Glasgow Pubs: How a famous Glasgow pub found a new lease of life by moving down the street

The Admiral Bar shut in March 2023, after almost six decades in the city centre. The closure was short-lived with the team behind the pub decanting to a new venue as the Admiral Woods, still located on the same stretch of Waterloo Road. It was a remarkable resurrection after being displaced by property developers - their plans for the original site are currently still in limbo.

“The Admiral was obviously a place that was pretty iconic in Glasgow, tiled floor, stained glass, really beautiful bar. Unfortunately, two years ago now, we got word that it was going to be sold by the landlords to developers,” Siobhan Ross, who runs the new incarnation of the Admiral Woods, says. “So unfortunately, that called an end to our time there.”

Siobhan is the daughter of Dave Ross, the last manager of the Admiral Bar, who had ran the bar for much of the previous 20 years alongside his business partners. Dave is still involved with the bar, albeit from slightly more of a distance. And Siobhan confirms that the family ties rarely lead to disagreements - “We got on well,” she tells me.

The closure meant the end of almost 60 years of the Admiral Bar. The team behind the Admiral began looking for alternate premises - “thankfully, this came up and here we are,” Siobhan says. A move from such a recognisable space could have led to a loss of identity, but Siobhan wanted to bring the charm of the original site with her.

“I’ve tried to really recreate some of the warmth that along the road had in terms of the artwork that we put on the walls, and we brought some of the furniture along with us,” Siobhan explains.

What also hasn’t changed is the Admiral’s claim to the best mac ‘n’ cheese in Glasgow. Something which has kept Glaswegians flocking to the place for years.

“But obviously we’ve kept the things that we’re known for, like the macaroni seems to be something that’s stuck. I don’t know what it is,” Siobhan says. “I think the guys basically just add cheese, cheese and more cheese. I think it’s literally just very cheesy and it seems to have become very popular over the years.”

However, the bar has definitely seen the changing face of Glasgow’s nightlife over the decades. Siobhan highlighted the changing behaviour of those visiting the city’s bars and pubs.

“Places are quiet after midnight, people make that last train. Pre-Covid, you had to kick people out at three in the morning when you were shutting. We don't have a licence that late here, it's only 1am, but it's rare that we use it.” Siobhan says.

Punters from the Admiral Bar have continued to come along to the new spot, however. Although, there are still former regulars who stumble across the new place from time to time according to Siobhan.

“Thankfully, most of our customers seem to know that we were moving and have found us. There's still people that come in every other week, though, that are like ‘we didn't know that you were here, didn't know that you'd moved,’” she says.

And now the Admiral can look forward to the next chapter in its story.

The Admiral Woods, 29 Waterloo St, G2 6BZ