The Laurieston Bar just south of the River Clyde exudes a unique charm unlike anywhere else in the city.
There are of course cosier pubs, swankier pubs and pubs where you’re welcome to order a cocktail with more ingredients than should ever be necessary for a post-work pick-me-up.
But with interiors that have remained the same for decades without a whiff of pretension, the Bridge Street bar holds a special place in the heart of both student crowds and locals alike.
READ MORE: Famous family-owned Glasgow bar on 'pub crawl circuit' for sale
The inimitable atmosphere is largely due to a history that stretches back over 200 years.
The category C listed site was in 1836 occupied by Alexander Wiseman, who also operated public houses on nearby Carrick Street and Eglington Street.
Well-established entrepreneurs and wine Merchants the Graham family later took over the Laurieston in 1865, which they ran as part of a small empire of pubs across locations including Gallowgate, Saltmarket, and High Street.
The Alexanders were next to take up ownership from the 1930s to the 1970s before the Clancy family acquired the space in 1982.
Signalling a new chapter for the Laurieston, today the bar was listed for sale once more as owners John and James Clancy prepared to step down after 40 years.
They said: “In any family business, family is the priority.
“After 40 years serving ‘The Laurieston Bar family’, we would now like to devote more time to serving the Clancy family.
“It goes without saying it will be business as usual until the right buyer is found.”
Business as usual it may be, but for many, the news has sparked concern over whether new owners will be able to retain the bar's rare magic.
‘Old man’s pub’ is a term that’s often thrown around when listing some of Glasgow’s longest-standing drinking holes, and yet one that doesn’t quite seem to fit the Laurieston.
Scottish crime writer Ian Rankin perhaps best put the experience into words after visiting earlier this year when he described the Southside soot as ‘an absolute belter’ with ‘more characters than a computer keyboard’.
Many have, after all, spent long nights clustered around nailed-down Formica tables, sinking pints side by side with an eclectic mix of clientele unlikely to have gathered in any other place.
With walls surrounding them decorated with snapshots from the past, a refreshingly simple drinks list and an island bar that's in itself enough to take visitors right back to the 1960s, it's not difficult to understand the appeal.
It’s one of the last of the great Glasgow Boozers, at a time when chains are snapping independent pubs faster than you can say, ‘When did they start serving organic wine here?’.
As the search for a new owner begins, the city can only wait to see what the future holds for its beloved Laurieston.
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