“What’s up – is the TV rubbish tonight or something?” asks the overworked barmaid at Republic Bier Stube. She has a point – for a nippy Monday night, this bar is heaving, so much so we can’t get a table in the eating section at the back.

The barmaid acknowledges that she’s noticed more people starting to come out later in the evening, not just to drink but also to eat in a comfortable, smokeless space, rather than prop up the bar with a fag hanging out their mouths. So where previously I would have either forced down my meal with a dose of cigarette smoke or foregone food altogether, I can now enjoy my food unadulterated by nicotine. This has become a cooler country overnight. Imagine that.

And if we’re going to become all continental by eating and drinking later in the day, Republic Bire Stube is a good place to drop by. It has a distinctly eastern-European feel, all exposed pipe work, low spotlights, wooden benches and drab brown-grey walls. There is even a Soviet-style gas heater in the corner, but it still errs on the comfy side of minimalism. The old-school dinner menu board looks like it was salvaged from a hip bar in east Berlin.

The bar stocks beer from around the world, so for anyone craving a Singha to remind themselves of dancing on a Thai beach, or a Tiger to transport them back to Singapore, this is the place to come. You can even go for the German experience and order a two-pint stein to remind you of staggering around the Oktoberfest – only this time you’re in the south side of Glasgow.

The Stube – German for local – has been pulling in discerning drinkers since 2002, and is still going strong in an environment when so-called style bars come and go more quickly than Hearts managers. The operation is the south side arm of the burgeoning Republic chain run by Glasgow nightlife guru Colin Barr, which besides the original Republic Bier Halle on Gordon Street, includes the latest addition, Republic Uber Lounge, on West Campbell Street.

As well as the selection of beers, schnapps is a speciality of the Stube – flavours such as butterscotch, white melon and mandarin are available alongside the commoner types, while, for the purists, there’s a range from German schnapps maker Berentzen that includes sour aple, winter-spiced apple with cinnamon or green pear. Wines are categorised as cheap, decent or good, although there’s not much between them in terms of price, ranging from £9.95 to £13.95 a bottle.

The Stube even has wireless internet access, which is being used by one solitary punter with his laptop.

And the food? Well this isn’t a restaurant review but let’s just say it is tasty, inexpensive and a pleasure to eat in this brave new world of smoke-free bars. The Stube makes a worthy local, whatever the language.