Bars & Nightlife

Liverpool is a city that is very proud of its nightlife, both due to the variety and quality on offer. From superclubs to pubs with dogs, a thriving gay quarter to comedy venues on the waterfront, dance warehouses to concept bars, Liverpool at night has many faces. We’ve divided some of our top tips into the city’s various districts, although everything is so close together that you can easily explore.

Seel Street

Seel Street and the area around it have undergone a major transformation in the past decade or so, to the point that it is now a go-to for nightlife. No matter what you’re looking for, you’ll find it here. Glamour and Latin dancers in a former Polish church: Alma de Cuba. Hawaii’an-themed cocktail bar: Aloha. Traditional pub with top-notch food: The Monro. Hot dogs, steins and a bar with a secret code: Salt Dog Slims. This is without even mentioning Santa Chupitos, Almost Famous or Empire. And of course, if you’re staying out until the bitter end, The Peacock and Heebie Jeebies are always good for a dance.

Hardman Street

Some of the best traditional pubs in the city are dotted around Hardman Street or one of its myriad off-shoots. The Pilgrim and Ye Cracke, the latter a favourite of John Lennon when he was an art school student, are two excellent atmospheric pubs in the shadow of Liverpool Cathedral. Further down, opposite the bombed-out church, sits The Roscoe Head – a real ale specialist pub which is one of only seven pubs in the country to appear in every edition of the Good Beer Guide. The Cambridge, on the University of Liverpool campus, is the watering hole for various academics, students and thinking drinkers. And last but certainly not least, there’s The Philharmonic Dining Rooms – a cracking pub in a grade-II listed building with famously ornate toilets.

LGBT

Liverpool’s LGBT nightlife is centred around Dale Street, Cumberland Street and Eberle Street – all of which surround Stanley Street, the de facto heart of the city’s gay quarter. There are plenty of great places to dance until sunrise, including G-Bar, Pink, Heaven, Navy Bar and Superstar Boudoir. If you want something a bit quieter, pubs in the area include The Poste House (with its upstairs disco), The Curzon and the iconic Lisbon.

Mathew Street

There’s only one place to start when discussing the world-famous Mathew Street…and that is, of course, The Cavern Club, where The Beatles honed their skills while playing nearly 300 shows in the early sixties. The club sees live music seven days a week from 2pm onwards, with the Saturday night Beatles tribute a particularly popular highlight. With bars such as Rubber Soul, Lennon’s Bar and of course the Hard Days Night Hotel, the spirit of the band infuses the rest of the street, which is one of the busiest and most vibrant for nightlife.

Concert Square

Concert Square and the area around it is one of the liveliest spots in the city, seven nights a week. It’s home to some of the city’s biggest bars and clubs, from national names such as Walkabout and Revolution to The Krazyhouse, a Liverpool institution. Through the week, it’s particularly popular with students and large parties.

Baltic Triangle

Ten years ago, the Baltic Triangle area was predominantly warehouses, many of which were disused. Since then, it has gradually been given a new lease of life as the centre of the city’s creative and digital sector. As a natural result, the area’s nightlife has grown too. Camp and Furnace is the obvious place to start. The truly unique space houses everything from a bar packed with international beers to Eurovision parties, Scandinavian festivals, Biennial installations and weekly food slams. It’s perfectly complemented just around the corner by the Baltic Social, recently opened on the ground floor of Elevator Studios and offering a more intimate setting than its neighbour.

As well as these bars, the area has quickly been recognised by the city’s club promoters, taking advantage of the warehouse spaces to stage some of Liverpool’s hottest club nights at venues such as HAUS and Kitchen Street pop-up.