At 150 years old, this 'palace' pub is one of Glasgow's oldest gems

Is there anything better than escaping the chill of an autumn night in Glasgow, shaking sticky wet leaves from the soles of your shoes and taking refuge in the calming candlelight of a charming local pub?

Dotted at the top of one of the busiest roads in the Southside, the Old Toll Bar is a traditional old boozer that resembles the palace pubs of the Victorian era.

So many of these watering holes popped up in big cities and, in those days, the grander they looked, the better chance you had of punters pouring into your establishment.

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Towering pillars are complemented by a long bar stretching almost as far as Paisley Road West. Polished mahogany panels in the darkest shade contrast with hand-painted stained-glass windows. The light from the old-fashioned candelabra dances playfully against the enormous advertisement mirrors.

(Image: Gordon Terris)

With these stunning features, it’s easy to see why pubs like the Old Toll Bar were dubbed the ‘palace pubs’ of the Victorian era. The tragedy is that so many similar-looking establishments have since had these qualities ripped out and the venues refitted in favour of something more modern.

Not the Old Toll Bar, though.

READ MORE: Glasgow pub Old Toll Bar has 'fantastic' night thanks to The Beautiful South's Paul Heaton

Established in 1874, not much of its incredible aesthetic has changed. Their downstairs lounge bar is one of the only parts that have had some newer fittings; upstairs is like stepping back in time.

(Image: Gordon Terris) The pub was built on the ground floor of a three-storey tenement and remodelled in the late 1890s.

Its interior proves that there is no such thing as too much mahogany; a sea of dark wooden floors, ceilings and the bar taking centre stage. Behind it, a back gantry contains eight large whisky casks – also dark polished wood, what else? – with four on either side of a pediment-shaped structure with a clock in the centre. A stag sits atop the old-fashioned clock face with its Roman numerals, the pub’s name and the year of its inception.

But there’s more to the Old Toll Bar than the building itself. The pub prides itself on its live music offering, with music and the arts being a ‘big part’ of both its history and its atmosphere today.

(Image: Gordon Terris) Members of Simple Minds have worked behind the bar and it was used for filming the 2013 James McAvoy film Filth.

As recently as this summer, production crews have used the venue to film scenes for the upcoming series of Shetland.

In 2022, punters filled the pub to the brim to enjoy a night on the house – well, on Paul Heaton.

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The legendary musician created a Beautiful Southside when he included the Old Toll in his tabs at 60 pubs across the UK. 

Grant Montgomery at the Old Toll Bar in 2022 (Image: Gordon Terris) Speaking at the time, manager Grant Montgomery – who since moved to the helm of the pub’s ‘little brother’ Ryan’s Bar in Govanhill – said: “We had a fantastic night. It was lovely seeing people coming together.

“It was such a special thing and such a generous thing to do for his birthday. It’s quite a charitable thing that I’ve never seen happen before, it’s really cool.

“All of our patrons were up dancing, and it was a real community – it was like a village getting together for a wee ceilidh. Our bar already has that vibe, but it was like that with bells on."