Drygate Brewing Co

Very beutiful place, interesting decoration
and quite a variety of choices. The food also is very tasty and there is also a decent selection of wines!

Came here for dinner (after visiting the Sunday market a few weeks before).
Seated in the bar area after initial confusion as to whether tables were available. If you are a beer fan then Drygate is heaven as it has an expansive selection.
We opted for the beer sticks as a snack whilst waiting for our main. Nice flavours but underwhelmed with this.
For main I had the Bearface Lager Fish n Chips whilst my wife had the Jerk Ox Cheek. Both dishes are well presented and tasty, the fish n chips dish was a very generous portion.
No dessert on this occasion but the options looked appealing.
Overall it is priced reasonable for good food but service could be improved.

I have been to Drygate quite a few times since it opened and I have to say it has grown on me as I find the staff a lot friendlier than I did initially. There is a great selection of beers on tap, I enjoyed the Axeman Rye IPA which is one of Drygate’s own.
I ordered a cheese board to enjoy with my beer. The oatcakes tasted homemade with a lovely crunch, the apple ale jelly was delicious and there was a nice mix of cheeses my only complaint was that the grapes looked a bit tired.
You get a good view into the brewery and you can even book a tour if you want to learn more about beer.

I do like Drygate quite a bit. I’ll admit that is just enough or of my way where I’m often reluctant to go, but once I do I’m always glad for it.
The bar is divided into three upper and lower sections, with the lower having a bit more of a restaurant vibe and the upper feeling more like a pub. This is to say that they request that you wait to be seated downstairs and are handed a menu.
Both bars are filled with a wide variety of beers: keg, bottle, and cask. I’ve seen more eclectic lists but they always have something interesting. They do have larger whisky, gin, and rum lists than some beer focused places have. It doesn’t mean much to me personally but does make it easier to invite friends of mine who don’t have the taste for beer.
The bottle shop downstairs is small but well stocked. It’s staffed by someone passionate about beer and it makes it easier to help find good suggestions.
My last visit was a brewery tour with CAMRA. While some of the brewing equipment is visible from the main bar, it was much more nice to see it up close. The tour also included very good pasta with meats, bread, and cheese (mostly meat) and samples of beer.
Overall a really good place that stands out. Just a bit far from me to compel me to make it my usual pub.

Woops, I’ve visited Drygate so many times and yet I’ve never written a review (Slap my little Elite wrists!)
On food: I’ve tried a few items from the menu and anything I’ve had has always been tasty and carefully prepared in the kitchen (The Sobresada is always a highlight — make sure you get some if it’s still on the menu!) The last time I ate here I had a steak which was beautifully cooked, so on the whole I’ve always had a great experience with their food.
Their drinks selection is always brilliant; although there is an obvious focus on both Drygate and Williams’ Bros. beers, they’ve also paid attention to their spirits, having sourced as many local gins, vodkas and whiskies as they can. My favourite draught beers from Drygate are Outaspace (a fruity apple ale) and Bearface (I believe this is another ale — it tastes awesome anyway!).
Generally what I love about Drygate is how much they do try to support local businesses and creatives; they host regular markets and also host music and comedy nights with local talent. I know some are sceptical of Drygate because of their links to the bigwigs at Tennent’s but so far what I’ve seen of Drygate has been massively positive.

Wandered in after perusing the Necropolis. Beautiful place, with many many beers to choose
From, both in house and bottles. I had the pulled ox cheek sandwich which was quite wonderful, and the Mac n cheese, which changed my life. Best thing I have ever had!!! Ever!!! Service was great. Really lovely place, both indoor and outdoors!

Since my initial review, I’ve been to Drygate several more times and my opinion has changed a little.
I’ve not eaten again here — and have no intention of doing so again (seriously, it WAS that bad).
However, it’s a convenient meeting point, halfway between Dennistoun and Merchant City, so we end up here fairly regularly.
It’s a great place to go for a beer and catch up with friends. The staff are always friendly and happy to recommend bets and let you try a wee bit become you settle on buying one. It always has a great atmosphere too — although if you don’t have a hipster beard you may feel a little out of place ;)

I was gonna give this 4 stars but after much consideration, I think Drygate will need to work to earn back that extra star.
After my last review, we went here for Brunch Club and the Urban Market (in December, yes I know that was a while ago, shhhhh!) and honestly had one of the most disappointing experiences I’ve ever had. I was ridiculously excited based on my previous visit and had been looking forward to going for about a month. The whole thing was a shambles from the moment we got there and while I do appreciate that we were a large booking, they totally weren’t prepared for us at all. Despite having booked well in advance, it was as if we’d just shown up — first of all they had to go and print more menus because they didn’t have enough. I thought that was a bit weird but hey, things happen and it wasn’t that big a deal. What was a big deal was that it took about an hour for our drinks to come — I didn’t realise that a pot of breakfast tea was so complicated but there you go. Once the drinks eventually came it didn’t feel like it took too long after that for the food to arrive, but bear in mind that was already over an hour and I was ravenous by that point. I ordered Eggs Benedict and it was distinctly meh. It was fine, it was ok, it was neither good nor bad. It also wasn’t the warmest but there was no way I was sending it back in case it took another hour for me to get my meal! Probably the worst Brunch Club we’ve ever had, which genuinely makes me very sad, but there’s no point sugar-​coating it because that’s how bad it was.
BUT — the Urban Market is a wonderful thing! Bring lots of pennies because there are so many fantastic stalls… or if you don’t want to spend your money then don’t bring much on purpose, it can be dangerous if you’re on a budget! There’s always a good variety of things to buy as well, ranging from jewellery and clothes to vintage houseware and delicious foods. It’s a great way to find out about small businesses you may never have heard of otherwise!
Most recently, I popped in for a quick drink with the fab Emma J to discuss an event and sat in the beerhall upstairs. I enjoy the more relaxed vibe of the beerhall as the restaurant can feel a bit too fancy if you’re just wanting a pint of their delicious brews. So I definitely think Drygate is somewhere I would go again for drinks, although it is a wee bit out of the way when there are so many fantastic drinking spots in the city centre. I would be a bit reluctant to go back for food based on my most recent experience, although it was a while ago (as previously mentioned, I am seriously the worst!) and they have changed the menu somewhat since then. They’re also now doing doughnuts with white pepper toffee sauce, which I would be pretty interested to try as it sounds a bit unusual.
There may be another review update in future if I go back for the food, let’s see if Drygate can return to its former lovely 4 stars!

I would thoroughly recommend going here for food my colleague and I went for lunch and both had the special sandwich which was crayfish and chips and neither of us could fault it!
Lovely setting, great food, good value!

What an amazing place chilled and relaxing lunch. Had crayfish with sour dough bread. Was expecting a prepared sandwich but had to make it all yourself which was a nice touch. The food was really nice and they had the right amount of pots filled with crayfish rocket and butter for the sandwich which on mine was sour dough bread my colleague had a ciabatta with hers and we both had a portion of chips which were really nice too.
Music was a bit loud but probably due to the place being quiet.
All together a nice place and would definitely return.

A very rustic place, for the quality beer drinkers the place is to die for.
So for my partner and brother in laws it was a great experience. For us girls who prefer spirits it was on the high side of price.
However regardless the atmosphere was pleasant and the outside beer garden is well sized.
I haven’t had good yet however it looked good so I will be going back, will reserve the remaining stars for the food tasting.

I have mixed feelings about Drygate.
I wanted to see what their Sunday Urban Market was all about, and was also keen to try some fancy beer. So off I trotted.
First of all, the trot. Unless you live locally, you’re probably going to get a train to High St and walk. And while it’s only a short walk, it’s pretty desolate. It’s past where the Great Eastern Hotel once was and I felt a bit vulnerable on my own tbh. To all the tourists out there, the Great Eastern was not actually a hotel. I know the area has probably been all regenerated and that, but on my own, i just didn’t feel mega comfortable. Probably not helped by the first thing I saw on crossing the road from the station which was a young guy in one of those freaky skeleton half mask things, jigging about like his feet were on fire/​he wanted to kill someone.
Once there, I made my way upstairs to the Urban Market. To get to it, you have to walk across a beer hall. So far so good you might think. But the day I was there, there was football or some sort of sport on a big screen, and there were rows of guys sitting drinking and shouting at the screen. They didn’t seem unpleasant or anything, probably just guys enjoying the sport, but I found it a wee bit intimidating. For a market that’s probably more likely to appeal to women or families, to walk through that bar with the whole manly aggression vibe is just a wee bit off putting.
After sloping about the Urban Market for a while (which is great btw, full of interesting goods), I steeled myself to go to the bar for a beer. I really didn’t want to go to THAT bar though. So I asked if there was another bar and had a bit of a strange and overly protracted conversation, the outcome of which was that, while the restaurant was downstairs, there was also another bar downstairs where I could drink a beer.
Having made my way downstairs, the chap I had just spoken to upstairs appeared at the bar downstairs. I was now starting to feel like I was in some sort of 2015 Hipster version of Mr Ben. Nevertheless I carried on with my ‘I’m here now so I’m damn well getting a beer’ mission and got a very fine beer. Mr Ben was lovely actually and recommended a beautiful wheat beer — Weihenstaphener — full of toffee and banana flavours. He totally tailored the beer to my requirements! It cost me £7 but it was probably worth it. If I was out for the night I would only need two of them and I’d have to be rolled home. I’d have that beer again in a heartbeat.
Downstairs I was a bit more comfortable. Particularly once I’d had a few gulps of my exceptionally strong beer. I sat near the glass window — you can see the brewery through it, which, although you’re just staring at a bunch of beer vats, is still interesting. Plus there was a tour on. I didn’t know they did tours! I’d go back for a tour.
Not sure I would go back otherwise though. I was maybe just unsettled by a few off putting things before I sat down with a beer but I’m not in a hurry to go back.

Again, I must say that this is my favourite restaurant bar in glasgow! It’s beautiful, with amazing staff members and equally amazing food!
Brought my partners dad here for dinner and to try the tapas style food. He too was in love with Drygate! He absolutely loved the beer as well. My partner tried one that tasted like coffee. Strange but nice! I of course has my fav apple ale!
For dinner, we ordered that burgers, scallop, risotto, stuffed guinea fowl and a side of chips. Everything was wonderful! The scallops were my absolutely favourite!
We also shared their doughnuts for dessert. Filled us to the brim with satisfaction :)

This area is very dear to me and the smell of Tennents just reminds me of my Great Gran. Errr, no not in that way, she was teetotal and smelled of flowers, she just happened to live in the high rise flats opposite.
When I heard they were opening a bar here I was very curious. My awesome co-​Yelper in mime, Angela B, and I decided to grace our presence there to try their wares. I was impressed with their menu, which has changed a few times now and we ate within The Vintage restaurant. I’ve yet to try the upstairs menu in the more Bavarian style layout.
I like the Vintage, I wouldn’t call it exactly vintage and you can see into the brewing area for their new range of Drygate beers. Now I’m not a brewer, which you’ve probably guessed and I’m neither a beer drinker but I do like a cheeky fruit beer. When I heard there was one called Outaspace Apple Ale I just had to have a wee snifter. Now the best bit was you have four different sizes to choose from, a pint, schooner, half or a third. I opted for the third, which was perfect size for me. Outaspace was OK but I couldn’t go a lot of it.
Drygate also has an upstairs as I previously mentioned which also has a beer garden and a venue space. The beer garden was cracking last year especially when we had a hot summer. It did tend to get very busy though.
It’s only a hop, skip and jump to get there. You can walk from town, catch a bus or the mode I always choose is the train to the High Street. It’s then only an approx 7 minutes walk.
There’s also more events, gigs, fairs and markets popping up all the time, making it a great new venue space.
I would advise if you intend on going on a Friday or Saturday night to The Vintage restaurant BOOK! I was very lucky the last time as I went in fairly early to get a seat but we had to move straight after as all the tables were booked.
If you haven’t been definitely go, oh and hear they also do a good brunch. Next time Drygate, next time!

A wee update for Drygate after two recent visits — one was really good and the other was disappointing, so I’ve landed at 4 as an updated rating.
I was at Drygate for the Scottish Coffee Festival and found the staff working in the beer hall area to be excellent — really helpful and friendly, and took good care of us all day, making sure we had space to eat and topping up our sippy cups without any fuss. In the evening we’d packed up and decided to stay on for dinner. I asked the waitress what she thought of the mac cheese, and while she hadn’t tried it she did tell me that it had a great reputation. She was right — it was perfectly cheesy and luscious, and I was really impressed by it. Apparently each batch is made up fresh which I’d definitely believe after eating it.
We also visited the bottle shop and had brilliant service from the guy working there — he recommended the Limoncello IPA which is now up there in my favourite beers ever (and at over 9% it’s a lot of fun, too). He made sure our beers were packed into carrier bags perfectly and even double-​bagged them so I didn’t have to worry about losing all my beloved Apple Ales over the carpark.
I visited for Unilocal Brunch Club the following weekend where we had a booking for 20. I’d been told on the phone that we’d be sat at one table in front of the bar however they’d placed us over two tables up the back near the bottle shop. This meant that there were constantly people pushing past our table to get to the elevator/​bottle shop which I found annoying. Menus weren’t ready (and in fact were delayed by them needing to print more!) and it took a really long time to get our order taken for drinks and food. When we did get our order taken, they didn’t take the order of the second table so I had to ask the waitress to come back. My food (eggs benedict) was fine but it would have needed to be exceptional to make up for the issues with the speed of service. I’d have been more understanding but for the fact we’d made a booking to warn them of such a large group.
Service in the bottle shop on this day was pretty grouchy (it was a different guy) and when I asked for a second bag around my beers he grumbled about the 5p bag charge — hey, I wasn’t expecting the bag for free!
All up, I really want to love Drygate and see it back at 5 stars. Hopefully next time.

I could’ve been a really petty, bitter person & knocked a star off simply due to the fact this place WASN’T HERE WHEN I LIVED ACROSS THE ROAD! Goddamn! So gutted but I guess I have saved myself a lot in ££ and damaged liver cells, so swings & roundabouts…
I love this place. One of my new favourite pubs. I like the vastness of the place ~ they have 2 areas (upstairs & downstairs) for drinking/​eating and also in the warmer months an outside area too. I’ve only been in the downstairs area and both times we’ve actually had seats in the Vintage restaurant part which is really nice. On my first visit back when this place opened we sat right beside a window, sun streaming in and it was divine. My second visit a few weeks ago we were seated opposite their wood burning fire and the smell was great! Mmm.fire.
Why do I love this place so much? First reason: The beer. The choice is really good and their own brews are REALLY good; I like all of them but if I had to pick a favourite I’d probably go for the Gladeye IPA. Also worth a mention is their Outaspace Apple Ale which keeps even non-​beer drinkers happy. On my last visit they had a special Christmas brew of this and it was very yummy if maybe a tad on the sweet side. Not one to sit & drink all night but I had a half pint as a ‘side’ to other beers I was trying & it was most agreeable. They also offer a stupid amount of bottled beers — the website states 200! Woah. Really?! As well as beer they also serve the usual other alcoholic beverages & they actually have some pretty cool spirits ~ Eliza F had a white chocolate liqueur last visit & it was most scumptious.
Second reason: Drygate offers you 4 options when buying a beer ~ Pint, Schooner, Half or Third. I have to admit it’s the first time I have ever seen/​heard of a Schooner even being offered as a choice in a Scottish pub. The first time I heard the word was when an Australian friend of mine always used to go on about a ‘schooner (or pot) of beer’ which always made me laugh as I thought it was a cool name. Having these other options when having a drink means you can try a few beers at once without feeling like a pure jakey. Both times I have visited I have gone up & bought 2 different beers at once in either a half or third size so as to try more. This is great for folk like myself who like variety & to try new things without the fear of ‘Ooft. I bought a pint of this & it’s pretty stinking…’ which I have done on more than one occasion.
Third reason: The prices. I find for a pub that is pretty stylish & so near to town the prices are really reasonable. The Gladeye IPA is £4.10 a pint, the Bearface lager £3.90 and most guest beers are around the £3.50 a pint mark. Pretty good for the quality of the beer. Most schooners are about £2.60.
Fourth Reason: The atmosphere & surroundings. Downstairs there is a huge glass viewing window that looks into the brewery. This is great for watching the brewers & staff going about their brewing business and it really makes this bar stand out. I also like the artwork featured in & around the place. Another bonus is this place is near enough to town to not be completely out the way/​hard to get to (High Street train station is a 5 minute walk), yet still a wee bit off the beaten track ~ which makes the average drinker in here someone who has specifically intended on coming here, and therefore (I feel) the bam factor is pretty low, I’d say a 1 on the Bam Scale.
As well as those 4 main reasons I dig Drygate I must add that the staff are always lovely & helpful (if you wanna try any beers they let you), the food is pretty damn fine (if maybe a tad pricey for what you get…) and they have a wee beer shop inside as well! Be warned though as this can make for some silly over-​spending on countless bottles of beer if you visit here AFTER you have been sat drinking the booze all day… oops. They also put on craft fairs & comedy here and I’m sure soon (if they don’t already?) they will put on bands/​music too as they certainly have enough space to.
If you have or are a designated driver they have their own car park here which is a nice idea considering the surrounding area isn’t always brilliant for parking.
If you haven’t been and you like the booze they call beer then please, GO TO DRYGATE, GO NOW! BEEEEEEEEEEEERRR!

I feel full of disappointment writing this review — and I think it’s the fact that Drygate didn’t meet my expectations at all which really makes it a two star for me.
I was really looking forward to coming along to Brunch Club #10 — and as always it was lovely to see such a great bunch of friendly Unilocalers on a slightly dreich Glasgow Sunday afternoon. The Drygate itself it a really cool looking venue — industrial-​looking but remaining homely and reasonably enough sized that you don’t feel cramped. So far so good.
With there being so many of us there at the same time (numbers pre-​booked) we were split over 2 tables — with us being on the smaller table. The first — small — let down for me was that they weren’t able to get us menu’s at the second table — apparently they had to print more off? (they knew we were coming!) but with that slight grumble aside we were happy to sit with our drinks and wait for our menu’s.
After we did get a menu — we had to ask a second waitress — it then took another half an hour or so for them to actually come to take our order — again, only a small grumble which I’d normally bypass.
I went for the apple, ale and leek soup with a cheese & ham sandwich, with a side order of chips. The chips were triple cooked and arrived first, with the soup & sandwich coming quite some time after this — they serve food as it is made apparently, meaning meals will come out at different times — yet mine was last out of all the other cooked dishes. Still, no big issue.
My real problem with Drygate was the food — the triple cooked chips were greasy (triple fried, perhaps?), the soup was nice but just a bit rich for my taste and the sandwich was bread heavy, with no sauce or anything to moisten it at all (I ended up adding mayonnaise to it myself which did help).
However, I never got to eat most of my meal — I found a hair in my chips, halfway through and it put me off. In Drygate’s defence I was offered something else, the waitress was very lovely when I explained and it was removed from the bill.
Honestly, I’m not sure I’d go back for food. Without even having to send my food back I was underwhelmed — although looking at Briony’s photo of the brunch eggs I totally think I went for the wrong thing to eat.
They did have an amazing selection of beers though, so for a drink I’m sure I’ll be back.

I was quite excited to see this new adventurous ‘craft’ brewery I left my hotel on Elmbank St immediately and walked all the way down preferring that to navigating public transport in an unfamiliar city and saving my pocket money for more beer.
I wasn’t disappointed. The location may be a bit far from the main drinking hub in Glasgow but you couldn’t really beat the surrounds, A new build right next door to and overlooking Caledonian complex and right next door to the famous necropolis.
The brewery may of a decent size in itself but added with the restaurant and bar the building is satisfyingly vast.
I didn’t end up eating here on this occasion but the food coming from the restaurant looked and smelled amazing.
There is a bottle shop located within as well so if you enjoy their beer or are looking for something to take away you are fully catered for.
Outside on the second floor is an extremely large decking area which also provides a roof for the more intimate outdoor seatign below. From here you can drink your beer shilt looking down at the Caledonian Brewery in the distance and enjoy the evening air while you enjoy your beer.
They don’t yet have a big line of brews but what they do have is solid. Sadly they seem focussed solely on keg and bottled beer, (I could be wrong about this though) which is a tad disappointing as you can get such a large variety and style of beer from cask that it should not be overlooked by any brewery claiming to be forward thinking and experimental.
They do have cask lines on the bar though which is to be admired at the very least. I look forward to some of their beers making it down this way so I try try a few more.

I have very high hopes for Drygate.
I visited in the week that it opened and was more than pleasantly surprised. It’s location is a bit out of the way, so clearly a ‘destination place’, there’s isn’t much around it to walk to, but it’s only 10 minutes walk from Merchant City, so not overly problematic.
Downstairs at ground level is the restaurant. It was unsurprisingly very busy and smiling waitresses greet you as you wander in. On this occasion I didn’t try the food, but I’ve heard some good things so I will be back to sample the menu, which hopefully lives up to it’s pricetag.
I headed straight for the upstairs bar. The deck outside the top bar feels like an unfinished treehouse — this is by no means a grand staircase, hopefully not a permanent feature because it gives the place a bit of an unfinished and shabby feel to it. But inside it feels spacious and vibrant and I love the murals painted on the walls.
With a strong selection of beers and ales, I was quite happy to sample a few tasters before selecting the Gladeye IPA. As well as their own brews there’s also a selection of guest beers, so you’re always likely to find what you like — from a fizzy lager to a dark stout — and an apple ale thrown in for good measure.
But talking of measures… the beer measures were inconsistent depending on who served you, so hopefully this was just a teething problem and something they’ve now resolved — I’ll update after my next visit.
On the whole a good first visit, but still has a few things to iron out, enough that I can’t give them 5/​5*. Give it a try, it’s worth the detour from town, I’ll defo be back.

Popped in seeing as so many Unilocalers — ALL OF THEM??? — had visited and I’d heard that it would be my kinda place. I may have picked a bad/​good day to visit as the sunshine had ensured that it was absolutely packed solid — there were people counting the punters outside on the beer garden for overcrowding!
The good part was how well the staff coped. Every single person I spoke to was cheery, happy, and on the ball with their service. Helpful advice on the beers, quick service, attention to detail — just what you want.
The space itself is stunning — I sat inside as I was trying to wrap and write a gift for someone — and it was nice and airy and also importantly, cool. It was a damn hot day out there!
I noticed they marked which beers were vegan on the wall, which is a superb touch for our vegan friends, if they have the energy to climb the stairs (kidding! Don’t eat me!)
A veritable cornucopia of ale, lager, stout and everything in between is available on draft, and there’s a fair few bottles fridged up too. I didn’t have any food, but the menu looked great, I must try the mac and pork burger at some point.
I drank the Gladeye IPA while I was there, and it was very nice, smooth and went down well. Next time, I will experiment with other things as well. It’s very much a place to go with friends, and big groups. It’s a chill out and hang out place above everything, I think.
Having said that, as Billy No Mates on my own, I didn’t feel out of place either, so there you go.
An utterly fantastic addition to the scene. I will be back. Several times.