Brunswick Vaults, Liverpool

The Brunswick Vaults is a single room bar with green walls on which a massive mirror hangs to the right of the serving counter that was being manned by a less than welcoming barman during a recent Monday evening visit. With his attitude it wasn’t surprising that I was the only customer. There’s some seating around the walls and behind a fireplace in the left rear where the barman was storing his bicycle. I also noted a dartboard in the front left corner. The counter supports five hand pumps, four of which were in operation drawing Higson’s Bitter, Brimstage Brewery’s Oyster Catcher, Ossett’s White Rat and a Lilley’s Cider. I went for the White Rat that was good but was served in an Amstel glass. I do wonder how people with such a lazy and shitty attitude end up working in customer facing roles.

I was last in here in 2016 when it was the James Monro. After a brief spell of being a decent cask ale pub, it went downhill, stocking only a couple of Marston's beers before I believe it stopped cask altogether. Back in yesterday, the new owners have restored cask and there were 3 across the 5 handpulls - Brimstage Oyster Catcher, Ossett White Rat & Theakston Best Bitter. The interior of the single room is fairly interesting with lots of old pictures of Liverpool on the walls, along with a few other odd items of interest. Locals were fairly friendly and chatty. It's good to see this pub get back on track, but I'm not sure the ale range is quite good enough just yet to encourage frequent visits from me. However, I will keep an eye on how it develops.

The rainbow paint is no more, the pub has landed back on its original name and been taken on by a veteran landlord formerly of the Vernon Arms. Back to being a simple friendly boozer with a few ales on. Ordinary but cosy decor with lots of green paint, it may not be a must see destination boozer but it’s a solid option again and seems to be doing quite well so far.