The Sparkle Horse

I visited the Sparkle Horse for a Unilocal Newbies night. We sat at the back of the bar in a raised area that was perfect for our group. I found the staff really friendly and attentive and the bar snacks are reasonably priced and very tasty. We shared some fried tortillas, chips and garlic bread. The bar has a nice laid back atmosphere and I liked the little rocking horse in the window! I will definitely go back again soon.

First visit to the sparkle horse last night for a Unilocal newbies night.
First of all what a fantastic name!
We had an area reserved up at the back and it was a great venue. Away from the hustle of the main bar where we could chat easily.
I loved the interior of the bar … all black and red with a shabby chic style. We had table service for our drinks and nibbles which was great.
I loved the charity shop picture of the month in the ladies loo’s and i will definetly return to try out the patrick swayze advertised behind the bar.
A great little gem in the west end and i managed to get parked easily outside –result :)

First of all, what a fantastic name! I’m not sure if it’s a reference to something that I’m missing but it’s adorable whatever it means. I’ve only been in here once for a pint on a busy Friday night in September. We still got prompt table service even though we were just having drinks, which puts it in my good books right off the bat.
I joined a table of a few friends who already had a tab going, and a waitress quickly and skillfully moved past the crowds heaving at the bar to take my order– pretty impressive! I got a pint of West4, which tasted exactly as it should and wasn’t flat or stale like it can be! This is super important in my view as even some of the swankiest bars sometimes serve you a pint that tastes like. well, pish, for lack of a better term! They clearly have their priorities straight.
While the décor could maybe use a revamp (black wallpaper? ehhhm) and I can’t testify to how good the food is, the pints are right, it’s not overly pricey, and the service is good. They’ve also got little tables outside even in the darker/​colder months I believe, and when I was there they had (clean) ashtrays already set out, a nice touch for the smokers jumping out into the cold to get their nicotine fix (me, haha).
They seem to have a pretty well stocked bar with a great selection of spirits and some fun cocktails (like the famed Partick Swayze which I’ve yet to try) and the pictures of regulars and staff all around the bar give it a really nice, local feel which I think Glasgow is missing in some of the more gentrified bars that have opened up!
Looking forward to my next visit to the Sparkle Horse!

I met a couple of girlfriends recently just prior to New Year and loved the vibe of the place. It seemed to be a real hangout for local people and dog friendly too boot .
I tried out their Wifi whilst awaiting their arrival with a pint of West in the other hand. The wheat bear was delicious so much so, that when the girls arrived I had another .
We moved on to the designated eating area, I do recommend booking as it can become busy. I tried the mozzarella sticks which were good and had the halloumi salad which was fair. Perhaps a double dose of cheese was too much and in future will remember to choose better. The gals enjoyed their veggie nosh which was the main reason for choosing the Sparkle Horse .
Will definitely go back and might even try the quiz night sometime.

My first time visiting the well recommended Sparkle Horse and it was on Black Friday, last Friday before Christmas. It was heaving! And roasting! But so was probably every bar that night: D
I got a good feeling from it though. The drinks were reasonable and it had a very friendly atmosphere… or maybe that was the two bottles of wine! It has a good lay out, with plenty of seating around the place but still standing tables for those in the centre.
A good night had despite the melting heat, will definitely be back :)

After having visited multiple times now (not having been before the Unilocal Trick or Trivia Quiz, shock horror!) in various states of sober/​drunk — mostly sober I must say! — I think it’s official. I love The Sparkle Horse.
When I mention it to people who haven’t been, they tend to think it’s some sort of shiny disco palace and while it certainly isn’t that (how cool would that be though??) it is no less lovely. Because lovely is exactly what it is. I always think it says something when you can happily go to a pub sober and not feel like you’re missing out, or feel in any way uncomfortable/​wish you were drinking. I just enjoy being there, it’s a proper pub with nothing fancy-​schmancy about it, but it’s also not an old, run-​down place as a lot of «pub» pubs tend to be. It always feels cosy and snug, which can sometimes be a danger if you manage to snag a particularly comfy seat — if only pub-​napping was acceptable!
They have West on draught which is fab, and often another offering besides St Mungo for those who like to try different things. The staff are friendly and efficient, plus they still let me come here after I was a *quite* drunk at the Subcrawl and insulted them by requesting Apple Sourz (they don’t sell Apple Sourz but were quite happy to provide some peach schnapps instead!) so they’re definitely on my list of «good peeps».
I haven’t had a main course here as yet, definitely something I need to try after seeing all the glorious photos, but the food I have had has been totally great. The lovely Pammi G ordered some tortilla chips at the Unilocal quiz which were fresh and tasty, not just your average Dorito-​style chips but what I would deem to be «proper» tortilla chips — I have no idea if that’s what proper is, but I’m going with it. Last night I had their chocolate brownie with ice cream (after stuffing my face at Dumpling Monkey) and it really was so good! It was perfectly gooey without being a big mess, very chocolatey without being overpowering and a decent size as well! In fact, I think I need to stick Sparkle Horse on my dessert list (and some others) after this!
They also allow dogs in which is great, especially when you are dog-​less but love dogs like me and the bf. As with many other establishments, the only complaint about my lovely Sparkle Horse (heehee) is that I don’t live near it — though I would probably be quite skint if I did because I’d never be out of the place!

I really like the sparkle horse and have been coming here fairly regularly since December. I hadn’t reviewed it yet because I have no idea how.
I’ve heard about but haven’t witnessed their brilliant quiz on a Monday.
I’ve eaten here once before and although it wasn’t bad, it was nothing to write home about.
They have West on tap (hefeweizen and mungos; my two favs), as well as Guinness (not extra cold which is brilliant), and good bottled beers including innis & gunn.
They’ve got nice spirits including diplomatico rum and kraken, and their wines are pretty good two.
So, it’s not a place I get really excited about, but with its good playlists and nice wooden bar with sparkly lights, it is [** WARNING TERRIBLE PUN AHEAD**] the faithful steed of bars.
When I need to chill after work or meet up with friends and have a decent conversation, I come here. Whether it’s busy or not, the atmosphere is always good and so is the drink. What else do you really need?
+ it has a cool name. :D

We had the perfect late lunch and pint of cider after tromping around all morning and early afternoon. I had the mozzarella sticks and pork belly and my friend had the vegan shepherd’s pie and all were better than we hoped. The prices were very reasonable.
We couldn’t have asked for a friendlier or more comfortable oasis.

When I first heard tell of the Sparkle Horse I was a little bit worried that it was going to be so hipster it hurt, but thankfully that’s not the case. What you get instead is a place where lots of really great things add up to an all round terrific bar.
My most recent venture there was under the guise of Unilocal Glasgow’s latest ‘Mad Skillz’ session, this time colouring-​in (awesome). The bar had reserved a good area for us up the back and it was great to have space to spread out.
Although I’ve been in to the Sparkle Horse quite a few times since it opened it’s doors this was the first occasion where I’d ordered any food from the menu and was super pleased with what was delivered to the table. I was going out for dinner later and didn’t want to get too much so had opted for a portion of tortilla chips with salsa and some mozzarella sticks. To say the portions were generous is something of an understatement! The four huge, obviously freshly handmade, mozzarella sticks with salsa were super tasty, with an great crispy coating and plenty of oozing cheese in the middle. The tortilla were likewise freshly made and are perhaps the best I’ve had in the great city of Glasgow…
As to the drink selection, I think I’ve only ever partaken of a pint or two when at the Sparkle House and while the beer choice isn’t stellar it is at least above average. I tend to opt of one of the West beers they have on tap, and I particularly like that I can get their wheat beer there. I’ve not heard complaints from any of my companions about the drinks they have ordered so I shall assume the other choices are also good! The staff are also one of the highlights, always friendly and helpful, with good service at both your table and the bar.
The place seems to cater to a relatively diverse group of patrons and does so well, always busy without being horribly packed. But then who could resist a place that has the wonderfully gaudy ‘Charity Shop Picture of the Moment’ in the toilets…

How is this my first visit to this wonderful pub?
It’s close enough to where I live it could easily be my local, in fact, yes, I’ve just decided. Screw you Oran Mor, Sparkle Horse all the way! (only kidding Oran Mor, I still like you!).
Clare and I popped in prior to a recent Unilocal event that she was attending, the main aim was to get some lunch and chill out for a bit. We arrived about 12.30 and it was pretty quiet so, after ordering drinks, we checked out the specials board (some good options) and the menu (more good options).
I’ll be honest, I hadn’t really read any reviews so I wasn’t sure what to expect so between that, and my gurgling tummy, I opted for the safe option, cheeseburger and chips — Clare went for the Mac and Cheese which looked pretty tasty!
When the food arrived, promptly, I have to admit it looked great, and no soggy lettuce or watery tomato nonsense, hurray! Just a lightly toasted bun, a thick and chunky handmade burger covered in slowly melting, dripped, cheese. The chips were pretty bog standard chunky chips but sometimes it’s good to keep things simple and tasty.
And it was. The chips were good, and the burger was delicious. Definitely a freshly made pattie, it crumbled a little with each bite and was a massive hunk of meat to devour, which I duly did (always try and leave a clean plate, it’s polite!).
Only downside was the cheese seemed to disappear and the roll was a bit dry, ketchup helped but made the bread was a little stale? Not sure, it wasn’t enough to stop me wolfing it down.
I love the décor (the creepy print of the girl sitting in a darkened room a particularly favourite, and no, not just because of boobs) and it’s got a very relaxed, old fashioned pub feel to it. The music isn’t blaring away, the staff are super friendly, and the prices on the cheap side of reasonable for the West End. Ohh and they have a good range of ales, beers and other beverages, I’d say most bases are covered.
So, a local bar that is pretty cheap, friendly, relaxed and does (as I’ve not looked at the other reviews) dependably good food.
WIN!

I realised on today’s visit that I’d been going in here for more years than I care to remember. Yes, I may look like I’m a sprightly young fresh-​into-​college young chap, but I’m not. I’m creaky, old, grumpy, and I make that «ugggggh» noise every time I get out of a chair. That means I used to visit here before it was The Sparkle Horse.
The people that inhabited that dark, dingy, dreary, dilapidated old wreck of a pub would be horrified about this place. And that, friends, is a good thing.
The Sparkle Horse is bright, fresh, pleasant to be in and an all round Good Thing. They welcome all and sundry, even a squad of insane Unilocalers with colouring pencils, paper and the vague impression that the should know better. They welcome you all with a smile, a cheery word and the promise of alcohol.
The beers they serve are nice and cold. On this occasion, I had some food too., Some of the nicest, biggest, chewiest, meltiest, most gorgeous mozzarella sticks in the city. Served with salad (which I didn’t touch, because as we all know, I view salad with the same disdain that a cat views… well, pretty much everything) and a chunky salsa perfect for dipping and scooping, these are glorious. — I heartily recommend that anyone and everyone try them. Unless you’re lactose intolerant, then it’s probably not a good idea.
Much better than the McDonalds equivalent Mozzarella dippers, which I asked for at the bar by accident, belying a slight addiction problem to McDs, Oh how we laughed. Well, I laughed, mainly to hide my awkwardness. This is my thing.
But I digress.
One thing I noticed that I really liked was the gents toilets had baby changing facilities in them, something of a rarity. Well done, Sparkle Horse peeps!
There’s loads of things going on at The Sparkle Horse, and I get the feeling it could well become a firm favourite of mine way out there in the West End.

I didn’t know The Sparkle Horse existed until earlier this year (I’ve not really explored Partick too much) and finally had a chance to go this Saturday as part of the Unilocalers Got Mad Skillz colouring in event — which was a fantastic laugh!
Briony C. had kindly reserved some tables in the rear area of The Sparkle Horse for us excited Unilocalers, and the staff had very kindly reserved the entire back area of the pub for us. When I arrived I got a Diet Coke (£2) and settled in for an afternoon of colouring! Around 3pm I was pretty peckish since I hadn’t had lunch and opted to pig out on the 2 veggie courses for £9.50 menu.
I (without realising) ordered a total cheese fest of mozzarella sticks to start followed by the halloumi salad main. The mozzarella sticks were truly a thing of beauty. Four gigantic and perfectly gooey mozza sticks with a lovely tomato salsa to dip in, and by the end of my starter I was thoroughly questioning my decision of two courses! The halloumi salad was… meh. The halloumi itself was perfect, slightly salty with a nice crisp outside. The honey mustard dressing was pretty standard it was just the actual salad part that felt a bit of a let down. It was your standard italian salad leaves with some red onion, cucumber and cherry tomatoes thrown in — overall not very exciting as a follow up to the incredible starter. I also had a glass of the house rosé, but wasn’t a big fan. Next time I’ll opt for a pricier one I think!
While I wasn’t loving all my food and drink choices, I still really loved my experience at The Sparkle Horse as a whole. The staff we super friendly and polite. The whole atmosphere of the pub was pretty laid back it made me wish I lived close enough to visit all the time! They’ve got lots of board games to play and have lots of night time activities on the go. I’d like to go back for another lazy weekend pub visit, particularly if it was sunny as it has some nice tables outside! I’ll just need to remember my colouring in!

Unfortunately there are no unicorns here. Sparkle Horse is tucked away around the corner off of Dumbarton Road and Byers Road, and is a lovely, busy pub with great food! Some of the pubs on Dumbarton Road can be a bit crazy to say the least; Sparkle Horse is much more chill. I finally tried the food and I was not disappointed! As far as service goes, I have had mixed experiences, sometimes very slow or not particularly friendly (simply «what’s your order»), but generally never bad service either.
My last trip I had the steak pie and chips and salsa. If I had known the steak pie was going to be so large, I would have just gotten the pie! It all tasted amazing, but I just couldn’t eat it all! The tortilla chips are made in house and are quite nice (flour tortilla chips, not maize tortilla chips). The salsa is more like a pico de gallo and not too spicy, but you can tell it is fresh so I am not really complaining!
The bar is fully loaded, so connoisseurs of all kinds should be able to find something to drink.
If you are super hungry get the steak pie. Yum!

So it seems I’m a little late to the sparkle horse party an I don’t understand why! What a great bar hidden off Dumbarton road. If you haven’t been yet don’t waste any more time and go… now! We accidentally stumbled across it when looking for a parking space. we were actually on route to Hyde bar for lunch.
We decided just to eat here so for starters we shared mozzarella sticks and they were massive and so fresh. Mains I went for the Mac and cheese with garlic bread. It’s had just the enough cheese and the garlic bread was toasted. Unfortunately I was driving however they seem so lots of beers including west on tap
It was a Tuesday afternoon and the place was a little quiet but the service was real good. I will be back at a busier time for drinks.

Sparkle Horse you really really took me by surprise!
We had a cheeky wee day off on holiday yesterday and we sort of stumbled into the Sparkle Horse for lunch a bit by accident. We had the dog with us, we happened to be passing and I had seen a few people say it was mutt friendly so decided to give it a try. First thoughts were a standard pub setting and I expected some decent pub grub, instead I got an amazingly tasty meal.
For starters we had very good mozzarella sticks with a tomato salsa and lots of salad. The sticks were huge, bulging with cheese and tasted really fresh. Plus the salsa was more like a lovely homemade chopped tomato salad. First course got a huge tick, but the best was yet to come.
I bloooody loved my main! It was pork loin, stuffed with black pudding and wrapped in a Parma ham. It came on a bed of mash with a creamy sauce. It was fan-​flipping-​tastic!
It was all cooked to perfection, really tasty and without doubt one of my favourite dishes eating out this year. They set the bar really high and for me the food is way beyond any standard pub option you would normally get.
They have West on tap, they were friendly to Rogue (the dug) and were also nice to the humans to. I honestly can’t recommend this place enough. I think I am late to the party in discovering this hidden gem, but I will for sure be be back to try more of the menu.
(Ohhhhh and forgot to mention it’s cheap!!)
Gallop your way to the Sparkle Horse right now. You will not be disappointed!

We were here last weekend at a function — my Dad’s 70^th Birthday party!
It was great, the pub has a really nice atmosphere to it, and the staff were just lovely — friendly, pleasant, chatty and efficient. They even let my dad’s pals sing a couple of songs :-)
They also put a grand spread on — for me being vegan, there was some delicious bruschetta, and some great tortilla chips, hummus and a salsa dip, and the others had wee bacon rolls, sausage rolls, some sort of spicy vegetable bhaji type thing, and probably some other things that we can’t now remember. Hey, it was a party!
They’ve got a great selection of drinks too. We had our favourite — West Hefeweizen, and when we got too full or beer, we had a couple of delicious quality gins — two varieties of Williams Chase — apple, and clove, which rounded off the evening very elegantly.
I’ll definitely be back to the Sparkle Horse. Great down to earth pub, friendly staff, and plenty of tasty drinkables makes it a very inviting prospect.

I’d never been to The Sparkle Horse until last weekend — it’s really not what I expected. I was assuming it’d be one of those purposefully tacky, kitschy, hipstery kind of places but I couldn’t be more wrong. It’s only a few steps removed from being a dark old man’s pub. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing — it has a great atmosphere and was mega busy.
The food is apparently great — I’ll be back soon to try it. Maybe do the Monday pub quiz too… ;)
Oh, and for the childish amongst us, there are loads of ceramic horses kicking about to entertain yourself with!

I knew I was wrong about The Sparkle Horse (see my earlier 3-​star review of shame) but I needed to make the return visit. I really didn’t mean for that to take a year and a half, and for that I would like to apologise profusely to the Sparkle Horse … there’s just so many places in Glasgow to visit!
I hoofed it along (I promise this review won’t turn into a horse-​pun fest) on a Monday night for the hardest pub quiz in Glasgow with a squad of Unilocalers. We got there early to get a table and ordered some food — two courses for £12. As I mentioned in my earlier review, I wasn’t a fan of the beef burger, so this time I opted for the mozzarella sticks followed by a chicken burger.
The food arrived pretty quickly — which was good, as I was starving. The mozzarella sticks were some of the nicest I’ve ever had, properly gooey and delicious. And a really generous portion of four massive sticks. It does come with BBQ sauce which I loathe but you get a tomato sauce and mayo on your table, so you can dunk into something else.
The chicken burger was excellent. A deliciously grilled fillet of chicken which tasted almost like it had a teriyaki sauce on it, the brioche bun was super soft and warm and it came with a good portion of chips on the side. For a simple burger, this was simply delicious and really impressive.
The pub itself has really come into its own since I last visited. It has the casual vibe of city centre pubs like The Flying Duck and Stereo, with just a little dinge to make you feel comfortable but not dirty. Staff are super friendly and helpful, and there’s a top selection of drinks which are reasonably priced.
The quiz really is pretty damn hard — there were loads of questions on Scottish history which I had no chance of answering. Thankfully we had an awesome team who managed to bring in the win — getting us a £50 bar tab for our next visit. The quiz starts around 7.30pm but you’ll probably want to arrive a bit earlier than that to get a table, and you can expect to be there until 11pm close.

Although I live only a few blocks from this pub, it took a CMYE invite to the Monday night quiz to get me to visit. I still remember it as the Dowanhill when it wasn’t that attractive as a pub so maybe that’s why I’d been avoiding it. What was I thinking? Hip, casual atmosphere, good beer on tap, and great food that’s way above the average standard of pub grub.
We both had the baked haddock, which I was expecting to be some slightly tarted-​up variant of the usual fish & chips, but it turned out to be a visual delight as well as tasty, and provided the perfect fuel to fire up the brain cells for the quiz ahead. We did have to wait a while for it to arrive, but the place was pretty packed so that wasn’t a surprise, and they were very apologetic about the delay. It was definitely worth the wait, although if I hadn’t been so hungry I might have taken more time so savour the taste instead of hoovering it up.
I thought the prices were pretty reasonable too. If you like a pub atmosphere and good quality nosh, you could do a lot worse than Sparkle Horse.
Although it was our first time tackling what is said to be Glasgow’s toughest pub quiz, our team the Sparkle Dorks were victorious over the regulars (although it was a close call!), which means we’ll need to return next Monday to defend our title. Oh dear; I’m not good with Tuesday hangovers…
Finally, a bit of trivia — I remember reading somewhere that towards the end of its former life as the Dowanhill Bar, they discovered a hidden room deep in the bowels of the place with its own entrance where some guy had been living for years unbeknownst to the bar staff. I can’t remember where I read this and haven’t been able to find anything online to back it up, so it may have to go down as urban legend for the moment. But if anyone knows more about this story do please let me know!

The Sparkle Horse is one of the best pubs in the West End, just behind Kelvinhall Subway in Partick. Warm, welcoming with very friendly staff. It’s been my local and one of the things I’ll miss most about living in the West End.
A cozy wee bar with a great atmosphere, decent selection of beer (West beer on draught) and good music but without being intrusive — overall pretty cool without being frightfully hipsterish.
I’ve eaten here with friends quite a few times now and every time the food has been great. Particularly worth a mention is the chicken stuffed with black pudding — prob my favourite thing on the menu. And then there’s the macaroni cheese — properly made with a good dod of wholegrain mustard.
There’s also a £5 menu on Tuesday and Wednesday evening, which in pretty amazing value. Check it out, you’ll probably find me propping up the bar if I’m at this end of town.