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Detail Pages
The Volunteer Canteen, Liverpool
Waterloo
Postal town: Liverpool
L22 8QR
Pub Type
Punch TavernsReviews (Current Rating Average: 8½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
ROB Camra left this review about The Volunteer Canteen
My favourite proper pub in Waterloo. A lovely unspoilt interior with two really good looking rooms. PSM describes it at length below, so I won't bother. Friendly staff and punters and a very good range of cask ale add to the attractions. I've been in here twice recently and all the beers I've had have been top notch. There's no table service in the pub anymore. Be aware that it doesn't open until 4 p.m. in midweek, which is the only negative for me, it's a cracking pub.
On 3rd September 2022
- rating: 9
[User has posted 3224 recommendations about 3135 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Brainy Pool left this review about Volunteer Canteen
A real unspoilt backstreet local, this is. bar and lounge of very different character , with table service in the latter. Roaring fire and old school board games available. Four real ales on, two of which are guests. I had a good pint of 24 Carat Gold. quiet in the afternoon which made it even more relaxing to enjoy a pint.
On 14th December 2019
- rating: 8
[User has posted 1058 recommendations about 1023 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about Volunteer Canteen
Down a side street close to the beach and Anthony Gormley's 'Another Place' sculptures, this is a lovely old Higson's pub with a traditional two bar layout. The end of terrace property has been a pub since 1871 and sports the Higson's logo in its front windows. An etched glass door leads you into the smartly appointed lounge down the right hand side of the pub. This is a carpeted room which faces the rear of the servery with a couple of hatches for service along the right hand side. There are a few nice leaded panes above these hatches with diamond centres underneath a row of horse brasses. The lounge opens out the left where two large plush U-shaped banquettes run around the front and back sections of the room, split midway by a nice old fireplace with floral patterned tile work. To the front left there are a couple of large bookcases filled with old bound tomes and a few tatty modern paperbacks. In between the two bookcases is a cabinet filled with all sorts of interesting but seemingly unrelated artefacts including an unusual Saudi Arabian salver. Elsewhere, the walls have been decorated with lots of informative old black and white photos of the local area and a large map of the Merseyside coast. A collection of board games was stacked under one of the tables and I spotted some old bed pans and a couple of duelling pistols hung from the walls. The public bar is on the right side of the pub, this time with the servery facing it and there are similar bookcases and cabinets on the end wall but limited seating mainly supplied by a long bench down the right hand wall. There is a dartboard to the rear and lots of nice dark wood fixtures making it look a lot smarter than your average public bar.
I entered into the lounge bar, from which there is no sign of any handpulls, so the barman patiently listed the options for me, only for me to later spot a blackboard listing them all. The ale range comprised Sharps Doom Bar, Heavy Industry Forza, Thwaites Wainwright and a beer from Peerless, which I forgot to note the name of. It was the Peerless beer that I ended up trying and it was a very pleasant pint which, in keeping with the pub's tradition, the barman brought over to my table. A few bell pushes can still be spotted around the room and although they are out of action these days, this is one of the few pubs that still provides table service in a traditional pub environment.
This is a classy pub that is really worth seeking out to have a good look around. The relatively untouched interior creates a wonderful environment within which to enjoy some well kept beer and I found it very easy to settle down here and was loathe to leave after just one pint. With the local beer scene overrun by micropubs in recent years, the Volunteer Canteen remains a reassuring traditional option that is well worth making the effort to seek out.
On 13th May 2017
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Al Bundy left this review about Volunteer Canteen
Hidden away down a back street this is a nice 2 roomed pub. The 4 handpumps are in the small room to your right with a hatch area in the bigger room available to order your beer. It a decent pub and very friendly. If you're not happy then there are some old pistols above the arch in the room to your left should you carry any gunpowder with you.
On 7th March 2016
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3487 recommendations about 3390 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Real Ale Ray left this review about Volunteer Canteen
Featured in Camra's National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors. We called in here mid week when the pub opens at 2pm. The only problem we had here was trying to leave the place. The interior is stunning, staff and locals friendly and chatty and the beer excellent. I went for Cambrinus Craft Brewery Endurance, which was very moreish.
On 23rd June 2013
- rating: 10
[User has posted 3382 recommendations about 3381 pubs]