Latest reviews from Liverpool
| 80 /100 WESTMINSTER CHAMBERS, 98 DALE STREET, “Visited 29/02/2024. Close to Ship & Mitre. 20 taps of keg beers available. A fair range of styles & breweries. Friendly service.“ |
| 76 /100 Bundobust (Restaurant) 1ST FLOOR, 17-19 BOLD STREET “Visited 29/02/2024. Large one room first-floor restaurant. The usual wonderful Bundo food menu. 10 keg beers mostly Bundobust's own plus a smattering of guests. I'm a fan of the brand and love the food which are better than the beers, which I'd say are perfectly palatable.
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| 74 /100 Outpost (Bar) 77 RENSHAW ST “Dive/music/hippie/post-hippie bar not too far from Line Street Station. Sadly my last port of call before I leave. They say they open at 4 'sometimes later but never earlier'. I was fine for 5-ish on a Sunday. No cask but about 8 keg (4 interesting) and loads of cans, including a few for a fiver (including an 8.5% Brew York number). The keg, from the likes of Northwest outfits Chapter, Farm Yard and Lakes, is reasonably priced. I dug this place. Occasional music gigs.“ |
| 72 /100 72 LIME ST “A walk down Lime Street away from the station yielded this unassuming little brewpub where the Sanctuary used to be. It's small and quiet on my visit, with Steely Dan playing in the background which can be a good sign. The beer list is decent if not overly extensive. 6 cask and 4 keg (although one - their RIS - is repeated on both) complemented by a few bottles of their beers,some not available on tap. I had an APA which was all right. Probably deserves a deeper dive into their beers, but as the toilets weren't working (I know it can't be helped sometimes but not great), I moved on. Some other notes: there's a Nepalese restaurant upstairs. They are very dog friendly and do DnD (Monday) and poker (Tuesday) nights. Also, one of those places where a half is proportionally more than a pint. But it's cheap enough overall.“ |
| 78 /100 Peter Kavanagh’s (Bar) 2-6 EGERTON STREET “OK, first things first: Peter Kavanagh's doesn't have an insane beer selection: Abbot, Landlord, JHB and a Wolf beer on my visit. The beer will be in perfect condition, but you probably won't get ticks. What you will get in an amazing atmosphere, brilliant company, the way 'pubs used to be'. Walls adorned with all sorts of stuff (complete with themed areas), nooks and crannies for seating. 80s pop and reggae piped through. Can't recommend enough, although the score has to reflect the beer choice (this being Ratebeer after all), it's one hell of a gem.“ |
| 56 /100 Swan Inn (Bar) 86 WOOD STREET “This place is a bit intense. One room, bare bones, a picture of Karl Marx on the wall. Or is it Brahms? Extreme metal playing on the box when I came in, which I'm very happy with. Four cask beers on, I chose a Stockport beer which was sadly not in good condition. Enjoyed the atmosphere if not the beer.“ |
| 72 /100 Albert's Schenke (Restaurant) 16 HANOVER STREET “German restaurant which is also a decent bar. Charming outside, very large, open plan and identikit inside. I went for some food as I was hungry and there aren't many German restaurants in the UK. There are about 8 proper guest beers to choose from and you can get flights of 3 thirds for £6.60, expensive for Liverpool but reasonable in most of the UK. Went for a combination of Chapter, Farm Yard and Black Lodge, so all Northwest. Service is very good. I'd recommend if you have time.“ |
| 70 /100 Bridewell (Bar) 1 CAMPBELL SQUARE “I think this is either an ex-prison or it sure feels like one. The feel of the Bridewell is a bit corporate and a little too over-formal for my liking. Having said this, the beer selection is brilliant with about five cask and three interesting keg. Turning Point, Ossett, Warwickshire breweries were some of those represented. Friendly customers, many on their way to or from somewhere else. Not a must but a maybe.“ |
| 60 /100 Cains Brewery Tap (Bar) 35 STANHOPE STREET “Music blaring. It's Self Control by Laura Branigan. Haven't heard this in a while. You know what else I haven't done in a while? Had a Cain's beer. I asked in here if they still brewed and they said yes, but... 2 cask beers on and they are both (easily available) Neptune. Now, I do like Neptune so this was fine. But the choice isn't great here. Nice building though.“ |
| 78 /100 Baltic Fleet (Bar) 33 WAPPING “It's far-ish from the city centre but handy for the docks. A gorgeous old building, sympathetically seen to where needed but generally retaining the feel. The beer is as good as the pub itself: five cask and about three keg of decent beer from nearby and UK-wide breweries. Cask is generally £4 per pint at time of writing so fill yer boots.“ |
| 56 /100 Merchant (Bar) 23 PARR ST “Pleasant enough pub, although good luck finding it without a sign. It's wooden bare bones inside. Beer list is macro with the exception of a Five Points beer. Just not a tickers' place.“ |
| 74 /100 Bundobust (Restaurant) 1ST FLOOR, 17-19 BOLD STREET “Clean, airy, bright first-floor restaurant. You are seated by a host so it feels formal but it really us pretty relaxed. 10 keg beers and one cask, mostly from Bundobust with one Thornbridge collab and one Northern Monk. The menu has changed since I've been to a Bundobust, seems more focused on light snacks which is fine with me. A bit dear all in all, and they ask for a tip when paying which I don't mind but some might. Still, the beer/food combo is immense. Recommended.“ |
| 68 /100 Crown Hotel (Bar) 43 LIME STREET CITY CENTRE “I've been here quite a few times but never rated it for some reason. It's in spitting distance of Lime St Station, so if on a crawl this will likely be your first or last port of call. It's an opulent and convivial place, with a front room with a bar and more seating in the back. The beer list isn't bad really, with five more interesting cask beers along with two nationals. Not too much local but you could try beer from Devon, Scotland, or Yorkshire; I got a new brewery tick (Bays in Devon). Food menu very chain-pubby nd a bit dear for Liverpool but, then it's right near the station. Better than the sum of its parts.“ |
| 80 /100 133 DALE STREET “A lovely Art Deco building at the top of Dale Street, plenty of beers to choose from with up to 10 cask beers/ciders and a multitude of exotic looking craft keg options. Visited early doors so it was quiet, staff are really good, not in your face hipsters telling you what to drk, but happy to offer guidance if asked. It's effectively multi-roomed, with the front bar all in wood and the back bar and bottle shop area more upholstered. Great pub to kick of a Dale Street crawl“ |
| 68 /100 UNIT 3 KING EDWARD RISE INDUSTRIAL ESTATE, GIBRALTAR ROW “Right across the street from Azvex, this is warehouse-like tasting room (brewery is in back), with plenty of space. 1/3 pints available and staff are happy to do free samples too. They had a solid imperial stout on tap, a decent IIPA, and some other kooky stuff. Probably worth a look when you're over at Azvex.“ |
| 64 /100 UNIT 16 KING EDWARD ST, GIBRALTAR ROW “Modern craft brewery tasting room that you would see in North America. I want to like this place more, but the beer just doesn't cut it for me, since so many beers are chalky hazies that I can't stomach. They do 1/3 pints and will pour free samples. Friendly service. But I just didn't find anything I liked here -- even their helles and imperial stout were just kinda meh. Probably worth a look depending on your style preferences.“ |
| 68 /100 WESTMINSTER CHAMBERS, 98 DALE STREET, “Basically across the street from The Ship & Mitre, so may as well check this out when you're tired of traditional/cask ales. This place has mostly craft beers, but heavy on the hazies, fruited sours, and uber-sweet dark beers from Tartarus when I visited. 1/3 pint pours available, plus staff will do free samples. Pleasant, more modern environment that's far away from the traditional pub feel. Super friendly service. Worth a visit.“ |
| 68 /100 133 DALE STREET “40 taps, many of which are casks. The place is deceptively large. Classic English pub, with mostly traditional styles, but also some new-world craft styles. 1/3 pints available. I went mid-afternoon on a Saturday when it was absolutely jam-packed, loud and with only standing room at that point. So beware of visiting at peak hours. I was entirely wowed by the beer list, but with this large a list, you pretty much have to check it out when you're in town.“ |
| 66 /100 The Grapes (Bar) 60 ROSCOE STREET “Cool spot close-ish to BrewDog, classic pub with mostly cask ales on tap. 1/3 pints available and well-priced. If you like traditional pub ale, come here; if not, you will be quickly bored by this place. Friendly service and a nice homey environment. Worth a look depending on your beer style preferences.“ |
| 62 /100 3 KINGS DOCK ST “Strangely located inside a walled off area, so, if coming from the north, you have to walk all the way around. 10 or so taps, with custom flights of 3 starting at £5.50. The beer list was heavily skewed towards single hop pale ales that just weren't structured all that well -- nothing egregious, just not dialled in exactly right. Pleasant small place, nice service, but nothing special beer quality-wise.“ |
| 76 /100 BrewDog Liverpool (Bar) MANOLIS YARD, 8 COLQUIT STREET, “Another BrewDog, similar to the others, located close to the centre. A dozen of the taps are the uninteresting mainstays, but they had some very good special taps and guest taps. 1/3 pours of everything available, and also free tastes. This is pretty much standard for a BrewDog bar, maybe with a slightly better taplist than most. Worth hitting when in Liverpool.“ |
| 74 /100 Ship in a Bottle (Beer Store) 45A WHITECHAPEL “Visited in 2018, great selection of local beers“ |
| 48 /100 Home Bargains (T.J Morris Ltd), Nationwide (Beer Store) PORTAL WAY, AXIS BUSINESS PARK, GILLMOSS “Based on visits to the Reading, Stafford and Hugh Wycombe branches, it's pretty much the same as B&M but slightly more downmarket - ie a budget "everything" shop selling everything from packaged food to home & gardenware, toys, pet products, cleaning and DIY products and so on. Prices initially seem cheap, but often this is either at the expense of either quality or portion size so you do have to be a bit choosy. Beerwise, smaller branches (such as the Stafford one) seem to predominantly stock Home Bargains own brand stuff (which count as Merseyside rates, which is good for me!). Note that their own brand brews are often disguised as fake brewery names such as Off Axis or Glen Cannich. Larger branches also occasionally get in one-off batches of some rarely seen (albeit not necessarily high quality) breweries - on my recent visits to the Wycombe and Reading stores there were several US breweries stocked that were new to me, such as Cruz Blanca, Paradox and Upslope. Overall then it's definitely not a beer destination, but it's maybe better than other budget stores on the beer front. If you're passing a larger one and have a bit of time to spare it's probably worth popping in - if you're lucky you may get some new brewery ticks at very reasonable prices.“ |
| 58 /100 Font Liverpool (Bar) 1 ARRAD STREET “Opposite the Cathedral but slightly set-back from the main road, this is a modern style bar with easy on the eye wooden furnishings as well as sofas. In a large open plan room it has a student vibe, mainly because it's in a student area - the bar wouldn't look out of place elsewhere in the city. Several keg ales are available, but its can choices in the fridge behind the bar are arguably a better option.“ |
| 70 /100 Caledonia (Bar) 22 CALEDONIA ST “Old atmospheric corner pub on the cusp of the city centre on the main road through the Georgian Quarter. With a wood heavy interior and large exterior windows there's a lot of charm about this place. The entrance is at its corner with the bar against the side wall serving a very good mix of local cask and keg.“ |
| 70 /100 62-64 BRIDGEWATER STREET “In the Baltic Triangle between the docks and Chinatown, this is a neat warehouse conversion, with a purpose built bar and restaurant on the ground floor in a room to the right of the reception area. It's quite a large space with the bar at the far wall after you enter, with upstairs space too and a mix of bench or more regular standard size tables on in front of the service area. There's a decent range of its own brews available as you might expect.“ |
| 72 /100 Head of Steam Liverpool (Bar) 85-89 HANOVER STREET “On the ground floor of a large building almost opposite Liverpool Central station, they've made this Head of Steam quite an atmospheric cavernous affair with the bar towards the rear of a long central corridor area that does have seats either side before you get to their range of worthwhile cask and keg options. There's further seating areas beyond here.“ |
| 68 /100 Bundobust (Restaurant) 1ST FLOOR, 17-19 BOLD STREET “Along from the Bold Street entrance the Liverpool Central, this is a first floor venue with a prominent set of steps leading up to the venue from the aforementioned street. (The picture on RB at the time of writing is the original Leeds restaurant - not Liverpool). The largest of all the Bundobust venues I've frequented along the M62 corridor its bar is immediately to the right as you enter with the usual selection from its brewery and some guests. It's a large open plan room with seats throughout, and quite a few window ones so you can look down and people-watch on the Ropewalks.“ |
| 66 /100 Bridewell (Bar) 1 CAMPBELL SQUARE “In the Ropewalks basically at its closest point to the docks, this is a walled venue as it used to be a police station, with drinking taking place within the walls of the old cells, making it both interesting and atmospheric. These are beyond the main room, which has its bar against the back wall, selling both cask and keg, although the selection may be a little hit or miss.“ |
| 66 /100 Albert's Schenke (Restaurant) 16 HANOVER STREET “At the dockside start of the Rope Walks, this is a modern bar and restaurant with a rotund frontage and a nice enough vibe inside. Ideally for those that want to just drink there's an area for that immediately through the door, with a very attractive table for drinking that has a large fireplace as its centrepiece, this is between the door and the bar, which has a long row of keg pulled beers at the bar with enough craft keg here to please.“ |
| 48 /100 Hope & Anchor (Bar) 7 MARYLAND STREET “Large open plan venue with a student vibe about it, located between the Liverpool Philharmonic and the new Cathedral - down a side street off the connecting road. With durable multi-coloured furniture that is spaced outs, so there's plenty of room to breath in this bar, which has several pool tables sporadically placed throughout the venue. It has a number of keg ale options from nationally well-known craft brewers such as Tiny Rebel and Brewdog.“ |
| 48 /100 Refinery (Bar) JOSEPHINE BUTLER BUILDING, HOPE STREET “Opposite the Liverpool Philharmonic building, this is a restaurant with limited craft keg options, including a cider (Orchard Pig). Entry is at the corner with the bar immediately upon you and tables beyond. You can just drink at the bar but the selection isn't worthy enough for that, especially with so many better option near by.“ |
| 50 /100 Jacaranda (Bar) 21-23 SLATER STREET “On Slater Street, the main connecting street in the Rope Walks, and amongst many other bars and eateries. Perhaps more of a late night venue, its appearance transcends both traditional pub and 'bar', with a selection perhaps more suited to the late night reveller than the beer aficionado. The action takes place in an open plan ground floor room with the bar against the right-hand wall with very little of interest available on it.“ |
| 52 /100 Captain Alexander (JDW) (Bar) 15 JAMES ST “On James Street close to the station, this is a fairly standard Wetherspoon lay out with the bar at the rear side wall of the room with the usual set of drinks.“ |
| 82 /100 133 DALE STREET “Needed to stop this as the top rated place in Liverpool, and it did not dissapoint. Very classic old English pub, probably early 1900s, with very little renovations, very cozy. 10 casks (8 beers, 2 ciders), 30 taps (3 ciders, 27 beers), all available in thirds at anywhere between 1 to 3 pounds. very inexpensive. The kitchen was closed but they do offer scouse stew.
A must in Liverpool.“ |
| 74 /100 BrewDog Liverpool (Bar) MANOLIS YARD, 8 COLQUIT STREET, “Visited here after my visit to Liverpool Cathedral (the other place i wanted to visit was closed during daytine due to lack of personel ). Very similar to the Brewdog i visited in Paris. Very modern yet barn like. Plenty of seating. Server was friendly and offered good service. A dozen of brewdogs and about 4 guest taps. Flight of 4 available but i guess price depends on cost of beer. Mine was a bit less than 14 pounds (a bit pricy). Decided to go for a third of Jester King La vie en Rose...the keg kicked and i was given a bit over half a pint for free. Only note: only place in Europe on this trip where there was an overt option to leave a tip on the cc reader...i did leave one given the freebie.“ |
| 68 /100 Captain Alexander (JDW) (Bar) 15 JAMES ST “Only stopped for breakfast but I noted 12 taps, 8 of which were interesting and all 2.79 £. Rest is typical JWD, order at bar with table number and quick service.“ |
| 50 /100 77 TITHEBARN STREET “North of Moorfields station, this is a clutter-full relatively narrow Irish styled bar with very little to offer drinks-wise, only their own named brew might be the reason for beer hunters to frequent here except it's almost certainly a rebadge. Friendly and inviting.“ |
| 76 /100 UNIT 16 KING EDWARD ST, GIBRALTAR ROW “Big open warehouse space. Beers skew very heavily towards hazy IPAs, but they are pretty good at them. Food pop up on our visit. An excellent addition to the Liverpool beer scene.“ |
| 68 /100 UNIT 3 KING EDWARD RISE INDUSTRIAL ESTATE, GIBRALTAR ROW “Pretty broad selection of styles, couple of cask options. Vibe is an airy warehouse with lounge furniture style. Beer quality fine. Will likely visit again as it's easily combined with Azvex across the street.“ |
| 58 /100 Hole In Ye Wall (Bar) 4 HACKINS HEY “Fairly standard old pub. Seats could take refurbishing. Few local cask options. Not much atmosphere, and pretty dark. Didn't feel particularly historic.“ |
| 74 /100 Roscoe Head (Bar) 24 ROSCOE STREET “Traditional pub with several small seating / drinking areas. Visited late on a Thursday afternoon, and whilst the total number of drinkers was not huge, the pub still felt full. Decent beer selection on our visit. A must when in this part of Liverpool, i.m.o“ |
| 64 /100 Fly In The Loaf (Okells) (Bar) 13 HARDMAN STREET “Slightly lacking in atmosphere during our Thursday early afternoon visit. Reasonable choice of beers. Proximity to pubs with (i.m.o) a slightly better beer choice & atmosphere in the vicinity means it is worth a look in when in the area.“ |
| 70 /100 Cracke (Bar) 13 RICE STREET “Great atmosphere in this pub, and friendly service. Not the largest beer range, but well worth a visit when combined with other pubs within walking distance.“ |
| 68 /100 Dispensary (Bar) 87 RENSHAW STREET “Selection of 6-7 cask beers on our visit. Relatively quiet on a Thursday lunchtime. Worth a visit.
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| 40 /100 Home Bargains (T.J Morris Ltd), Nationwide (Beer Store) PORTAL WAY, AXIS BUSINESS PARK, GILLMOSS “Generally awful, but you can occasionally find something odd and interesting.“ |
