The Vines (The Big House), Liverpool

Well, I wrote "what a pity there's no real ale" when I was here in 2019, so I have to give it a bump this time, because my Salopian Shropshire Gold was at least NBSS 3, and possibly 3.5. Service was a bit perfunctory, but kids today, eh? Anyway, it's definitely great to see a pub like this given a bit of an enthusiastic shove in the right direction.

Official site of The Vines (The Big House) - www.vinesbighouse.co.uk

Official site of The Vines (The Big House) - www.vinesbighouse.co.uk

Saved in my Google To Visit list but I need to make better use of the "add notes" feature to remind myself why. I'm guessing it was the internal architecture but alas, I didnt actually spend too much time exploring. Just lots of wood panneling in the one bar. Possibly need to revisit and explore after reading notes here. Beer range was not too inspired, settling on Lancaster Brewery Blonde.

Recently re-opened by the same team that run the Red Lion on Slater Street, the Big House has been refurbished and really looks the part. The last time I was in here was in January, 2014 when the pub was competing against local Irish pubs on Lime Street and nearby Ranelagh Street and Great Charlotte Street to see which could be the loudest, with pretty awful karaoke sessions on almost every night. Now the pub is much more civilised. I'd seen that the real ale range was fairly ordinary shortly after re-opening. But now, it's clear that they have built up trade and they can now start to stock a few more adventurous beers. On this visit, the regular beer (Titanic Plum Porter) was supplemented by Ossett Yorkshire Blonde, Timothy Taylor Boltmaker, Salopian Shropshire Gold, Carnival Dreaming of Twinships, Kirkstall Pale Ale, Dark Star Hophead, Brains The Rev James & St Austell Cornish Best. A cider (Thatcher's Stan's Big Apple) was an unexpected bonus. The three rooms that front Lime Street are masterworks in themselves, but the real star is the large room to the rear (the Billiard Room), which is a joy to behold. After almost 10 years without a visit, the Vines is very much on my list for much more regular visits. Judging by the huge number of people in for our Saturday evening visit, it's on quite a few peoples' lists these days. Not a new pub for me, by any means, but my score increases from a 5/10 to an 8/10.

Now a beautiful pub exactly as it should be, after a full refurbishment. Rather disappointingly no local beers over a vast range of handpulls, and it really doesn’t need the sports TVs dotted around the bar and billiard room. Otherwise a must visit pub, one of the most impressive interiors in the country.