please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
They had a few ales on but I swerved them and had a pint of Stella. One of the 'institutions', 'John Lennon ate My Hamster in the toilets here' the rest is history kind of places. A pub of strong opinions so gear up for a good argument though Thatcherites and Sun readers would be well advised to steer clear.
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Almost a month after trying to visit on a Saturday lunchtime and finding it closed, I tried a visit on a Saturday early evening and found it open. The positives stop there. With 3 bar staff, I was fully expecting to get served quickly. The landlady was struggling to deal with an extremely frothy pint, a barmaid was messing with glasses and the barman was texting or doing something similar on his mobile phone. After a minute or two, I thought I would get served by the barmaid. But she instead decided to serve somebody she knew who had just walked in. Never mind, I thought. I'm sure I'll be served soon. But after serving the guy she knew, she started messing with glasses again with the landlady still dealing with the same problem and the barman still texting. Getting a little impatient by now, I had to shout across to see if anybody was serving. The barmaid came over and said I couldn't have been waiting long and that she had just been serving somebody else, whilst the barman had just finished his shift (fair enough). But I pointed out that I had been waiting a couple of minutes before her previous customer. She said she hadn't seen me and that it was my fault for not shouting her. She also said that anybody who had ever worked behind a bar would understand the need to shout for attention. Well, I worked behind a bar for quite a few years and fully understand that good bar staff will clock the order people have come to the bar. Failing that, a quick 'Who's next' will generally bring out the best in people. But after failing to agree, I ordered a half of mild. The barmaid then proved that she was not only oblivious of customers waiting to be served, she was also unable to listen properly and poured a pint. When serving me the pint, I said I'd asked for a half and she wondered off towards the landlady muttering something. The landlady then shouted across asking me if I was being rude. I've no idea if this was a serious comment or some attempt at a joke. But at this point I was not amused. Surely shouting across a bar would be considered rude, rather than enquiring why nobody was serving me and then stating that I had ordered a half when a pint had been poured. If everybody were to shout across a bar, pubs would feel like meat markets. This really does seem a strange way of having to get served and one I have not seen anywhere else across the country. Maybe Ye Cracke should invest in signs to inform people that they have to shout, so as not to be ignored. With a bitter taste in my mouth, I wasted no time in downing my half of Titanic Mild, safe in the knowledge that I won't be venturing back into a pub that lacks any kind of customer service skills any time in the near future. For the record, the other ales were Thwaites Original, Cottage Resolution, Heavy Industry 77 & Bass. Old Rose was the cider. After all, I had plenty of time to note down all of the beers during my extended wait. No longer worthy of a visit, especially when there are so many other decent pubs in this area. I'd just been to the Hard Times & Misery (which I've just requested to be added) and found excellent and knowledgeable service. Don't waste your time or money here, as it's not wanted unless your known by the staff.
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Tried visiting here yesterday afternoon. But it was closed. I hope it isn't closed for good, as it is has been one of the city's better pubs. I don't believe it is, as there was a light on inside. But the front door was locked and the side door still had a shutter down. Disappointing. 0/10 based on this visit.
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This pub has reasonably amount of space for someone to find a seat or stand with their drink. At least 4 ales on. 3.20 for my pint of Southern Belle. Lass on the bar was nice and the London lad sitting on the bar was a decent lad and was good to have a chat to about football and where he was from. The atmosphere was nice and friendly, solid pub. The location of it probably means it doesn't get as busy as some of the other pubs around, definitely worth a visit.
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definitely worth a visit to an unchanged back street boozer.
Interesting Cottage Brewing Co Air Supremacy on - all the way from Somerset.
Listen to the constant sounds of the Beatles on the Jukebox.
Photos at my blog - http://bit.ly/2csv7Qs
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I thought I'd better give this pub another visit yesterday, having not been there for a few months. It preceded another small crawl of the area including the Fly In The Loaf, the Roscoe Head (hopefully not my last visit there) and the Dispensary. There are so many decent real ale places in this area now, that anybody who visits Liverpool for its ale should make their way to this part of Liverpool. Although you won't stumble upon this pub in passing. It's situated up a narrow side street. I often consider the Cracke as one of my favourite pubs in Liverpool. But yesterday's visit wasn't the best. The ale range seemed a little reduced - Thwaites Original, Plassey Midnight Mild, Slaters Autumn Red & Black Country Chain Ale. The cider was Old Rosie. There were only 4 other customers and the barmaid present. But this is often a pub that gets busiest in the evening. I'm reducing my score slightly. But this is still one of the best 5/6 pubs in Liverpool in my opinion.
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Decent back street pub, uninspiring ale choice on my visit, but busy on a Saturday night.
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Always worth a drop by ale is generally good but you can get the odd iffy one which they usually change. Some rougher and quirkier elements to come in for an ale.
anonymous - 25 Nov 2014 17:39 |
Still one of my favourite Liverpool pubs. It was reasonably busy early on a Saturday evening. The ale range didn't appear to be as good as normal - Thwaites Original, Hart of Preston Lord of the Glen, Heavy Industry 77, JW Lees The Governor & Robinsons Trooper. The real cider was Rosie's Crack en Juice. I'd never seen this one before. Perhaps it has been specially made for the Cracke. Tucked out of the way and off the beaten track.
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We must have gone there on an off day because the woman behind the bar looked at us as if we were shite and never bothered to come back and serve us, so we had to leave. Perhaps I reminded her of her ex-husband or summat. Well it'll save me nearly breaking my bl**dy neck walking down the horrible cobbly street again.
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Always worth a visit. Ale is generally good. A pub that hasn't altered significantly in 50 years.
anonymous - 14 Feb 2014 17:45 |
We visited the Anglican Cathedral and popped in here on the way to The Philharmonic. I had a pint of the Phoenix Brewery Wobbly Bob, a good 6 percenter. I liked this place- don't think it's changed much since John Lennon used to drink here.
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Go there and enjoy. Brilliant.
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Second visit to the Cracke within the space of a few weeks on Sunday. I don't remember my previous visit and thought I'd better return! A good range of beers as usual - Conwy Honey Fayre, George Wright Citra, Spitting Feathers Black Velvet, Lancaster Amber, Cottage 748 & Thwaites Original, plus a real cider - Black Rat. A good old traditional pub with food music, friendly staff and a backstreet location that means it relies purely on its excellent reputation.
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Another gem of a Liverpool pub with several drinking areas; a good range of beers and efficent staff. Not much more to say that hasn't already been said - except - make sure you go there!
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This was somewhere I have been meaning to get to on regular trips to Liverpool over the years and now kick myself that I didn't realise it was so close to the Phil...visited twice before and after the concert at the Phil. First time was around 3.30pm, pub busy with LFC fabs watching the local feed from their home game, excellent range of good ales on and friendly, if a little slow-moving, staff. Great little series of rooms, but we were lucky enough to have the War Room to ourselves, which prompted a few self-portraits via the full-wall mirror!
The second visit saw us dive in just ahead of the hordes from the concert as the place quickly swelled to rammed...took in the edgy atmosphere of a Saturday night in a Liverpool legend of a pub. Brilliant.
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The Cracke is still one of my favourite Liverpool pubs. But sadly I never seem to get here that often. A group of tourists (Spanish I believe) had discovered it on my Saturday lunchtime visit. After taking several photographs of themselves outside, they then repeated the act inside. But at least they appreciated a good pub and purchased a few ales. Cottage Normans Conquest MM, Phoenix Wobbly Bob, Higsons Bitter, DB Mersey Porter & Brass Monkey Northern Monkey were all on. The porter was very nice indeed. Gwynt y Ddraig Black Dragon was the cider and now appears to have replaced the Biddendens on a permanent basis.
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Without a doubt certainly in the top three of best pubs in Liverpool. This is a back-street pub that the late John Lennon was famously barred from during his art college days. Nowadays you will find a good range of beers, very friendly staff and a varied selection of patrons who are friendly and chatty. There is a nice beer garden out the back for when the weather is kind enough and the jukebox as other people have said, is one of the best around. Its a good boozer and doesnt attract the scally/arsehole types who can stay around Concert Square and Matthew Street and leave us decent people in peace.
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Friendly staff, great jukebox, and good beer. Great place!
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This is a lovely little inn type oldie worldly type of pub. The staff are extremely friendly and helpful and the jukebox is full of old favourites, perhaps too old for some tastes but this perfect for me. The toilets? Well, they seemed all right to me, after all I go to a pub to drink, the pub's urinals hardly influence my choice, after all I've been around and I can tell you brother I've relieved myself in places that boggle the imagination. When I was there a very polite young man went to the trouble of explaining the characteristics of the range of ales and so on and the other customers were civil and helpful.
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Has become a regular haunt for me when I'm at the top end of town.
I always go for the Black Dragon cider, but was tempted by a Christmas ale from Peerless when I was here the other week.
Pub manager is very down to earth and the bar staff are very friendly.
I didn't realise they has a massive beer garden out back. Will have to check it out when the weather improves!
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Last pub of 9 on our evening out - cannot remember a lot other than there was a very reasonable selection of ales and the atmosphere was pleasant. Must go back sober and make a judgement.
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Still one of the best pubs in Liverpool. We managed to get the table in the 'War Office' on our Saturday lunchtime visit. This was a bit claustrophobic, but a nice little private room nonetheless. 4 real ales were on, mainly from local micros including Peerless. A mild was on offer. Cider has changed since my last visit, with Gwynt y Ddraig Black Dragon now available from a handpull. I guess this is now a permanent fixture, replacing the Biddendens. At 7.2% it's lighter than the Biddendens, but still one to be wary of. If I had a criticism, it would probably be the toilets, which are a little dated. But otherwise, I agree with many others that this is an essential stop if you are drinking in this area of Liverpool.
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A small bar to the left on enterting with a small room the other side of it and a few corners and areas to sit in. One of those 'institutions' one should try when visiting. . Plenty of ales on, of which, I tried Dark Arts - which wasn't as dark as it's name suggested but was a very nice pint.
anonymous - 27 Nov 2010 13:03 |
Best beer of the day on my visit to Liverpool. Sport on TV, as seems common in the real ale pubs around :-)
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Covman45 - Please respect other users of this site and don't dismiss my observations as 'nonsense'. I'm happy to accept that conditions were better when you visited, I commented on the visit I paid to the pub.
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what nonsense below.We were here last Saturday afternoon.No smell of stale anything. Good selection of ales and good atmosphere .Even had a Beatle lookalike collecting glasses!
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I'm not a real ale buff so can't comment on what they had on sale. This was a visit I had to do because I'd heard so much about Ye Cracke. It stank of stale beer and vomit, the floor and tables were sticky and most of the customers drunk and intimidating. It was a fairly quiet Friday afternoon but I drank up quickly and left. Never to return!
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Another pub on my agenda as it was missed on my last visit, and I liked the multi-roomed syle of it. The beers were varied and we enjoyed Gertie Sweet Winter Belle (another found today that I won't need from the Fleetwood festival beer list next weekend) and also the Hornbeam Bitter.
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Famous Liverpool boozer that should be a priority on any beer trip here. The vintage Bass sign and the attractive half-tiled exterior are a good sign. Once in, the layout is peculiar, with an L-shaped corridor leading into a large, open space around a corner. Off the corridor are several splendid snugs, one with its own access to the bar. These have always been occupied on my visits but I hope to visit them soon. The large opened out room has a curious mural of a battle scene from Georgian times I imagine. Lot of knick knacks and pub-ana to look at, but the decor is generally bare-baords with lots of wood. Always a good atmosphere and a cracking jukebox to top it off.
Onto the beer, never had a bad pint, and microbreweries feature strongly across the 5 handpumps. On my last visit I eschewed Copper Dragon to try the Rudolph's Razz, a pleasant copper beer. Always worth a visit and one to prioritise in Liverpool. In an area full of great pubs so ideal for a crawl.
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Great real ale, cosy atmosphere, will go again.
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Quality boozer, friendly staff & locals. well worth seeking out
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One of a number of backstreet locals in this area of Liverpool. This is another real ale haven. It has multiple drinking areas, including a large outdoor area surrounded by housing. Ales on yesterday during our visit were Slaters Owzat and Top Totty, Spitting Freathers Thirst Quencher and Dark Velvet Mild and Allgates Mild at Heart. Wem Cherry Bomb was also added during our visit. Biddendens Cider is also available.
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Paid a recent visit with my daughter. Beer (Copper Dragon) was in great nick, the atmospher was friendly and relaxed and...wait for it.... the gents is in the advanced stages of refurbishment. Great pub.
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Built 1852 as Ruthin Castle probably after a ship of the time. Nicknamed Ye Crake as small original Rt Hand bar could only hold 10 people. Adjoining house added in 1876 but name stuck. 5 rooms cluster around 2 bars, one is the Snug known as The War Office, where dispatches from Boer War were read & discussed. Large collection of ink drawing of 1960s Liverpool by RW Thomas adorn largest room. Beatle memorabilia relates to this being a favourite haunt of John Lennon while at college. 8 hand pulls give a changing range of beers in fine condition. Good value pub grub Cod+chips �4. Toilets recently refurbished. Popular walled beer garden, one of few in city. Still a good mix of locals, students, and visitors like me. Great Pub - THANKS!
Reviewed 21/02/09 by SADCATS on Tour! SCORE- 7.
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under new management but everything seems pretty much the same as always although the atmosphere feels a little different, warmer and friendlier somehow. There were certainly more women customers than usual when I called in. Multi roomed pub with a good array of well kept beers from smaller and micro breweries. Always a lively pub to visit but some of the customers can look a bit dodgy. I sat in the big room and enjoyed the drawings of 1960s Liverpool by RW Thomas, a great reminder of the lost city you can still see traces of in modernised Liverpool. If you're in the Crake take a look at them.
anonymous - 20 Feb 2009 09:34 |
Good little pub that used to be even smaller, you can still see where it was extended into the cottage next door if you look closely. A mix of locals and students with a couple of visitors (us). Good range of real ales, the two we had were both well kept. Loads of things around the walls and on the ledges, every time you look you see something else. Difficult to find the first time but after that, well it's easy!
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We usually fetch up in beer garden for our afternoon visit and if you look around, all human life is there..! There's always a diverse collection of characters and we often get to chat to a nearby selection. Always entertaining and humorous which makes for a very pleasant visit, once combined with one, or more, of their well-kept ales. On previous visits, we've taken advantage of the juke-box which carries a great selection of music. Quiet here this time round, so didn't stay as long. Someone suggested a quick one in the adjacent Pilgrim, a new one for us...
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Has always been a decent place to go, even better if you can get into the `War Room`. The Wobbly Bob is decent in here, and in all the years I have been going in there ive never seen no trouble.
PS - The gents are to be avoided at ALL COSTS.
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Good selection of bottled beers & alcopops for the non real ale drinkers & enough handpulls for those who prefer beer. Nice mix of students & older people gives this place a cosmopolitan feel. As mentioned in previous posts, the gents is like something from a third world ghetto.
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Yes, it's a smelly pub but good range of guest ales - and the Beatles used to hang out here!
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Always have a great time in the cracke, beer ace, friendly bar staff and locals, the bogs hum a bit, but after a few real ales, who gives a toss. Enjoy the atmosphere.
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I finished my final exams and ended up in here for 12 hours. I drank countless pints of wobbly bob and attempted to ride home on a bicycle afterwards.
From what I can remember it was great and Mott the hoople was on the juke box a lot.
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My husband and I regularly visit Liverpool and never miss a visit to the Cracke. The guest ale selection can't be beaten, and the staff are friendly and amiable.
Amity - 10 Nov 2007 18:07 |
Last pub we visited on a crawl. Top beers on offer, smelly loos, friendly folks...worth a visit.
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Quirky, multi-roomed gem still trading off its Bohemian heritage. Good ales. Not to be missed.
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Always worth a visit. It can be a bit self-consciously 'bohemian' (whatever that means) sometimes but the beer's rarely less than superb, the jukebox is splendid and, by and large, the Kopite scum keep themselves pretty anonymous.
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The beer quality is good and the pub has character but, sometimes the atmosphere in the crack is not always that friendly.
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Sat outside in the rear garden which is a great place in the Summer. Took our dog with us which we were told we could bring into the garden as they were not serving food that day but otherwise they would not let the dog in on hygeine grounds. Well, for those that know Ye Olde Cracke it's the first time that I have ever known concern for hygeine to be an issue! Nevertheless remains a good pub with usually great beer (Wobbly Bob was off this weekend). We still love you.
anonymous - 20 Jul 2006 19:41 |
This is the pub that the swan inn wishes it was. Top beer, great bar staff and my best mate the women with the dogs!!
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A combination of good beer and tons of character.
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I like this pub very much, Go and see my mate Jimmy C and ray Jones. Ive had so much good fun with Jimmy and what a pub in the summer sitin in the back of the beer garden, If any one reads this and goes in the Crack tell Jimmy C Ian said the queen is to green he will know what am saying, GREAT PUB GOOD BEER REALLY NICE PLACE
ian_f - 13 Dec 2005 17:18 |
You can now sit outside the toilet
window, as it has been bricked up!
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Great beer.Good food,and some very
interesting characters.
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Drinking in a time warp apart from the changing beer list. If youlike old fashioned, slightly scruffy boozers then this is the one for you but flat cap and whippets not compulsory.
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top pub...Excellent beer -usually from the lesser known independent brewers from the northwest area...top Jukey...If you hear Villiers Terrace by the Bunnymen-its only me trying to ingratiate myself with the locals...it usually fails!...My favourite Liverpool pub!!
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Used to drink there all the time almost a decade ago. Great place. Had a few giggs there too. Hope to be back one day.
Microgrin singer - 11 Jul 2004 05:31 |
Used to be my favourite pub in Liverpool, I virtually lived there. Had it's ups and downs over the past few years. There seems to be a high turnover of managers which must say something about the owners. The beer quality can vary depending on who happens to be manager. Last time I was in (2003) the beer was on top form.
Close to the Art College, John Lennon used to blah blah blah. Still populated by peolpe who were at the Art College in the 60s as well as an assortment of locals and oddballs. Too scarey for the LIPA students so that's a good reason to go.
You can sit in the War Office snug chatting to friends and be interrupted and moved up to accommodate an old lady and her dogs who always sit there (the dogs). The dogs make more sense than the lady.
Legendary beer garden. Don't sit outside the Gents window, it stinks and will turn your beer flat.
palmwinedrinkard - 25 May 2004 14:31 |
Nice small pub, selection of ales.
Good food, if a bit on the slow side.
Used to have a dart board, don't know if it's returned yet though.
John - 2 Dec 2003 12:29 |
Small Old Worlde Pub [possibly the oldest pub in Liverpool]. Has a lot of guest beers plus the old faithfulls of Faxe and Red Eric - Well worth a visit
Liznrich - 23 Sep 2003 15:28 |
