The Gate on the Gallowgate toasts 200 years of East End history with a new cocktail menu

There has been a public house at 251 Gallowgate for over 200 years, and the team at The Gate has found a creative way to mark it. The East End pub, which sits directly across from the Barrowland Ballroom, has launched Tales of the Gallowgate, a new cocktail menu inspired by the characters, culture and stories of the streets around it.

The Gate has been at the address since 2019, but the site's history goes back much further. The first landlord, James Reid, took on the lease in 1826, and the address has remained a pub ever since, evolving with the area through market days, music legends and generations of local stories.

Every drink on the new list was developed in-house by the bar team. There are cocktail nods to the pizza crunch, Billy Connolly and the cow people at the Barras, as well as a margarita made in collaboration with Ho Le Fook chilli.

One of the signatures is The Robot, a tribute to Glasgow street legend Robert the Robot. Built around Haku vodka, it blends Midori, manzanilla sherry, pandan and pineapple brine for a drink the team describes as playful, slightly surreal and unexpectedly complex.

Owner Andy Gemmell said 251 Gallowgate has been bringing people together for generations, and it was important that the menu respected that history while still feeling unmistakably like The Gate. He said he has fallen in love with this part of Glasgow, which has grit, humour and heart, and he is excited about its future.

The Gate's approach has always been to balance the welcome of a traditional Glasgow pub with an inventive drinks offering. The bar focuses on Scottish brands, with more than 160 whiskies and around 30 gins alongside craft beers and wine, and it is known for its toasties and regular food takeovers with guest chefs. Whisky writer Dave Broom has praised its no rules, no airs or graces attitude.

Whether you are heading to a gig across the road or exploring the East End, it is a pub where a pint of Tennent's and a carefully made cocktail sit happily side by side.

The Gate is at 251 Gallowgate, Glasgow. Tales of the Gallowgate is available now, and tables can be booked through thegateglasgow.com.