Ma Egertons, Liverpool

The wall of fame on the exterior and ‘The Stage Door’ etched on under ‘Ma Egertons’ on the window of the entrance gives the game away that this boozer has a theatrical theme, which is understandable with the pub being located across from the Liverpool Empire Theatre. The bar area is found to the right where an L-shaped serving counter with stained glass around the top faces banquettes under the front and right-hand windows. There was some background music playing and a small television was airing muted Sky News. Premium keg was available alongside Fosters and two of the three hand pumps were in operation drawing Hobgoblin and Lancaster Brewery’s Lancaster Red. A lead lined glass windowed partition runs up the left separating the bar area from a room that houses banquettes around the exterior walls and high tables in the centre. I’d be lying if I said that the barmaid was friendly and welcoming, but proper pubs like this are right up my street so I’m sure that I’ll find myself in here again at some point.

Very much a proper and popular backstreet boozer, a couple of cask beers on ,both from Conwry , I had the Beachcomber, the interior and décor are well described below with no current change. A pub I seamlessly felt comfortable in. Great.

backstreet pub near Lime Street. two real ales on today but I was on a roll with stout so went for half a guinness served by an aloof barman. it's nice though and very much still a proper Liverpool pub unlike its rather pretentious twin Ma Boyles.

Squeezed into an unassuming side street behind the Empire Theatre and next to Lime street station, this is a smartly presented pub with a theatrical theme throughout. The pub makes a lot of noise about the fact that a great many famous faces have visited over the years, most notably in the shape of a large board next to the front door which lists a variety of patrons, from the obvious (The Beatles), to the impressive (Sinatra, Davis Jr), to the contemporary (Amy Winehouse) and the bizarre (Henry Winkler, Pamela Anderson). The board also notes that the pub was the first place anywhere in the UK to use a cash register, sold to the pub by an American entrepreneur fresh of the boat at the nearby docks, and the eponymous landlady reputedly used to sit on a stool next to the till and have all the barmaids hand her the cash which she then rang through the till before handing back the change. All seems normal inside nowadays though, with the entrance leading into a central space with the bar to the right and a lounge area on the left hand side. The bar area has some nice seating along the front wall in the form of smart benches and chairs, whilst the servery is on the rear wall with a lovely curved dark wood counter sporting a brass elephant's head rail. The bar back is set into a deep recess with decorative tiling and a pretty stained glass gantry. Space is a little limited on this side, so I moved into the lounge which is a bare boarded room with long button backed leather banquettes around the perimeter, broken on the far wall by a lit tiled fireplace. A single high table with stools stands in the middle of the room, rounding out the seating options and windows to the front were etched with the pub's name and the slogan 'Liverpool's most famous landlady'. The walls throughout the pub are covered with all sorts of theatrical memorabilia including paintings of theatre stars such as Charlie Chaplin, Ken Dodd and Vesta Tilley, a whole host of signed photographs, copious play bills and some great old posters. Music played away inoffensively in the background and there was a TV showing horse racing, which is seemingly the done thing in Liverpool during Grand National week. A menu on my table advertised pizzas at reasonable enough prices although I didn't see anyone giving them a try. The pub went through a long period without offering any real ale, but there are now three handpulls on the bar, one of which was in operation on this visit, serving up a nice cool and crisp pint of Robinson's Dizzy Blonde, whilst the remaining two pumps remained unclipped. The bar staff seemed friendly enough and there was an interesting mixed crowd in at knocking off time on a Thursday afternoon. I think Malden Man's opening line sums this place up perfectly - there is something eminently likeable about this pub despite the fact that it doesn't really compare to the best the city has to offer. I was hoping to sneak in a quick half at the Wetherspoons in the station before getting my train home, but I settled down so nicely here that I abandoned that plan and stayed here to soak up all that history. An interesting pub and a great option for a quick drink before hopping on a train.