***CLOSED*** Food and Drink Review: MacGregors Pie and Ale Howff, 5 Blackfriars Street, Glasgow, G1 1PG

Macgregors pie ale howff Glasgow

Macgregors pie ale howff Glasgow

It’s pie time you visited!

Recently opened MacGregors Pie and Ale Howff has all the pies you never knew you needed!  Situated across from Babbity Bowsters on Blackfriars Street in the Merchant City, MacGregors has given new life to the old Strathduie bar.

Food

Macgregors pie ale howff Glasgow

Pies range from regular fillings like steak and ale to all day breakfast, Thai veggie curry and even a “Duckfast” – I’m sure you can work out what’s inside!

Macgregors pie ale howff Glasgow

We  had an All Day Breakfast pie stuffed with bacon, sausage, mushroom, tattie scone and black pudding. Peas & beans are available for an extra 75p, we opted for the beans, well it would be rude not to!

Macgregors pie ale howff Glasgow

Crisp pastry and filled to the brim with breakfast goodies. These pies are not to be confused with your typical pub Scotch pie as they have a thicker, flakier pastry and much more food encased within.

Macgregors pie ale howff Glasgow

Next up was the vegetable Thai curry pie.

Macgregors pie ale howff Glasgow

As soon as we cut into the pie the unmistakable fragrant aroma of Thai spices escaped.

Macgregors pie ale howff Glasgow

More crispy and firm pastry filled with chick peas, veg and green curry goodness with a mild kick. These are some of the best pies in Glasgow so we’re looking forward to trying the full range.

At the moment (April 2016) if you buy your pie in their first hour of opening or at their last hour of the day, your pie is a mere £1! The usual price is £5 on its own, £6 with a schooner or £7.50 with a pint.

Check their Facebook page for updates.

Drink

Macgregors pie ale howff Glasgow

The beer here is worthy of a detour from your usual haunt. There are five cask beers on rotation as well as a large selection of Scottish bottled beers, making this one of the best places for beer in the Merchant City. Loch Ness – Loch Ness (4.4%), Inveralmond – Lia Fail (4.7%), Jaw Brew – Drift (4.6%), Kelburn – Carte Blanche (5%) were all on tap when we visited.

Macgregors pie ale howff Glasgow

There are also deals for Students Monday – Thursday when a deep-filled pie and schooner (2/3rds of a pint) will set you back a mere fiver. Live sport is also shown inside.

Macgregors pie ale howff Glasgow

Split bar/lounge. Everything at ground level so should be ok for disabled access, but as it’s a former old mans’ pub there’s no disabled toilet . Toilets small but clean. Service friendly and helpful. Handy for High Street train station and Trongate buses. Open for lunch and cafe style stamp cards available – buy 5 pies get 1 free.

TL:DR

+ pies are full of flavour
+ great selection of Scottish craft beer
+ real ale available

– costs extra for beans

Disclaimer: MacGregor’s kindly invited us in to try the pies and we loved them.

Emma

Emma

Hello!

I am Emma and with my husband Mark write Foodie Explorers, which is a food and travel website.

I am a member of the Guild of Food Writers and British Guild of Travel Writers.

We have a wide range of judging experience covering products, hotels and have judged, for example, for Great Taste Awards and Scottish Baker of the Year.

Along the way Mark gained WSET Level 2 in Wine and I have WSET Level 2 in Spirits as well as picking up an award with The Scotsman Food and Drink Awards.    

Usually I can be found sleeping beside a cat.

Recommended Articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.