Firewater

I would say this is one of the top spots to go for a few drinks in Glasgow. Great beers, Great Food, upbeat friendly atmosphere. What more do you need?
Thumbs up for sure.
Also has Live Music to top off this sweet establishment!

Hideously over-​priced beer, wonky tables and awful DJ. Staff were pleasant and efficient enough, and happy to turn the Saturday night TV viewing to something a tad less depressing than BBC News and Al Jazeera.

This was probably one of my favourite spots to go to when I was a student as they have various different pitchers and mixers for fairly cheap during weekdays. I haven’t been in a while but they have changed the main seating area inside to round black leather sofas and round tables compared to wooden bench style tables and chairs before — which I preferred. I personally think the leather and the black doesn’t really fit the theme of firewater. I always saw it as a sort of hipster student-​y place but now I think it looks a little tacky.
The pitchers during the week — I think it is Sunday-​Thursday are £7 which is reasonable. You normally get around 3 – 4 glasses out of one pitcher. My favourite is probably «muddy water», «sex on the beach» and «old skool». I did try «the modfather» the other day which is jack daniels, amaretto and coca cola — definitely wasn’t for my taste buds. i am not a good drinker at all, so the jack daniels just made it too strong for me and in general just quite sickening I thought.
They do have a small dance floor area, but its quite rare that people are actually on it. I think because Firewater is quite a chilled out place where people just talk, the dance floor doesn’t really fit the whole atmosphere. if you get me. The music is generally quite good, the DJ tends to play quite old school/​indie rock music.
I’d say it is definitely a bar that will appeal more to students, I personally nowadays would probably prefer to go somewhere quieter — I think this is me admitting that I am indeed getting older! It is good if your wanting a cheap night out.

This place is a bit like walking into a dungeon. (I have vast experience of walking into dungeons obviously) When you enter you go down stairs into a dark and grim main area, the staff can rarely even muster up a smile and the atmosphere is a bit like I would imagine it to be if you were waiting to go see Dracula. (And he was hungry)
I often fall into the trap of coming here for a last drink pre a gig in the ABC but really I will need to stop. To add to the above atmosphere issues the bouncers are power hungry and obnoxious. In «bouncer skills class» clearly the only lesson they attended was the «how to be rude» section.
Only come here as a very very last resort.

I was in here last night for a friend’s birthday party and we only stayed for around half an hour.
After getting the usual ID nonsense out of the way we eventually found a space in a corner to stand whilst we got a few drinks in. The jukebox was turned off at 10pm as a DJ came on and played the exact same type of music as the jukebox played.
The place was filled with people on their first night out and many were too hyper. If you were 19 you’d find this place too young.
Although I have to say the pint of Tennent’s I had was really good. And that lager is usually terrible.

I was arranging a staff night out (I work in a student union) anyway we all decided to go with Firewater as it had the best drinks promos online for a Sunday however out of all 9 drinks promos that were advertised online only one of them were actually running which of course was vodka the selected bottles of beer at £2 were actually all £3.40 and the £2.50 white russians were actually £4 these were the two that particularly annoyed us. The only reason we picked Firewater was due to the cheap drinks promos so this really annoyed all the people I was with as there are many other places we could have went. Also I had personally called and booked a few tables for the night out about a week prior luckily it wasn’t busy as the staff on shift had no idea what any of us were talking about when mentioning a booking. They need to quite the false advertising and get more organised.

This bar used to good (if a little to loud for a decent conversation!) but when I was there last Saturday it seemed to have totally changed and not for the better!
The music started off not bad (as me tinned its a tad loud, I think this is due to firewaters pretty poor sound system of two giant speakers above the bar!) but started going down hill and went quite dancy as the night progressed.
This coming from a bar that used to play a good selection of indie and rock music was disappointing to say the least! The bar was also pretty packed with what I can only describe as people I’d expect to see in kushion rather than somewhere like firewater… or at least what firewater used to be!
Think ill be avoiding this place after 9 from now on, it’s not the club alternative it once was.

Amazed at this place. As a fairly sprightly 42 year old to be told you can’t get in because you and the folk you’re with are too ‘mature’ means that I can only review this place in response to its attitude rather than its product. While I’m not sure age discrimination is actually legal in this day and age (see the Equality Act 2010) I don’t think I missed that much judging by other reviews.
Have to stop now, my arthritis is playing up.

Went here post-​Christmas meal on a random Thursday night after many years since my last visit — can’t fault it for busy-​ness levels, which made it slow to get served at the bar the first time though it was fine all times after that. The music was fairly good, if you like being judgemental it was a veritable feast and spirit and mix was freehand poured and phenomenally cheap. Overall it was somewhere to meet the rest of the department when it was too early to go to a club and enjoy some JD but won’t be hurrying back!

All the other 2 star reviews here already say what I have to say. To be avoided unless you’re 19 and obsessed with guitar music and don’t care at all what fizzy pint of tasteless lager you’re drinking. Otherwise steer clear as you’ll find it very dull.

I can safely agree with every single review of Firewater on here. I’ve been in here a couple of times when my drinking accomplices and I needed somewhere to go and had no particular place in mind.
I suppose this isn’t one of the worst places I’ve ever been. It’s very pretentious, from its candlelit tables to its music choice, and I can’t say I’ve ever stayed to experience the club aspect of Firewater.
I do know that they have a «free to hire» function suite, but unfortunately you have to hand them a deposit equalling the amount of guests you’ve said will be attending, e.g. Planning on having 200 guests? Hand over a deposit of £200. 200 people don’t turn up? And I mean 199 people, lose your deposit. Doesn’t make much sense to me.

‘Where should we go?’
‘I dunno. I’m really not bothered.
Here?
Meh. I suppose so. My feet are wet and I want a drink.‘
That, my friends, sums up Firewater quite succinctly, in my humble opinion. It’s neither here nor there, but if you like listening to run of the mill indie music and surrounding yourself by people who resemble the cast members of Hollyoaks who play generic ‘alternative’ teens, you’ll like it here. The problem is that everyone in there seem to think they’re cooler than they are: I can never forgive the barman wearing a Beatles ‘Revolver’ t-​shirt asking his doe-​eyed colleague who was playing on the sound system at that particular moment in time. You guessed it, it was The Beatles. And yes, you guessed it again, said doe-​eyed colleague didn’t know. I harrumphed my way back to my seat like some mad old colonel who had just spotted his niece being necked by an army minion. (An odd comparison, granted, but you get what I mean.) Nor will I ever stop wanting to hurt the punter with the scraggly beard who pulled out a ukulele and tried to ‘woo’ his female companions with a shit self-​penned composition about ‘looking lovely by the candlelight’. They gave him a look of such love that I almost vomited in my lap. Not a good look in public.
So, people aside, what else can one say about Firewater? It smells funny. Seriously, go just to have a sniff, I’m not making it up. It’s like someone’s tried to mask the smell of poo with cheap disinfectant.
I feel this review is a bit too cynical, even by my world-​weary standards, so I’ll try to end with something nice. Erm… if you like playing with candle wax, you can do so here. They have pretty big candles. What else? Drinks here are pretty cheap and they have a decent selection of cocktails. Also, you might find yourself not minding the place if you already show up slightly tipsy: sometimes you don’t mind the Kaiser Chiefs blaring in your ear if you’ve had five whisky and cokes already. Whisky either heightens or numbs the ears, and that’s why it’s my favourite drink.
So there you go. Much like weddings or work, going to Firewater with alcohol already in your system makes it that bit more enjoyable.

Okay, I’m adding a star. And my reasons are probably not justifiable but… GO TO FIREWATER DRUNK. You may be able to tolerate the place. You may actually enjoy yourself. Maybe this extra star is slightly more unjustifiable because I met Barrie and Hamish from my favourite band, Kassidy and am still struggling to fit the pieces together. I do, however, remember a very drunk Barrie singing to me in the street. My night was made. Yes, it’s full of students wanting to get drunk on the cheap. But sometimes, if you can’t beat them you might as well join them.

Don’t get me wrong… the music here is exactly what I want to listen to on a night out… right up my street! But, it is loud, the drink selection is average, the floor is sticky, the bathrooms are pretty poor, the crowd is usually a bizzare mix of indie-​kids and wags, the bar staff are very nonchalant and just too trendy for me.
A couple of drinks before heading somewhere else yes… I don’t think I could spend a whole night here I would either end up telling the wags they are out of place or the ‘indies’ that nobody really wants to hear their opinions on the new arctic monkeys album. And this… could get me in alot of trouble.

45 minutes to get served — 45 minutes!!!
The music is good, the drink selection and prices not bad, though you are paying £6 to get in.
The crowds a little older than some places on Sauciehall St and a good mix of folks dancing away.
However due to the ridiculous waiting time at the bar — not in the queue to the bar, but actually at the, leaning on the, in clear view of the staff bar waiting time, and a mega sleaze who just would not quit I departed this place early doors.
Not worth the £6, I spent more time stood at the bar than I did anything else.
Hop skip and a jump to the ABC, where we were served in a much more acceptable 15 minutes.

I’ve never been a huge fan of Firewater; it’s never my first choice to go, but it seems it’s nearly always the last place I go to at the end of the night.
It has that ‘I don’t know what kind of place I am’ feel to it. There are booths, tables, and comfy sofas; and ironically there’s also a wee square of a dance floor. I think it’s trying to market itself as being ‘Something For Everyone’, but it succeeds in only creating an existential dilemma for itself.
I’ve enjoyed a couple of drinks here with the girls but BEWARE; it’s a bit of a meat market. Despite the fact that we were all taken, we kept getting chatted up by guys. Oh, I know, ‘Woe is me’, but really, we just wanted a place to chat amongst ourselves, not get dragged out on the ‘dancefloor’ by a complete chancer.
Overall the vibe was good; and I’m a huge fan of the toilet attendant who gave me and my friend a lollipop even though we didn’t have any money to tip her with.
I’ll return, I’m sure, at the end of some boozy night with nowhere left to go.

I visited Firewater last Friday night for a few drinks and it reminded me why I don’t come here more often.
The following statement will definitely promote me to old fart status but I’m going to say it anyway; it was so bloody loud! No chance of having a conversation. There were also no seats left so my boyfriend and I had to stand.
I don’t like how Firewater is trying to go for the rock and indie vibe. Seems a bit contrived to me.
It was also very cold.

Firewater is a popular place on the always busy Sauchiehall Street, opposite The Garage. It promises ‘real music’ and ‘hard liquor’.
It’s quite gimmicky, and makes me think of bad food you get in supermarkets that has nothing interesting to say and so brags about having ‘real ingredients!’.
The music is real, that’s a given. The premium jukebox is a treat which you might lose several pound coins in after a few drinks.
It’s nice inside, with a sort of discrete division between pool tables and a nice seated area where you can have a nice conversation with friends during the daytime getting tucked into the food, with good promotions on pizzas and drinks promotions. The menu is a bit baldy though.
It’s somewhere between a pub and a club, I just don’t know which one it most closely resembles.
Being on Sauchiehall Street, there’s a lot of other places nearby, such as Nice n Sleazies that offer, for my money, better music and a better atmosphere.
Worth a look, but it’s an expensive night out in Firewater.

Firewater is a minnow pretending to be a whale, or more precisely a pub pretending to be a nightclub. This is immediately obvious from the strict bouncers on the door, followed by a booth where you must pay to get in, which I think usually costs a fiver. Furthermore there is a dancefloor down the stairs which is only ever used by the odd person that gets hammered and tries, horribly, to dance on their own.
It is unbelievable that you need to pay to get in here, let alone a fiver, which is what you would pay to get into one of the real nightclubs. Simply because the place is essentially a pub, no better than most of the other pubs in the city which don’t require an entry fee.
In saying that, there is an exciting, vibrant atmosphere here on a Friday or Saturday night when it gets pretty busy. The drinks are a little pricey, but there is plenty of choice and special offers on certain ones. The music is very much to my liking; mostly indie and alternative rock.
But by the time 11 o’clock comes you will see the room starting to empty as people head for the nearest nightclub, showing you just what everyone thinks about the pretentiousness of this place. This makes it very plain to see why people shouldn’t be charged an entry fee.
Firewater used to be a great place a few years ago, before they started charging an entry fee. It was also a good bit busier back then; that says it all really.

When i first moved to Glasgow Firewater was a pub for people who liked rock /​indie, but of a slightly less leftfield variety than Sleazy’s. Nowadays it’s mainly full of kids whose music taste is based on whatever happened to be playing in a recent episode of Skins, or what NME has told them they should like, adding an air of falseness and pretence the venue never had before.
That said, its usually busy-​ish and there’s (usually rubbish) live bands and drinks promos, so it’s still not awful. Just be prepared for a few morons quoting lines from The Mighty Boosh and comparing the tightness of their jeans.