Suono, Bold Street
££ | Listening bar, DJs
Suono is the less obvious choice, which is exactly why it works. Hidden beneath L’Aperitivo on Bold Street, it takes its cues from Japanese listening bars: a hi-fi sound system, low lighting and considered cocktails. Later on, it becomes something far more useful for a girls’ night — less vinyl appreciation, more disco in a sexy little red room, with DJs until 2am and a black cherry mojito I’m still thinking about now.
Good to know: It is small, so go earlier if you want to settle in. Once it is full, it is full.
Sister Ray, Wolstenholme Square
££ | Cocktails, DJs, late bar
Sister Ray is more bar than club, but sometimes that’s more than enough. Tucked into Wolstenholme Square, it has a retro-diner-meets-Wes-Anderson feel and a cocktail list where you may not recognise half the ingredients, which is very much part of the fun. The martinis are ice-cold, the bartenders know what they are talking about, and even when there is a DJ on, you can still hear the person in front of you — a rare and beautiful thing once you are past the third venue of the night.
Good to know: Open until 1am, so use it as a stronger start or a more civilised final stop. This is not the one for a full dancefloor; it is the one for excellent drinks, good lighting and a group that still wants to speak to each other.
Gloria’s, Back Berry Street
££ | Disco, DJs, late-night club
If Sister Ray is your retro-diner-meets-Wes-Anderson cocktail bar, Gloria’s is the full disco fantasy a few streets over — and it most certainly is a club. Built on the former MOJO site on Back Berry Street, it fills a gap Liverpool did not exactly know it was missing: pink floor, neon lights, disco balls, plush booths and a light-up bar that seems designed for ordering something dramatic. It is big, glossy and committed to the bit, with live disco bands, DJs and a 5am weekend finish that is both terrifying and, unfortunately, very useful.
Good to know: Book a booth if you can. Minimum spends apply, but it is worth it to have a place to call home. Saturday is open until 5am, so do with that information what you will.
Jenny’s Bar, Fenwick Street
£££ | 25+, late licence
Jenny’s is our grown-up option. Not grown-up as in quiet, responsible, one drink and home. Grown-up as in: you won’t look around at midnight and realise you’ve accidentally joined freshers’ week. Hidden beneath the Old Ropery on Fenwick Street — don’t be fooled by the Jenny’s Fish Restaurant sign on the way in — it runs a strictly over-25s door and takes the speakeasy bit seriously. Expect 1970s disco and soul, velvet curtains, low lighting and cocktails that feel like someone has actually thought about them. More subdued than Seel Street, yes, but not in the tragic “is this our final drink?” way.
Good to know: It is 25+ and they mean it. Book ahead if you want a table.
Baa Bar, Fleet Street
££ | DJs, late-night bar
Baa Bar is a Liverpool institution in the truest sense: not polished, not precious, and absolutely not pretending to be anything other than a very late night waiting to happen. First opened in 1991, the Fleet Street original is the city’s classic bar-meets-club: multiple rooms, cheap drinks and the kind of reputation that makes we’ll just go for one frankly delusional. It is not the cool-girl speakeasy or the sexy little listening bar. It is the place for music, shots, no overthinking and that particular hour of the night when everyone has collectively stopped caring whether the plan is chic.
Good to know: Open until 4am, so it earns its place on a late-night list.
Soho, Concert Square
££ | DJs, booths, late-night bar
Soho is Concert Square in its purest form. You simply need to walk past and someone will probably try to lure you in with free shots, which tells you almost everything you need to know. It is big, loud, central, and built for groups who have stopped pretending they want something niche. Never the chicest option on the list, obviously, but sometimes the night needs somewhere obvious: music, booths, drinks, 4am closing, and zero expectation that anyone is about to make a tasteful decision.
Good to know: Friday and Saturday hours run until 4am, so this is a genuine late-night option.
McCooley’s, Concert Square
££ | Irish bar, live music, late-night
McCooley’s is not where you go for sleek interiors or a carefully stirred martini. It is where you go when the group wants live music, three-too-many baby Guinnesses, a singalong, and the kind of mayhem only an Irish bar can get away with. There are two city-centre locations: Concert Square and Mathew Street. Concert Square is the bigger, louder, fully-in-it version, while Mathew Street is your Cavern Quarter option if the night has already drifted that way. Either way, subtlety has left the building.
Good to know: Good for a big night; less good for anyone still trying to have a delicate conversation.
Mansion, Temple Street
£££ | VIP club, DJs
Mansion is your glossy club-night option: Temple Street, house music, booths, a dress code and a door policy that expects the group to have made an effort. This is the full Scouse dressed-up night out — less we ended up here, more we very much planned to be here. Useful if the bride wants a glamorous late one and nobody is emotionally prepared for Baa Bar. It is not low-key, but then that would rather defeat the point.
Good to know: The dress code is strict: no sportswear, no fancy dress and, crucially, no hen party wear — so leave the sashes for brunch.
