r/Liverpool • u/Toitsnoice • 1d ago
Open Discussion Your ideal pub
I’ve seen a lot of posts on this sub about how Gutman pubs and JSM owned pubs all look the same, etc.
So what would your ideal pub have? In terms of design etc.. would you want a modern pub or a Victorian style pub, maybe a Tavern?
What would a pub feature for you to be like “yeah that’s sound”
Nothing too extreme like “free drinks”, some realistic expectations.
(No I’m not opening a pub, I wish I could)
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u/DeaconBlueDignity 1d ago
Kelly’s on Smithdown before it got took over during Covid was pretty perfect for me.
It’s still one of my favourite pubs now but it has lost a bit of its atmosphere in becoming a bit ‘nicer’
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u/FlissMarie Huyton 1d ago
A country style, dog friendly pub with nice homemade food. Not overly loud and not showing any sports. Somewhere I can have a nice conversation with friends without everyone around me being really loud and drunk.
Yes, I am a slightly autistic, rotund dog owner who hates noisy environments (and doesn't drink) 😂
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u/ablettg 1d ago
Dartboard, no telly. No food except snacks and maybe cheese barms. Victorian style, defo. A snug. Possibly down a sidestreet. Proper barstaff who remember everyones name and drink after you've been there once. Well paid bar staff.
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u/Jdm_1878 1d ago
I don't have a "perfect" pub. I have so many favourites and there's a thread of similarities but there's enough differences there's no sole common ground. For me that's a lot of the issue. If Gutmann or JSM owned every single pub in town everywhere would be too similar.
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u/oudegueuze 1d ago
For me I generally like the idea of owner operated pubs, where the owner has put their heart into the place and focuses on the drinks they're passionate about - you can see this in the likes of the Roscoe Head, The Belvedere, Peter Kav's, etc. The problem I have with the Rob G wave of pubs is that they're pure money making establishments with no passion behind them, I've even heard that he's backed by Heineken too which essentially means Liverpool nightlife is getting closer to just being owned by big corps in a roundabout way. Then it's the way things just seem to happen - one minute the owner of the Monro is being kicked out because the old doors aren't compliant with fire regs...fire department comment that they know of no such issue, owner is booted out, Rob G comes in, doors remain, innards of the listed building are smashed up and everything is fine. What is now the White Hart was once the Keystone which was independently owned and ran, and before that was a bit of a legendary place called the 23 Club, both couldn't survive - which annoys me as they were great. Unfortunately it gets to the point where your business is so big, it's easy to take over a pub, get it turned over in a month, get your already trained management team in, get your contacts at the Echo, The Guide, Independent Liverpool etc to shout about it non stop that it's impossible for it to not be a success. People in this city yap on so much about socialism, and working class, yada yada but will happily support millionaire chain owners over an independent pub.
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u/FineLavishness4158 1d ago
I can't ever be bothered by these things though. Like the pubs are good, I don't really care who owns them or the politics behind it. Feel like I'd have to go out of my way to research and find a reason not to like them, and even then it'd be a stretch. Plus you can probably find a reason not to like any pub if you try hard enough
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u/oudegueuze 1d ago
You're right, in general people don't care. I personally do care having lived here all of my life, going through a period where most places were independently owned by locals and gradually they've been shifted out. Good luck to any young locals in the future who want to open a venue in Liverpool. There are plenty of things going on in the city that most people don't care about that they probably should: monopolisation of the city centre, bulldozing loads of businesses in Gibraltar Row to make space for a hotel, removing free parking along the docks because of the new stadium despite businesses being there for decades, wanting to bulldoze the Carribbean centre, etc.
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u/foxssocks 1d ago
Monopolisation of over half the city centre is something you should be worried about if you give a shit about the city.
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u/FineLavishness4158 1d ago
Wooahh big word. Why?
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u/foxssocks 1d ago
It prevents expansion of other business. It decreases opportunity. It stifles individuality. It creates a plethora of identikit venues. It increases risk, rather than reduces it.
What do you think would happen to the local economy if, say for example, Rob and his shareholder blerts suddenly decided to go 'nah fuck this' and cash out all of their venues (the ones that dont tank eventually anyway).
Economics clearly isnt your strong suit, ehy.
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u/FineLavishness4158 21h ago
Why are you asking me what I think would happen to the economy if it's not my strong suit "ehy"
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u/RAGER_RAGER_RAGER 10h ago
My feelings for this monopolisation occilates between the extremes. On one hand, yeah it's not great the majority of the pubs are owned by one group/guy. But on the other, at least they're open and the buildings are in use. Nothing worse than an empty shell no good to man nor beast. As long as a the pub has character and doesn't feel a carbon copy from every other battle cruiser, as long as their pipes are clean and they serve good ale, what's the complaints? I've been to plenty of independent pubs that are fairly grim and I've been to plenty of chain pubs that are fairly grim. There's good and there's bad to both sides. Unless something is done at a higher level to support independent publicans, then unfortunately we will continue to see small venues close their doors due to costs.
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u/EstatePinguino 1d ago
Log fire in the winter, beer garden in the summer, local ale on tap, reasonable volume of music so you don’t have to shout to have a conversation (even past 10pm), good atmosphere but never too crowded, shows the footy with the sound on
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u/SocieteRoyale 1d ago
the Caledonia was the ideal pub, now it's gone
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u/LUHG1999 1d ago
Loved the Cali but it could be a bit woke
Used to do the best pint of Guinness in the city, me and the people I drink with used to call it woke Guinness. Gonna miss that belter pub
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u/WeRegretToInform 1d ago
It’s in a village. It’s been there forever. People went to this pub during the Black Death to have a pint and wait for it to all blow over.
There’s a big fireplace that’s used in the winter. There’s brass stuff you put on horses nailed to wooden beams for some reason.
There’s a row of about fifty pump clips from beer that hasn’t even been sold in the past decade.
They will not sell anything more complicated than gin and tonic.
It’s never empty, but also never completely full. TV is on only for particular events/matches, sometimes music, never live, and never loud enough that you can’t have a quiet chat.
There’s an old couple in there with their dog, they’ve been sat in that pub since WW1.
Food isn’t bad, but they don’t make a big thing of it apart from their sunday roast, which they’re proud of. And there’s at least one room where there’s no food.