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Merchants 1688, Lancaster
Lancaster
LA1 1YN
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7½ of 10) see review guidelines
Pub SignMan left this review about Merchants 1688
Just down the road from Lancaster station, this is a smart restaurant and bar, set in what appears to be an old wine cellar. You enter via an outdoor seating area with plenty of benches overlooking the road from the station, into a quarry stone floored, narrow room with impressive sandstone walls and the servery down the rear half of the right-hand wall. The bar has a nice dark wood counter and exposed stone bar back, making it a good fit with the pub's general aesthetic. Limited high stool seating can be found in this space, either serving small tables to the front or a drinking ledge along the rear wall. A board on the wall details the cellar's history dating as far back as 1688, including the fact that the ceiling timbers partly derive from the shipwreck of the Pusey Hall. Elsewhere there are old maps and photos of local interest on display. To the left, two doorways lead into good sized side rooms, the first of which is a lounge of sorts, with some decent comfy seating in rows to the front and rear, whilst the second is more of a formal dining room with pre-laid tables ready for diners. A nice indie pop soundtrack was playing on a quiet Monday morning and a few punters slowly started to trickle in as we approached midday.
A wide ale range was evident at the bar, including a house beer called Merchants WIPA, Lancaster IPA, Rudgate Ruby Mild and Snow Wonder, Boland Pheasant Plucker and Settle Old Smooth Porter. Unfortunately, it seems this is too wide a range for the pub to support, as my half of the Porter was in fairly poor condition.
I think this place has a few good points, such as the use of an interesting space with a long history, a pleasant pavement side patio area and the prospect of some interesting beer, but overall, I felt that the pub was focused more on the food side of the operation, with limited indoor seating for those just wanting a drink and some questionable beer quality. With plenty of great pubs around town, I would have no hesitation cutting this place from future crawls.
Date of visit - 15th January 2024
On 7th April 2024
- rating: 5
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Will Larter left this review about Merchants 1688
A brief visit earlier this year found a distinct improvement, with eight beers on the bar and the Reedley Hallows Beer O'Clock was in excellent condition. Back on good form.
Date of visit: 4th March 2022
On 26th August 2022
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3733 recommendations about 3470 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Will Larter left this review about Merchants 1688
This place has gone down in my estimation since my visits a few years ago. On entering, there was a strange smell, of long-unwashed socks in a kit bag, or a male changing room, something unsavoury anyway. Service was not as good as when I've been here at busy times, and I wasn't as impressed with the five beers (on eight hand pumps) as on previous visits. And why are they charging over £4 for a pint (£2.05 for a half of fairly ordinary Tirril Nut Brown Ale 4.1%) when it's less than £3 for a slightly stronger beer at the Cornerhouse, five minutes walk away? I went and sat outside to avoid the smell (I hope it's only temporary); I'll be back before long, and hope things are not going permanently downhill.
Date of visit: 23rd July 2019
On 16th August 2019
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3733 recommendations about 3470 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Brainy Pool left this review about Merchants 1688
a trendy little cavern place with tunnelled rooms coming off a main bar. has a wide range of real ale and some will like it. for me it's vacuous, too cramped and attracts the snooty brigade like the place next door.
On 3rd September 2018
- rating: 4
[User has posted 1058 recommendations about 1023 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Gill Smith left this review about Merchants 1688
Thought this was a grand place for real ale. Not far from the railway station you pass through outside seating area to enter cellar like bar area with a couple of other cellar rooms going off from the bar. What a beer selection today though of varying styles and strenghs across all 10 handpulls. Beers from Settle, Avid brewing Co, Beer Brothers, Kirby Lonsdale, Blackedge, Coach House, Harbour, Allendale, Rudgate and Tirril.
On 1st May 2018
- rating: 9
[User has posted 1339 recommendations about 1222 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Al Bundy left this review about Merchants 1688
A good, if rather cramped pub set within what amounts to a cave but is an old wine cellar apparently. There are 3 tunnel-like rooms one of which is as you enter and here you will find the bar. A decent selection of real ales from the 8 handpulls, of which 6 were on. Local ales and a good variety of styles. Outside seating at the front.
On 19th April 2018
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 3487 recommendations about 3390 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Will Larter left this review about Merchants 1688
This pub is so handily placed for the station that it would be a simple matter to become a regular here by just getting off your train and catching another one an hour later. On my most recent visit, I had a couple of quick halves from the very tempting range of mostly dark ales, which in itself makes a pleasant change. Unfortunately the first one I asked for had only a gurgle left in the barrel, but my next selection, Old School Headmaster, was spot on, and was soon followed by Tirrill Academy. After going to the station only to find my train delayed by 30 minutes, I returned for a further half, this time of Worsthorne Old Trout. All the beers were in fantastic condition and if I'd had time for a fourth half, I'm pretty sure my mark for this pub would have stretched to a 9. Maybe next time.
Date of visit: 19th November 2016
On 23rd December 2016
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3733 recommendations about 3470 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Aqualung . left this review about Merchants 1688
I have to admit that when I first arrived here I never even noticed the tunnel construction of this pub but spotted it when looking at a room to the right on the way out!
It's been well described below and was fairly quiet on my Wednesday night visit. There were eight hand pumps with two unused and I noticed beers from Slater, Hawkshead, Kirby Lonsdale, Tirril and Robinson's Trooper. I went for the Hawkshead Brodie's Prime which was in excellent condition. I thought this pub was a bit trendy but would return for the diverse beer choice.
On 5th November 2016
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2143 recommendations about 2143 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Old Boots left this review about Merchants 1688
Dug out of the hill on which the castle stands as described below it is made from four barrel vault tunnels one at right angles to the others. The main tunnel has the counter, now with eight pulls of generally local beers, a house beer from Old School and a traditional bitter from Tirril among them. The other three tunnels are used for dining and in the last one is seating at tables for drinking. Good quality beers and an unusual setting along with its proximity to the station make it well worth the visit. GBG2016 listed as well which tells us it was a wine vault built in 1688.
On 6th March 2016
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 3230 recommendations about 2939 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Will Larter left this review about Merchants 1688
At the time of my visit one extra hand pump had been added since the previous review, making seven now lining the bar. Seven beers were available, from an interesting variety of breweries, more than half from the north-west of England: Nine Standards, Spitting Feathers, Tirril and Old School, plus from further afield Dunscar Bridge, Tring and Greene King. I was back again, half between trains, about a week later, and all the beers appeared to be different. On the first occasion I had Dunscar Bridge Best and Spitting Feathers Old Wavertonian, and on the second a swift half of Hart of Preston Festive Pale. All beers that I tried were in very good condition, and the service was speedy and efficient even when the place was suddenly overrun by a group of Luton Town fans drowning their sorrows after the game at Morecambe. Only a few minutes' walk from the station, this one is worth breaking your journey for.
Dates of visits: 13th and 24th December 2014
On 13th February 2015
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3733 recommendations about 3470 pubs]