The Crafty Pig

Just a few blocks west of the river and just north of the University of Glasgow’s Hillhead campus along Great Western Road, The Crafty Pig is flying the flag for what might very well be the best barbecue and beer combination in the city. Giving the rest of the herd a serious run for their money, this self-proclaimed brewhouse and smoke-pit in the West End has an incredible range of craft beers on high-rotation, a tried and tested menu emphasising slow-cooked and smoked meats and gourmet burgers, and a venue packed with all your favourite sports – pool and beer pong as well as your usual televised types!

The Crafty Pig offers the whole hog and then some to lovers of burgers, buns, dogs, wings, ribs, and other assorted bits and pieces (vegetarian dishes not excepted, believe it or not) – and beer, lots of beer – from its grillhouse restaurant, bar, and general good-times venue along the Great Western Road in the West End. It’s the kind of place that Hillhead’s vast and footloose University of Glasgow student population get all hopped out about, given that there’s more crafty brewery business going on here than you can shake a full rack of sweet and sticky baby back ribs at, served alongside all the latest sports listings up on the screens, pool tables galore, beer pong fiascos and some of Glasgow’s best independent and emerging musical talent to boot.

Balancing the kind of upscale eatery ethos that would have diners match their meals with carefully-curated wines with a down-home dive bar atmosphere befitting its Hillhead location, The Crafty Pig does a fine job introducing guests to salubrious menages a trois composed of, for instance, gourmet burgers or Tex-Mex and these two foods’ best friend the pale ale, matchingmaking high-class hot dogs with white ales and wheat beers, pilsners with wings, amber lagers with ribs, and even desserts with milk stouts or fruit beers. On the burger side of things, our picks from The Crafty Pig’s foundational food offerings include the Smokey Doubler burger with 28-day aged Scottish beef patties, fried pickles, applewood-smoked American cheese plus both the signature smoke pit and sticky fingers BBQ sauces. The hottest dog might be the Fancy Crafty Dog with charred smoked and pulled pork with ham hock and pit-smoked baked beans, chipotle cheese, caramelised onions, and a ranch dressing. The St Louis Spare ribs in half or whole feature both dry spice rub and a sweet baby back sauce, while the Piggin’ Hot wings with Shut Up Juice sauce require a disclaimer to be signed before eating – no kidding’. Same goes for the Shut Up Juiced Tex-Mex burrito. At this stage it’s advisable to plunge your poor tongue into the ice cream topping of your section of your waffles with peanut butter toffee sauce, the sticky toffee pudding, or the decadent baked chocolate chip cookie dough. Whatever your way around this particularly tasty and refreshing sty, be sure to book in advance before you poke your snout through Crafty Pigs’ doorway.