fixed list)
Two signals agree, and one of them is Jeff. The tap list is short and WEST-led, with no rotation, guest programme or takeover record in any source, and the venue's own site now carries nothing but an address, hours and a notice that it has stopped serving food4. Jeff has drunk there and calls them mediocre hipster drinks. That is a static list in a room people go to for the room.
Jeff's take (his words)
- The verdict: "Hipster Partick pub. Nice atmosphere but mediocre hipster drinks."
Verdict
could-visit — A neighborhood bar behind Kelvinhall subway, opened in 2012 in the old Dowanhill, named for Mark Linkous's band and part-owned by members of Bis, which is why the jukebox and the music programming are better than the beer list. Paul Trainer's line about a local forming in overlapping layers is the fair verdict: the room and the Monday quiz are the product. Jeff's own words, nice atmosphere and mediocre drinks, hold up against a short WEST-led tap range, and the kitchen has now closed entirely, so there is no food case to make. Stop for a pint if you are in Partick, and do not cross the city for it.