Hardy’s Bar

You're on Mathew Street, that stretch of Liverpool's city centre that's somehow managed to stay real despite the Cavern Club circus down the way. Hardy's is the kind of place where people actually drink rather than pose—no craft cocktails with dry ice, just straightforward booze and banter. It's got that proper pub energy: sticky floors, a jukebox that actually gets used, and regulars who've been coming since the '90s. The crowd's mixed—office workers ducking in after shifts, night owls pre-loading before heading elsewhere, the occasional curious visitor who stumbles in and realises they've found something genuine. Prices won't punish you (it's a solid ££), and the drinks list won't baffle you either. This is where Mathew Street remembers what it was before it became a theme park version of itself.