The Clachan

The Clachan is an ancient Irish and Scottish name for a small settlement lacking a church, post office or other formal type of building.
This pub on Smithdown road has a friendly atmosphere but isn’t a student focused environment. In more traditional guise, the Clachan is a pub with a clear group of dedicated locals certainly a bit older than students. This is no bad thing and can make for a different place to have a drink away from the expectations of the Brookhouse and an interruption into the student world. Fairly open plan on the inside, The Clachan also hosts a Quiz night on Tuesdays at 9pm with a £50 cash prize — a good incentive to head there. Its central location also adds to the appeal, as a quiet atmosphere or even busy one results in only a short walk to find another place on this busy road.

The Clachan is like that house party you go to, not realising it was scheduled the same night as some stupendously enormous event, (e.g. the day the Pope rode a unicorn across the Millennium Bridge). As a result, it’s quiet, peopled by oddballs and intangibly disappointed that you didn’t bring more friends.
If you’re in the mood to just sit and chat then that’s fine, provided you keep your voice down. You don’t want the regulars propped silently at the bar to know all about what you’re up to. God forbid. The Clachan isn’t a bad place. It’s not rough, dangerous or expensive but there’s a whole host of good adjectives it isn’t either.

This is possibly the most boring pub ever, well along what is normally a busy and lively mix of establishments along Smithdown anyway.
The Clachan is only on the radar of thos who neither fit the bill of student or grad, local or old. It belongs mainly to those wishing to purely drink to death. Me and a mate have ventured in when other pubs have been too busy because of football or just wishing to have a pint in every place that we pass and God the atmosphere is a killer — I’m not sure if the dog belonged to anyone in there or was part of the décor but its sad face looked like it would say ‘end it’ if it had a chance, I mean I’ve even seen some of those dogs with homeless guys who at least have an expression of ‘well, we’ve had some adventures along the way’.
There are many other places along Smithdown, not all good but at least with something about them.

Well, The Clachan is never my first choice of pub on Smithdown, mainly because we never make it past Kellys! However, it would be a shame to overlook this pub as it’s got a great atmosphere with a good mix of students and locals as it is pretty central to student territory.
They also have a pub quiz on Tuesdays (9pm start if you’re keen!) for a £50 cash prize, now who can say no to £50 to end a night of what we can only assume will be drunken ‘No, it’s definitely A, well possibly C’ and ‘Engelbert Humperdinck wasn’t his real name though was it?!”s.
So pop in for a pint, and you might find that you’ve discovered a new local, at least somewhere a bit quieter to go if you’ve found yourself in the Brookhouse beforehand.

The Clachan, formerly known as «The Vine Inn», is one of a number of pubs situated in the up-​and-​coming Smithdown Road area of the city.
The Clachan is one of those rare pubs where it’s not unusual to see locals and students happily mixing to create a warm and welcoming atmosphere.
The best feature of this bar is its cosy nature and this makes it the perfect place to catch the latest Liverpool or Everton game away from the larger crowds of the neighbouring Brookhouse bar!
If you’re looking for a sedate night then why not pop along to do the latest pub quiz over a few beers? If you’re looking for something a bit more adventurous then you can quite feasibly use the Clachan as a starting point for embarking on the legendary «Smithdown 10» pub crawl!
The Clachan won’t change your life, but you’ll have a good time here!