Trap & Hatch, Liverpool

This micropub seems much more basic than I remember it from my last visit in 2019. It still has a couple of real ales and a cider, but does feel a little on the scruffy side now. Ales on were Track Sonoma & Buxton Featherbed. The cider was Thistly Cross Whisky Cask, whilst craft beers were Atom Tesselate, Verdant Light Bulb & Brass Castle Herman Hefe. Service was ok for me and unlike my last visit, I managed to get a table, albeit having to sit next to a rather large dog who seemed to think he/she was a customer. Punters in here seemed to be a bit more trendy than I remember. You'll still get some interesting beers in here and whilst I agree with Rob that it has gone a little downhill, I'd still include this in any crawl of Waterloo pubs.

No idea what has happened to this place since the last review 3 years ago, but dropped off a cliff springs to mind. There's a sign in the pub that says "No standing/sitting around the bar after being served". We couldn't get near the bar for loud sweary oiks never mind get served. The landlord was outside having a chat and couldn't be arsed to come in and serve us. The was only one cask ale on, so we couldn't be arsed waiting for him, so after a couple of minutes of listening to the ffffing and blinding we left. Dreadful.

a lovely little place that sadly waits until 3pm to open even on a Saturday. One small room which feels cosy and friendly . Three real ales on which were Tiny Rebel Cwtech, Black Iris IPA and a stout from somewhere I forgot. There is also a real fire... displayed on a TV screen.

Opened in Autumn 2016, this is a very smartly presented micropub in a former shop unit just a short walk from Waterloo station. A white tiled porch leads into a typical micropub room with dark grey walls and a nice old wood floor with a couple of hatches clearly visible - perhaps where the pub's name comes from? The servery covers most of the back wall and has a rustic, chunky wood plank counter and simple bar back. The ceiling has been covered with corrugated iron cut into squares and arranged in opposing directions to create what I assume was a cheap but rather effective decorative look. A long and very comfortable banquette runs down the right hand wall in support of three tables, with two more in the centre of the room served by comfy chairs with large metal rings hung from the back of each, the purpose of which I couldn't figure out. A few board games were stacked up at one end of the servery including a Game of Thrones game and there was a TV screen near the entrance showing a still image of a bluebell filled woodland. A board outside the pub was promoting live music and a smoke house, but I saw no evidence of either. However, as I was leaving, a few people emerged from a previously unseen door to the left of the bar, which suggests that there is a rear room with enough space for live music and perhaps dining facilities. I was the only customer in the front bar for the duration of my mid week afternoon visit. Micropubs are normally pretty reliable places to find interesting beers even if the pubs themselves aren't that interesting, and this place didn't let me down. Three handpulls offered Electric Bear Persuasion and Spilt Milk plus Cross Bay Sunset Blonde. The Spilt Milk was £3.20 a pint and turned out to be a rather good example of a milk stout, served to me by a polite but decidedly taciturn barman. Keg options included brews from Dark Star and Anarchy as well as at least three ciders. This is quite a nice pub that has clearly had more time to bed in than the nearby Four Ashes, but still lacks some of the character you come to expect from a good pub. The place clearly knows how to look after its beer and I would be interested to see how a food offering works in a micropub, but it didn't strike me as the sort of place you'd want to linger beyond the one pint.