In recent years, Glasgow has become a hotbed for film crews and celebrity spotting with a number of big-name productions from Indiana Jones to Batman all rolling into town.

We’ve done a little bit of leg work and put together a list of locations both in the city and further afield that you can visit to recreate a little movie magic for yourself.

Here are just ten of the many, bars, restaurants and hotels in Scotland that have been used as the backdrop for some of our favourite films and TV series. 

1802 @ Hutchesons Hall

158 Ingram Street, Glasgow 

This historic city centre building in Glasgow had its Hollywood moment pre-pandemic when it was still known as Hutchesons Bar and Grill and owned by restaurateur James Rusk. 

Fans of the 2017 drama The Wife starring Glenn Close, Jonathan Pryce and Christian Slater may recall a scene in which characters Nathaniel and Joan share a drink at the venue’s former 158 Club Lounge. 

 The Laurieston Bar 

58 Bridge Street, Glagsow 

Last month, the Herald published a feature delving into the Laurieston's on-screen legacy after it was announced that the bar was to be sold after 40 years at the hands of the Clancy family

Whether in music videos for bands like Franz Ferdinand and the Fratellis, gritty dramas like Deadshot (2023) or a fleeting moment in series two of HBO’s Succession, the beloved venue’s '60s interiors are always guaranteed to steal the show. 

 The Horn Milk Bar  

Errol, Perth 

While this family-owned pitstop on the A90 prides itself on serving the ‘world’s best bacon roll’, it’s a retro Americana aesthetic that has caught the interest of film and TV crews. 

You can spot the venue and its quirky rooftop cow in Wedding Season, starring Rosa Salazar and Gavin Drea, which is streaming on Disney+ now. 

The Brewhaus Glasgow 

182 Queen Margaret Drive Glasgow 

Briefly known as Francos and before that the Kelbourne Saint and The Crosslands, this Glasgow bar served as the location for one of the most memorable scenes in Danny Boyles’s Trainspotting, involving a balcony, a glass and an unsettling performance from Robert Carlyle.

There are plenty of other landmarks from both the 1996 film and its sequel dotted around both Glasgow and Edinburgh (Spud and Renton also share a milkshake at the Café D'Jaconelli on Maryhill Road, for example) but this one is surely on the bucket list of any Scottish film buff. 

Clachaig Inn 

Glencoe, Argyll 

The inn is perhaps best known for being just a short walk from the site used for Hagrid’s Hut in many of the Harry Potter films, but it also appeared in late 00s Romcom Made of Honour starring Patrick Dempsey, Michelle Monaghan and Kevin McKidd as a wealthy Scottish duke.

Laila 

Cockburn Street, Edinburgh 

OK, filming didn’t quite take place inside this bright pink café in Edinburgh’s Old Town, but it did feature in perhaps one of the biggest blockbuster productions ever to have visited Scotland. 

Laila’s claim to fame is that Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) is slammed into their rounded windows during a particularly energetic fight sequence in Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity War. 

The Herald:

The Cafe Royal  

West Register Street, Edinburgh 

This Edinburgh institution famously specialises in oysters and once appeared in an Academy Award-winning British picture. 

While most will associate Chariots of Fire (1981) with an iconic scene shot on West Sands Beach in St Andrews, the glamorous Cafe Royal was used as the set for a meeting between Harold Abrahams (Ben Cross) and Sybil Gordon (Alice Krige). 

Village Inn 

Loch Long, Shore Road, Arrochar 

The Village Inn was given an ‘80s makeover for its appearance in the latest series of Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror which included the sourcing of old-fashioned furniture and installation of a fake wall to cover a reception area. 

In one scene from the episode named ‘Loch Henry’, Four Weddings and a Funeral actor John Hannah stumbles down a staircase which leads to the Inn’s hotel rooms.  

Saint Luke's  

Bain Street, Glasgow 

A rewatch of Netflix sitcom Lovesick makes for a fun game of 'I spy' filled with recognisable landmarks across Glasgow from Kelvingrove Park to Buff Club in the city centre. 

There are plenty of bars and restaurants to pick from, including popular music venue Saint Luke's in the East End which was featured heavily in episode three of the third series. 

The Lounge Bar 

Mounthooly Street, Lerwick 

The Lounge Bar can be spotted more than once in the hit Scottish crime drama, Shetland. 

If you’re not familiar with the BBC Series based upon the novels of Ann Cleeves, which has been running for the past decade, a trip to this Mounthooly Street pub is still well worth it for a regular programme of trad music alone.