A Mixed Bunch in Town

A couple of trips into Liverpool gave me the chance to make a few long-overdue pub visits.  Sorry, no pictures this time.

Let's start on Whitechapel in The Beehive - Incidentally one of two pubs with this name in the City Centre.  Not much has changed since my last visit in 2007, except for the welcome addition of real ale, and I was able to enjoy a decent pint of Black Sheep.  A long narrow "corridor bar" with some original features including a good ceramic dado in the standing area by the bar.  To the rear is a restaurant area which was totally deserted when I visited, although a number of people were eating in the more friendly surroundings of the front seating area.

The menu, a good selection of standard pub fare, features this sad indictment of our education system:  "CHECK OUT ARE 2 FOR £10.00 MAIN MEALS OVERLEAF LOOK FOR THE ONES WITH AN ASTERIX".  Under the laws of natural justice, no doubt I'll be punished for having the gall to make this criticism with a really embarrassing grammatical or spelling error appearing in this post.  [Pun intended]

The Lion on Moorfields is a gem well worthy of its inclusion in CAMRA's list of historic pub interiors.  It retains the traditional layout of an L-shaped corridor between the doors, with the servery and bar room on the inside of the L, and the lounge rooms (two in this case) on the other side of the passageway.  Service for the lounges is provided via two tiny hatches in the cut glass partition that divides the corridor from the bar.

At the time of my visit they were having a beer festival, with eight real ales on, making it even harder than usual to choose a beer, peering at the back of the pumps through the serving hatch.  Luckily the landlord pointed me to the blackboard behind me.  I selected a pint of Leeds Brewery's Yorkshire Gold - splendid!

On to Ma Boyles Oyster Bar, which I haven't visited since 2005.  Something of a disappointment with only one pump clip on, and the Sharp's Doom Bar had run out, so I had to put up with a pint of the black stuff.  This place used to be great for real ale, but sadly it seems to have gone downhill.  The presentable interior has changed little since the last time I was here.

The Pig and Whistle on Chapel Street used to be another gem but in 2005 it was unfortunately refurbished within an inch of its life.  Nonetheless, it remains a very pleasant, comfortable, friendly pub serving a spot on pint of Timothy Taylor's Landlord.  On a grey Tuesday afternoon there were only a handful of customers, all of which knew the barmaid, and she invited them all to a party somewhere on Friday!