November 7, 2011 [ Updated April 4, 2012 ]
a lovely local pub in Liverpool good ales and friendly nice atmosphere

August 24, 2011
Visited in June 2011. In the 1970s this place was known as the Grapes but has since adopted its nickname as its formal moniker. It’s a little way from the city centre, a bit south of the University precinct in an area largely consisting of rather grand houses that were mainly dilapidated and, in some cases, squatted in my day but is now known as “the Georgian Quarter” (with property prices to match). It’s a marvellous multi-roomed Victorian place with wood panelling, stained glass and pretty fine murals. The feel is more intimate and local than some of the grander gin palaces but it has a rather wonderful coherence. Half a dozen decent beers on offer. There was live music from a band that seemed to mix trad jazz, skiffle and folk when we visited. One of the few places in town that was crowded on a quiet Tuesday night. If you are short of time it may be tempting to give this place a miss as it is slightly out of the way. Don’t give in to any such temptation.

July 31, 2011
A great place! Just the kind of pub I’d like as my local. It’s tucked away in a residential side street off one of the elegant, wide Georgian streets that hint at Liverpool’s affluent past. When we visited on a Tuesday evening there was a jazz band on a shelf-like platform in the main room playing to a bohemian crowd of locals, foreign students and a flamboyant chap wearing a George Melly hat and striped blazer. According to Chris, the place has hardly changed since 1975, when it was known as “The Grapes”, and I can easily believe this. It still has tobacco stained walls and unusual tables with built-in ashtrays. The bar is sandwiched between two curvy snugs and there’s a mass of clutter suspended from the ceiling – old radios, a rocking horse, skates, models of a cigar-shaped car and a hot air balloon, jam pans, a gas mask, brass scales. The list goes on ….. We found seats in the front snug, which has a lute, a flute, guitars and a trombone hanging from the ceiling. The walls are decorated with huge crusty old oil canvasses that wouldn’t have looked out of place in a nineteenth century hunting lodge and there are gargoyles carved into the plate shelf and benches. The leaded stained glass windows are lovely but don’t let in a huge amount of light so it’s certainly cosy. It was a bit too crowded to be able to get a full list of beers on offer but we had Blakemere Bronze Bitter and Sandstone Post Mistress. There was also Greene King IPA and, so my notes tell me, something called Herald’s that I haven’t been able to identify subsequently. (Visited 7 June 2011).

July 29, 2007
Only been here once but it’s a place worth visiting and handy for the festival at the Crypt if you’re going there. Old bikes, transistor radios and just about everything else hangs from the ceiling and this place can be quite surreal if you’ve had a few!

July 19, 2007 [ Updated March 25, 2009 ]
More than 150 years old pub with a colourful history. The staff tells exellent stories about Peter Kavanagh and the pub´s history. The place is full of features. It takes some pints to see them all. They have 11 beers on tap ( 5 real ales ). The place is not easy to find but worth of it (26.2.2007). I found it again (20.2.09)