A pub is shaped by who drinks in them and the ECHO constructed a pub crawl featuring bars that are favourites with our city’s most loved stars
The ECHO’s Ryan Paton and Courtney Eales enjoyed a drink in Ye Cracke on the pub crawl(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)
Liverpool is blessed with some of the greatest pubs in the world. The drinking dens of Merseyside are part of the fabric of the city and each one has its own story to tell.
Thousands of people have walked through the doors of the many watering holes across our region and settled into their surroundings to wile away the hours with a pint. A pub is shaped by who drinks in them and the ECHO is always intrigued to find out more about notable figures in the city and where they choose to go for a pint.
Where someone drinks says a lot about their personality and, in the ECHO’s Best of Liverpool series, we like to find out where stars from the city choose as their favourite pubs. We have compiled together the answers and scoured old interviews and stories to come up with a special celebrity pub crawl that we think works.
Now, the nature of the pub crawl means the bars need to all be within walking distance, so we have had to make some difficult omissions from Liverpool’s neighbourhoods.
Jimmy McGovern called Kensington’s Liver Vaults his favourite pub, while you could do a special West Derby pub crawl by going to Paddy Pimblett’s favourite, The Deysbrook, before heading to the Sefton Arms, which Joseph Quinn said he is partial to whenever he’s in the city.
All great pubs, no doubt, but sadly they do not feature in our pub crawl as we focused on the city centre for the purpose of this piece, which gets started in Liverpool’s historic Georgian Quarter.
Peter Kavanagh’s
The magnificent Peter Kavanagh’s pub on Egerton Street, Liverpool.(Image: Jason Roberts)
Nestled in the elegant terraces of Egerton Street, Peter Kavanagh’s is undeniably one of Liverpool’s great pubs. The 19th century enclave was selected by Jamie Webster, during his interview in the ECHO, as his favourite in the city, as the Scouse musician could often be found playing here at the beginning of his career.
The pub started life in 1844 and has been known as The Liver, The Liver Hotel, The Grapes, Peter’s Hotel and Peter’s over the years. It was renamed in 1978 to honour Peter Kavanagh, who was its licensee from 1897 to 1950.
Its current owner is equally as iconic as the pub’s namesake, as Rita Smith has been the landlady for this fabled watering hole for the past 34 years. The ECHO was lucky enough to have a chat with her during our stop on the pub crawl and she told us all about the notable figures that have enjoyed an ale in this drinker’s treasure trove.
Ricky Tomlinson, Sue Johnston and John Barnes are just some of the Liverpool icons who have wiled away the hours in Peter Kavanagh’s. Perhaps most unexpected was when Rita confirmed legendary Hollywood filmmaker Quentin Tarantino stopped by during his visit to the city in 2007.
The 62-year-old’s oeuvre of movies has shaped modern pop culture and Rita remembers the fanfare when he walked through the doors. However, she laughed she didn’t have a clue who he was and said the charm of Peter Kavanagh’s is that you can enjoy a drink in peace, as she instructed the patrons to leave Mr Tarantino alone.
Rita Smith holds up a photo taken when Quentin Tarantino had a drink in Peter Kavanagh’s
Ye Cracke
A sign outside Ye Cracke(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)
From Peter Kavanagh’s, turn right down Catharine Street and take a short walk in the direction towards Ye Cracke. Liverpool has plenty of fascinating ties to The Beatles and this charming pub, located on Rice Street, is right up there as one of the most notable.
Many Scousers will know Ye Cracke for being amongst John Lennon’s favourite spots to drink in his hometown. The Beatle was a regular during his days as an art student, and it was also the pub where he took his first wife, Cynthia Lennon, on their first date. Another of Liverpool’s most successful stars, Jodie Comer, has also been known to visit Ye Cracke. In her first ever interview with the ECHO earlier this year, the 32-year-old spoke about her love for the unpretentious pub.
At the time of the interview, the pub was closed as it transitioned to new owners. The 28 Years Later star was disappointed to hear about the temporary closure as she shared her hopes for Ye Cracke’s future. She said: “No, are they going to make it all fancy and bougie and get those gin gimlet things? Is that what’s going to happen? Hopefully someone has the common sense to keep it as close to what it is.”
Jodie was right about what made this pub special and the superstar Scouser will be delighted to see what the new owners have done with the place when she next visits.
As we entered on our pub crawl, it was clear the new Ye Cracke retains the traditional Victorian charm that made this pub stand out, and it continues to be one of the best places to have a drink in the city.
For anyone going to Ye Cracke, we recommend you follow the advice of one of its most famous patrons, as former bartenders claim Lennon would drink Black Velvet, a cocktail made from Guinness and sparkling wine. If that’s really not your thing, it also now serves Beamish, which is a welcome addition to any beer taps.
The Philharmonic Dining Rooms
A plaque commemorating Sir Paul McCartney’s association with The Philharmonic Dining Rooms(Image: Liverpool ECHO)
From Ye Cracke, head back onto Hope Street and turn left, as you make your way towards a jewel of Liverpool’s architecture for our third stop. Located where Hardman meets Hope Street, The Philharmonic Dining Rooms was completed at the end of the 19th century and was the first purpose built Victorian pub to be granted a prestigious Grade I listing.
Located between the city’s two cathedrals, the pub is renowned for its iconic toilets and it’s also a favourite of one of the city’s most famous sons. People may remember when Sir Paul McCartney played live to patrons here as part of a feature on the Late Late Show’s ‘Carpool Karaoke’ in 2018.
Sir Paul gathered fans in The Philharmonic for the surprise of their lives as he performed an array of Beatles hits. Before he changed the world as part of the Fab Four, the 83-year-old musician occasionally drank here and often played at the pub on his rise to stardom.
As to be expected for such a grand and historic building, other Liverpool stars have enjoyed a drink here, including Ian McCulloch of Echo and The Bunnymen fame. Fresh from an international tour in 2003, one of the first locations he visited after returning to Liverpool was The Philharmonic, where he had a pint of Cains bitter for an interview with the ECHO.
A city centre drinking scene without The Philharmonic is almost unimaginable, so whether you are taking our lead with the celebrity pub crawl, or just heading out for some casual drinks, you don’t want to pass up the chance to soak up the rich history of this iconic venue.
Pogue Mahone
A pint of Guinness from Pogue Mahone on Seel Street(Image: Liverpool ECHO)
A walk down Hardman Street and a left towards Seel Street takes you to Pogue Mahone. This bar brands itself as Liverpool’s “most authentic Irish pub” and home of the city’s “perfect pint” of Guinness. While both are big claims, you’d be hard pressed to find many in the city who would convincingly argue otherwise.
The love of Irish pubs is common across Merseyside as Liverpool is a city that has deep Irish roots. A city with such rich heritage should have great Irish pubs and it’s only right that a perfect example of the genre like Pogue Mahone should be a part of Liverpool’s drinking scene.
This City Is Ours star James Nelson Joyce described Pogue Mahone as his favourite in the city during an interview with the ECHO and the pub is also popular with former UFC fighter Molly McCann.
The 35-year-old was filmed singing karaoke here last year and she visited the pub alongside Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett as part of their BBC documentary Paddy and Molly: Show No Mersey. Speaking to the ECHO about her favourite Liverpool pubs last year, she said: “Right, I start in Pogue Mahone, walk down to Fitzgerald’s and then to Motel.”
The Monro
The Monro(Image: Liverpool ECHO)
Continue down Seel Street and take a left to Slater Street as we move towards our final stop, which is an old favourite that has recently been given new life.
The history of this famous building, located on Duke Street, dates back to 1750 and its appeal shows no signs of slowing. Since reopening last year, The Monro has become increasingly popular with a younger clientele as it was selected by rising Liverpool star Darci Shaw as her favourite during an interview with the ECHO last year.
It’s also popular with people outside of the city such as Hairy Bikers star Si King, who said he enjoyed The Monro so much he’s considering a permanent move to Liverpool. During another visit to this pub, the ECHO bumped into Chase star Darragh Ennis while he was in the city to watch his beloved Liverpool FC.
While there was sadly no Chasers on our visit during this pub crawl, we did spot Liverpool comedian Adam Rowe at the bar, which was alive with a buzzing atmosphere, despite it being a weeknight.
The pub has been so popular since reopening as you can always rely on this venue to strike that perfect balance of being a nice level of busy that means you are still able to have a conversation. The Monro also prides itself on its Guinness and we couldn’t resist the offering from the vintage lightbox pump for a nightcap to bring an end to our evening.
We called last orders after five on our crawl as we had to be back in ECHO offices the next morning. But if you wanted to continue your odyssey through Liverpool’s pubs, then you are in a prime spot after the Monro, right in the beating heart of the city’s nightlife.
You could even complete the “Meatball” Molly pub crawl by heading back down Slater Street towards Fitzgerald’s, before finishing the night in one of town’s liveliest spots, Motel.
