The Ben Nevis

A single room with singular decor (think a bar made from reclaimed wood, a Stone Age art installation, sparse tables), the Ben Nevis certainly shows admirable purity of purpose. On tap you might find Deuchars IPA from Edinburgh, Hefeweizen from Glasgow’s own West Brewery, perhaps even Thick Black (a stout from Devon Ales in Clackmannanshire). Count the single malt whiskies shelved ceiling-high behind the bar however & you’ll probably give up after you reach 150 – ‘uisge beatha’ is the order of the day. The place opened around 1999, so it’s now a little scuffed around the edges, but the whisky, bar food, regular folk music sessions, bottled ales & affable, well-informed staff more than compensate. Sitting on a section of Argyle Street west of the M8, it draws a motley crew ranging from young women in paint-splattered overalls to men in suits hunched over iPhones.