Finnieston & Partick by Tony Inglis

Finnieston & Partick & Partick

Stretching along the north side of the River Clyde from Victoria Park in the west, skirting what is traditionally considered the West End, before reaching up to Charing Cross, the Partick to Finnieston area covered here is essentially one long walk down Dumbarton Road, splitting into the early stages of Sauchiehall and Argyle streets and on into town. Along the way, you can treat yourself to some of the best food and drink to be found anywhere in the city, from affordable international cuisine to fi ne dining straight out of a show like Chef’s Table.

Partick is a little different from Finnieston. Less gentrifi ed, Partick brushes just close enough to the West End that you can enjoy what that neighbourhood has to offer without being burdened with some of the epithets other Glaswegians may associate with it. Finnieston, formerly home to warehouses and docks in the era of the city’s shipbuilding boom, has since deindustrialisation slowly been built up to the point where now it’s one of the city’s swankiest late-night spots. If you’re having a big one, and want to go somewhere Nice and Fancy, you’ll fi nd it there.

Image courtesy of MacTasso's Photo: Brian Sweeney

MacTasso’s Five March

Getting there and getting away

Extremely well linked to the city and beyond, Partick is easily accessible via train on a line that will take you on to Balloch and Loch Lomond in the west, or to Duke Street in the east, or even beyond on the slow line to Edinburgh. The subway also goes to Partick station, but depending on how your day pans out, you could start at Kelvinhall, or it’s just a skip from Hillhead. Finnieston is a little trickier, but the train goes to Exhibition Centre and then it’s a very short walk. The best thing you could do is walk. An uninterrupted hour would be an extremely leisurely stroll from Partick all the way through Finnieston and into town. You could do it in much less, or you could turn it into perhaps the best pub and restaurant crawl in town.

Food and drink

If that was your game, and you wanted to eat ten times your body weight along the way, this is how you’d do it. Start at The Thornwood (724 Dumbarton Rd) and load up on their selection of bottles and cans of craft beer and the best mac and cheese you can find. Next is Basta (561 Dumbarton Rd), the best Neapolitan pizza in Glasgow. Their butternut squash and goats cheese regular is supreme.

You’re not too drunk yet, so pick up your fresh groceries from Locavore (449 Dumbarton Rd), then grab banh mi from, well, Banh Mi & Tea (401 Dumbarton Rd), a five-table cafe and the most underrated Vietnamese food in town. Smiddy Bar (309 Dumbarton Rd) is a chain pub that retains its charm, so pop in for a quick half, then a bite from Brawsome Bagels (292 Dumbarton Rd) for the road. There’s deli meats for the week from Celino’s (235 Dumbarton Rd), then round the corner for a flat white and a pastry from Kaf (5 Hyndland St).

The Sparkle Horse (16 Dowanhill St) is a cosy but trendy pub just off the main road, or head to Dolphin Bar (157 Dumbarton Rd) or The Three Judges (141 Dumbarton Rd) if the football is on. Pot stickers from Dumpling Monkey (121 Dumbarton Rd) next, or for fresh pasta, Eighty Eight (88 Dumbarton Rd) is across the road. Nip up Kelvin Way for a gyros from MacTasso’s truck and then cross the bridge over the Kelvin and you’re into Finnieston.

Old Dumbarton Road has Dukes Bar (no. 41) for a negroni and then along the street to Gloriosa (1321 Argyle St) for a continental-style fine dining sit-down or the other way for

Photo: Steven MB Jones

Finnieston & Partick

South Indian at Banana Leaf (76 Old Dumbarton Rd). If you are still somehow hungry, on Argyle Street you’re spoiled for choice: Rafa’s Mexican diner (1103 The Hidden Ln), Crabshakk (1114 Argyle St) for seafood, Glasgow institution Mother India (28 Westminster Terr), too many to mention. Pubs like the Kelvingrove Café (1161 Argyle St) and The Finnieston (1125 Argyle St) have you covered for more drinks, or fuel up on coffee from The Steamie (1024 Argyle St). Head up to Elderslie Street to find Five March (no. 140) for imaginative contemporary dining straight off the likes of Masterchef: The Professionals. If you need another drink, Chinaski’s (239 North St) is nicely placed at Charing Cross. Then go to bed!

Things to do

Due to its proximity to the West End and town, this part of Glasgow cedes green space and key cultural locations to those areas. However, the Riverside Museum (100 Pointhouse Rd) lines this side of the river. Originally located at the Kelvin Hall, this museum houses dozens of interactive exhibits showcasing the evolution of vehicular transport and Glasgow infrastructure, including a life size replica of a cobbled Glasgow street and a history of the city’s subway system. Berthed outside on the river next to the museum is the Tall Ship, Glenlee. It’s also the location of the Riverside Festival, an annual celebration of electronic and dance music.

Music is well represented in Finnieston. The OVO Hydro (Exhibition Way, Stobcross Rd) arena sits next to the SEC Armadillo, the city’s three major auditoriums for live events. By the railway arches sits SWG3 (100 Eastvale Pl), warehouses converted into a live events, clubbing and exhibition space which also boasts rotating food pop-ups. The Clydeside Distillery (100 Stobcross Rd) offers tours of the whisky distilling process.

Kingsley on Glasgow

We couldn’t give a guide to Glasgow without mentioning football, and we couldn’t mention football without talking to the living legend that is Kingsley, the terrifying mascot of Partick Thistle

What’s your favourite place in Glasgow to visit? There is only one answer to this! Firhill Stadium of course, the stadium of dreams, it’s my second home. Come visit – you’ll never look back.

Who was your hero growing up? There’s only one hero I looked up to, literally, when I was young – the Sun. Coming from California, he was always there for me growing up. I hoped to shine as brightly as the Sun did when I grew up – and people say I have! I do miss him as he doesn’t make it here as often as I’d like... but I like to think I bring the sunshine to Firhill.

What is your favourite colour? All Thistle fans would say two colours – red and yellow. All Thistle fans except me, of course, as it will not surprise you to hear my favourite colour is yellow. Can you imagine a red Kingsley? That would be scary! Thankfully I’m friendly and yellow.

You’re going for a night out in Glasgow, and can invite three people. Who’s on the guestlist? Firstly, I would invite the King of Spain, Gerry Britton [current Partick Thistle chief exec], as he likes a party and a sing-song so he would be perfect to get the night going! Then, I’d invite the gaffer, Ian McCall, especially if we were to go to the West End as he claims to know everyone there and I’d love to put that to the test. I bet I know more! Finally, I’d invite Brian Graham, goal machine for the Thistle men’s team and current manager of the Thistle women’s team, to make sure the night finished well, as the big man always finishes well!

When did you last cry? Kingsley last cried when lockdown meant I couldn’t spend time with the fans. But I was OK and made sure we kept in touch. It’s always good to share how you are feeling and let the people around you know. It’s OK to cry. But it’s so good to be back.

“It’s always good to share how you are feeling and let the people around you know. It’s OK to cry”

Name your favourite band... It’s got to be Focus, the band behind the Firhill anthem Sylvia. That’s a Kingsleyapproved banger! Who or what are you most scared of? Pre-season. Kingsley always struggles running up hills to get fit for the new season but you don’t become the world’s greatest mascot without some sacrifice!

What are your goals for the rest of the season? I want to see even more young fans at Firhill, taking advantage of our free under-16 season tickets, so I can wave to them all and high-five them when it’s safe to do so. I’d also like to take Amy MacDonald for a lemonade and run a few song ideas I have past her. I hear she’s a big fan of Kingsley.

What’s your favourite thing about Glasgow? Partick Thistle Football Club. The greatest football team in the world. And Jaconelli’s.

Tell us a secret about yourself that no one else knows... I was asked to participate in Strictly Come Dancing but turned it down as it would have meant missing Thistle games. Not happening! Nice try, Shirley.

Find Kingsley on the touchlines at Partick Thistle home games at Firhill Stadium, 80 Firhill Rd

Kapil Seshasayee

Glasgow-based musical polymath Kapil Seshasayee shares some of his favourite things about the city

Where’s your favourite place in Glasgow? We’re spoilt for choice here so it’s a tough call, but I’ll go for The 13th Note. Excellent pub scran and an iconic venue downstairs. My favourite show that I’ve ever put on was in there: New York singer Shilpa Ray in 2017. The last time she’d played Scotland she was opening for Nick Cave in a much larger venue so this show was packed to the rafters and my now-wife was one of the supporting acts. A night that’s gonna stick with me for sure.

How important is community where you live? How do you connect with the local community? There’s a lot of really pivotal community activity nucleated around another iconic venue, The Glad Cafe. I connected with the community not long after moving [to the Southside] by taking part in the Glad:Online project with local artist Greer Pester. We worked on a short documentary illuminating the efforts of community music workshops facilitated for non-able-bodied musicians and how these workshops have moved online since the pandemic. Sitting in on those online sessions was so inspiring.

How has the Glasgow music scene influenced you? I promoted in Glasgow heavily between 2014 and 2019 and I’ve been back at a good few local shows since restrictions have eased a bit – Glasgow music past and present is always something that I look to for inspiration. The importance of a good live show is really important to me and that came off the back of seeing Glasgow bands like Thin Privilege and wanting to achieve the sort of energy they had onstage – I liked them so much that I absorbed half of that band into my current creative team!

Photo: Sean Patrick Campbell What band/musician from Glasgow are you loving right now? I’m really into Rev Magentic just now, which is the current project of Luke Sutherland who was in Long Fin Killie, one of my favourite Scottish bands He’s also on a few Mogwai classics.

What makes Glasgow unique? For how small the city centre is, it’s an intersection of so many different kinds of people who can all coexist in a way that I think few other places can manage. I grew up here and yet I’m always discovering new things 30+ years in – I’m having fun exploring the Southside having never visited.

What are you working on right now? I’m working on my second album Laal – a concept album about the influence of Bollywood cinema. Expect that out in early 2022.

Kapil Seshasayee will be performing as part of The Dalmar Chorus at Common Ground Fest, QMU, Sat 6 Nov, 4-10pm, free