Back in the day the Dennistoun Palais was apparently where it was at, and a new bar on Duke Street called The Palais is an affectionate nod to its glory days.
Leasing the bar, which is at 380 Duke Street, are business partners Paul McJimpsey, John Lonergan who run the Record Factory bar on Glasgow’s Byres Road, plus David Brown, former GM at the city’s St Luke’s and the Winged Ox.
Paul McJimpsey told DRAM, “We have created a neighbourhood bar in an area that we believe is up and coming, with lots more young professionals moving in. The nods to the Dennistoun Palace, which used to stand about 500 metres from the bar and was, I believe, one of the biggest dance halls in the UK in its heyday, also extend to the cocktail list. There’s one called The Palais Slide which I think was a type of shimmy.”
The trio has put their stamp on the place, which used to be The Duchess. Explained Paul, “We have removed a partition wall to create a performance area as well as making the place lighter and airier in what was a fairly enclosed space. It used to be fairly dark with lots of old church pews, which we have replaced with re-upholstered seating and the colour scheme is now grey and off-white.”