13th March, 2009 - Ten Excellent Places #9

Positively the best bar in the universe is The Horsehoe bar in Glasgow. Visit some night at the weekend and feel yourself part of the human race.

It reputedly has the longest bar in Europe. That might or might not be true, but I have never know a place like it for the hum of atmosphere. It seems to me to be a bar that is utterly at home in its own skin. It is unpretentious in that literal way – it is not pretending to be anything other than it is. And what it is is a place to have a drink and catch up with old friends in a space devoid of music and fashion. It is place for pints and crisps.

Whilst I’m sure they know how to mix a Manhattan, I’m pleased to say there seems to be very little demand.