Swan Inn

I have nothing but good to say about this. I don’t go in nearly as much as I should because my two friends who I most associate with the place aren’t around anymore for various reasons. That being said, some folks behind the bar are always good enough to recognise me and I’ll bore a regular to death about cricket once in a blue moon. People know who people are but I don’t want to splash names on a very public website. The music is beyond ideal and even when I am absolutely on my todd I don’t feel as out of place as I would in some other establishments.
I know people take it for uppity sometimes if you are not a regular (and I wouldn’t dare class myself as such btw) but I think all that it is is that people want to see how you carry yourself. If you walk in there with trainers and a lousy attitude then you will not receive a welcome. Go in with your head on straight with a mind to get stuck in and you’ll be set fair.
The selection of booze is good, not that my tastes stem much further than Guinness or Magners in there but that’s me.
I’ve met a lot of good people in there and I’ve had someone go nose to nose with me (and my God it was all I could not to burst out laughing it really was) and all points in between. You don’t get that in Wetherspoons folks. This is a real pub full of real people and all their collective goods, bads, mads and sads. A place for real human beings not media driven clones.

Very good pub, very good selection of beer and friendly staff, and good juke boxes with rock and heavy metal music \m/

A decent little pub on the heart of Liverpool, it is a biker rock/​metal bar serving beers such as trooper, hobgoblin and hop sack. It has an eclectic mix of bikers, goths, emo’s and norms.
The staff are always friendly and chatty, and all 3 floors in this pub have seating. The building has a really nice atmos when you walk in, kinda like a timewarp/​biker feel.
I would recommend this bar for anyone into their classic rock or metal such as sabbath, Aerosmith or even a bit of queen. Most of the clue tell are 30+, but there are also regulars who are 18 – 30 so you do get variety.
All in, worthy of a visit any day of the week.

This pub is a rock/​biker/​metal style bar, 3 floors 2 of which have bar facilities, there are 2 jukeboxes, bottles and pump ales and lagers.
Prices are fair as you are paying for quality over quantity, staff are pleasant and helpful, toilet facilities are clean, although over the uears, small amounts of etchings and writings are found on the walls of the gents toilets, but that gives it a more biker and/​or masculine feel.
10 out of 10 from me, as it is a pub I find myself in about 4 to 5 times a month.

I lived in Liverpool for five years and for five years this was my favorite watering hole. It’s the perfect dive bar. It’s not too bright or too obnoxious and you can probably scrape the history of the place off the walls with your finger nails. Yeah it’s a little grimey. But that is honestly part of it’s charm. It’s certainly the most authentic place you’re likely to find in the down town area that doesn’t involve spray tans and 12 pound mixed drinks. Beer, shots and rock and roll. What more do you need?

I love the Swan, the atmosphere is amazing. I was never much for the Krazyhouse, it was full of 15 year olds when I was 15, and they don’t seem to get older.
The music in the Swan is about 80% good. Though I guess we all like a guilty pleasure song now and then. It could do with introducing a bit more music to its collection though, it always seems to be the exact same songs playing. I would love to see some music from bands like Mindless Self Indulgence and KMFDM.
The only downside to the Swan is the beer. I know it wins awards for the «real ale» which is great news. However, they need to deal with their inability to serve generic larger without that weird flat taste to it. I know loads of people who agree with me that it tastes a little flat in there every time.
If you are into the «alternative» scene this is the place for you. If you want somewhere to go that is relaxed and easy going then here.
If you want generic larger brands and modern music, then you might want to go elsewhere.
Oh, and the people in here are all a bit strange. I’ve had strangers buy me drinks and others offer piercings in the pub itself.

I’d heard about this rock pub and how it was often filled with rowdy bikers and so was a little surprised and disappointed to find it fairly empty, with the football showing, even if it was Liverpool playing!
I still liked the look and the feel to this alternative pub. The beer though was fairly bland. Unfortunately a Win on the dogs not really such a win after all.

If only all pubs were so welcoming. How often do you see a guy in a suit at the bar with a homeless-​smelling biker? If the barstaff don’t know your name by the time you leave the first time, they will ask when you walk in the second time. Donated paintings by patrons of swans demonstrate the character.
Real ales, changed frequently. Real CDs in the jukebox, changed frequently. Slightly older crowd, which is comforting to those wishing to escape the swarms of 18-​year-​olds who have been newly unleashed upon the world.
TV upstairs shows games, and the Rocky Horror Picture Show on Halloween. There are also heavy metal karaōke contests a few times a year. The interior is dark, with real wood. In sum, a proper pub.

Couldn’t imagine anything less than a 5 star rating for this wonderful establishment. Nice array of drinks and my particular fave Hoegaarden on tap. Top quality jukebox & cracking’ chilled out atmosphere. Beautifully aged & dingy. Proper good stuff!

Sadly a rarity in public houses. Not everyones taste and thats just how I like it. A real pub with real ale and a very real jukebox. (although it was a shame when they did up the downstairs gents). Not to be missed if you visit Liverpool.

The Swan is my favourite pub. I have been a regular here for many years and I never get tired of it.
The Swan is the sort of place you can walk into at any time and you’re guaranteed to know someone in there. If you don’t know anyone then you soon will.
The staff and customers are welcoming and friendly. They re happy to leave you to your own devices or put the world to rights with you if you so desire. The pub is full of characters from cheeky student types, to pensioners without whom the pub might actually fall down.
The bar has won many awards from CAMRA — the campaign for real ale. There is a large range of real ales, mostly from the local brewery Cains. The ales are changed often but a couple of old favourites such as Wobbly Bob have been there for years. There is also a huge range of spirits, bottled beers, continental beers, alcopops, wine and ciders available.
There are 3 floors in the Swan inn. The ground floor is the most spacious and has a large bar with bar stools, and stools, pews and tables. Upstairs is smaller but a bit brighter. There is also a mezzanine level which is the newest floor. This is a good space to grab early on in the night if you are expecting a large group of people.
The jukebox on the ground floor has long been known to be the best in Liverpool. Upstairs is a video jukebox which is updated regularly. During the day time there is a small selection of food available which is inexpensive and very tasty.
I love this pub, I would recommend it to anyone. I particularly like quiz night which is every Thursday. I would class the Swan Inn as a Rock pub but it welcomes everyone.

The Swan is a bit more of an Ugly Duckling as far as pubs are concerned and the clientele more akin to the AJ lot minus the students. This gives it an edge however, it’s individual and stands out with it’s never say die attitude.
With gothic grime and leather jackets tattooed with Metallica being the most fashionable in the home of Dragon Force and Whitesnake, you have to be tolerant of such music, have very selective hearing or a monopoly of the jukebox to survive.
But if you can get past this, or have a secret love of Bön Jovi (I haven’t seen him live I promise… well, maybe once.) then it’s a great place to come. I can usually be found here pre-​FACT viewing for cheaper booze than the cinema and a more down-​to-​earth watering hole, complete with hard rock. Where can I get some piercings? It’s rubbing off on me.

My favourite thing about The Swan is the neon sign outside which looks a bit like one of those ‘English Pubs’ you find on the main strips in Balearic tourist destinations. I mean I’m not really a fan of those type of places I just quite like the signs they have which try and sum up Britishness in neon, probably the least British of all the signage types. Anyway, that the sign is my favourite thing about a pub should indicate my personal view of the place. Contrary to what has been Unilocaled here I’ve always found this place a little unfriendly (being stared at by guys in sleeveless denim jackets covered in Iron Maiden patches is my chief memory of here) and the jukebox great (Dead Kennedys — yes please!) but unnecessarily loud (which is always a downer in a pub, where the art of drunken debate should be allowed to be practiced to its fullest degree unhindered)
On the plus side there is a pretty decent selection of draft ales including the fantastic Pheonix Hopsack.

I’ll say it now, I hate ninety percent of the music here. I know the almost mythical Swan is lauded as the Mount Olympus of Rawk but bands like Metallica and Bön Jovi, old Swan favourites, make me want to skin my face off and shove it into my ears. Whether it be indecipherable shouting or the kind of Eighties song whose video would consist of nothing but snakes, candlebras and close-​ups of Gene Simmons’ crotch, it can be found at the Swan.
Despite that though, the place is lovably unique. In terms of atmosphere it can be said to resemble a cross between a 16^th-​century groghouse and a Poison backstage party. Hefty facial piercings, pitch-​black trenchcoats and forests of lank Goth hair initially give it a moody air but take more than three steps inside and you’ll realise everyone there is about as harmless as a sponge panda.
With an excellent spectrum of ales and enough pork scratchings to suit the most avid fan, the Swan is one of the city’s most cherished pockets of grunge. Just make sure you use the encyclopedic jukebox for the powers of good (less Whitesnake, more Freebird) and maybe I’ll stop wincing when I walk in.

God bless the Swan! Looking like every inch of it has struggled from the 15^th Century to make it to the present day — that’s a point, I didn’t check my history, it may well actually be as old as that, certainly smells it — the Swan is the renegade pub of central Liverpool. Like Rock music it refuses to die, unlike Rock it has not prostituted itself with blonde perms and spandex trousers for the sake of getting a bigger audience in the 80s.
The Swan is found off bold street next to FACT in what is called the Ropewalks area of town. Once you find Wood St, the Swan is hard to miss as it leans, beer stained and crooked against the shiny new apartments and offices that tower over it. I would not say that the music was great, anything on the heavy side will do this crowd but if you are a Rock fan you can hear anything from AC/​DC to Judas Priest, from Saxon to Zepp. It’s not just Jack Daniels too as there is always several guest ales on here, usually from local breweries.
There is definately a sense of cameraderie in the Swan and against the usual vomit and sun-​tans that can be found on the rest of Wood St on a saturday night, the fact that the grungy little place is still standing is enough to bring a smile to my face — well that and God loves to Rawk!

The Swan: generally the place where everyone who’s too old (or too sensible) for the Krazy House ends up. It’s a world away from the rest of the bars in the vicinity — go through those doors and you enter a little haven where only decent music is played and the lights aren’t too bright.
It’s the sort of place where you can go in, drape your coat over the bar stool, order a drink and then go outside for a smoke without worrying about your pockets being rifled or your drink being spat in. Except for that one time when I walked back in and found someone holding my coat… Apparently it had fallen off the stool, but you can never be too careful…
A decent range of beverages and a barmaid who pays more attention to the text messages she’s reading/​writing than the punters she’s serving make this a refreshing change from the glitz and pretence of the latest nearby bars.

Just about the best damn pub in Liverpool, it literally rocks. Great bar staff, good and varied choice of beers and ales and a brilliant laid back atmosphere. Liverpools answer to L.A.s Whisky A Go Go. Had a refurb about 18 months back which adressed the toilet issue but thankfully they kept the rest of the pub pretty much the same, a unique and unsullied REAL pub amidst the plastic gimmickry and corporate branding that litters the city centre. Here’s to The Swan and all who supp within its awesome environs.

As far as the booze goes, the ales are great. The Swan is a good starting point to get a buzz going before hitting up the rest of Wood Street, as well as one of the best places to have a series of ridiculous conversations about the most mundane topics! The clientele is… colourful, to say the least. But what you really need to know is this: it has alcohol, the jukebox is hard to beat, and it’s an amazing refuge from the plethora of student/​tool frequented nightspots that fill up the centre of Liverpool.

Probably the best rock pub in the world and it has cask beer as well. It’s a cross between the Restaurant at the End of the Universe (re the customers) and that pub in Lord of the Rings (re everything else).
For most of August and September 2009 the juke box has not been working well. Last night it stopped completely (25÷9÷09). This is a special juke box with hundreds of classic rock records. It’s one of the main features of the pub. The manager said the repair firm are waiting for parts. I can’t believe that it should take so long to fix or get parts for a juke box. Mr Manager (Nick?) I will get it fixed for you, or find a firm who will put the existing records onto cd and put them on a new juke box. Simple.
On the credit side, the bar staff are brilliant and they have about 8 excellent cask beers (many of them guest beers) at any time (haven’t found a bad beer in the last few months and most of them are excellent all the time — e.g. all the Cottage ones)

I like the swan because its different!
There is none of the plastic pretentiousness that you find in most other bars in the city.
The swan doesnt try to be popular, nor is it targeted to a particular age group.
The swan is what it is, the only true rock pub in the city.
From the outside, the swan looks small and unassuming, however, for the first timer walking through the door, it can be a bit overwhelming.
It draws a wide clientele from the rock and metal community, but dont let this put you off. the guy with the facial piercings and long hair may look scary, but hes propbably one of the nicest and intelligent people you will ever meet.
the bar staff are friendly and fair, not favouring regulars over the newer faces.
The juke box plays loud, and it plays the tunes you wont hear in the krazyhouse very often if at all. however, be prepared to hear the same tune several times in an evening.
I could sit in the swan all day.