Quirky movie pub is back on track.. and is a hit with students and dogs

The term “man cave” is obviously sexist… so let’s rename it drinking den.

There are loads of them, heated, with tables, and lights, in the beer garden of one of the quirkiest bars in the country.

In the brilliant back yard of a former church hall in Glasgow’s Maryhi l l , this row of dens appeals to the hutter in all of us.

They’ve been a staple of this boozer during its last couple of incarnations – like wee beach huts in the un-beachy location of Queen Margaret Drive.

There’s a kids’ playground there, too, and fencing made from reclaimed tenement doors.

On the day Pub Spy visited, the rainbow bunting was still up from a makers’ market for dogs with the theme Pride Pups.

They even sell Bum Sniffer beer and Pawsecco for four-legged visitors. This spotp has come a long way since the days i t a chie ved notoriety a mon g a generation who c an define their student years by the entire Trainspotting soundtrack.

Once a no-frills boozer named Crosslands, it was used to film a scene from the 1996 movie where Robert Carlyle’s anti-hero Francis “Franco” Begbie lobbed a pint glass from the mezzanine and started a riot.

Since then, the scene has been recreated by countless visitors keen for a keepsake picture. Crosslands, as it was, was taken over and done up to appeal to the clientele on its doorstep – students.

Initially operating under the place-holding name So What Comes Next , it eventual ly became The Kelbourne Saint and finally gave over to what everyone calls it anyway – the Trainspotting bar.

It’s now Francos, named after Carlyle’s infamous character, complete with a Begbie ’tache in the logo.

Pub Spy confesses to being among the thousands of punters who have come here to recreate the scene (well, without actually letting go of the glass) for a social media snap.

Francos majors on craft lager, burgers and pizzas. It’s a beer barn with neon signs, a retro pinball machine, exposed copper vats and white brick tiles and a mural by graffiti artist Rogue One on the ceiling. As quirky inside as out.

Various menu items continue the theme, with nods to other Trainspotting characters and rougher icons of Scottish culture: The Bam pizza is made with Buckfast syrup. No, you first.

For proper pizza, you’re better off with Little Italy five minutes south but the ambience, design quirks, dog-friendly overtures and those outdoor dens make this pub – if not its grub – well worth a visit. Just watch out for flying tumblers.