Best Blackpool Boozers – Summary

I’m often asked for pub recommendations by visitors to Blackpool (and Fleetwood) so I thought it was high time I put all the information in one handy blog. The pub scene in Blackpool has transformed in recent years, with an explosion of micropubs being the highlight. Dark beer – once scarce on the Fylde Coast – can be found in most if not all of the pubs featured below. I’ve included eateries as well as it’s important to soak up the beer!

Enjoy your visit – and tell them I sent you…

Blackpool Town Centre

Cask & Tap

So, why is this the best pub in Blackpool? Well the beer range is excellent, with plenty of choice on cask and keg (ciders too). Gluten free beer is always available. It’s also a great pub for locals, with the same faces to be found on both sides of the bar. I’m always greeted by name and often gently guided towards beers to suit my taste with a hand on the pump clip of the lush stout. It’s also welcoming for visitors, handily situated for Blackpool North station.

Despite only opening just before the initial lockdown, the reputation of this fine pub is growing all the time. It continues to grow with its customer base, with the frontage being developed as well as additional space upstairs being worked on. A beer fridge would be a great next step but, to be honest, those keg lines are dangerous enough for me right now. They do offer carry outs for those wanting a train beer. Snackage can be found on the bar.

Clearly built with love, the decor is outstanding, with excellent toilet facilities.

If you only visit one pub in Blackpool, make it this one.

Where? 82 Topping Street, Blackpool FY1 3AD.

Rhythm & Brew Room

This place recently changed hands (and name) and has a new lease of life under Kieran, who used to run Rhythm & Brews (a former micropub in Poulton). There is a good range of cask and keg – but be sure to check out the beer menu on the bar so you don’t miss out on their full range of beers (although beware it could get very messy if you go into the fridge!).

This is (arguably) the only pub that’s not a micropub in this blog.

Beer is brewed on the premises. Formerly West Coast Brewing, this has now been rebranded as Pool Brewing, with a new brewer and new beers to keep an eye out for.

This pub was where Blackpool Football Club was formed and memorabilia can be found throughout the pub, most notably on the balcony to the right as you walk in.

The pub has history as a music venue in town (when it was known as Blue Room) and still has bands on. What I like about watching bands here is that the acoustics are such that you can still have a conversation while the band is playing (bad etiquette, I know!). If you’re in town on a Friday or Saturday night you might well catch live music in here.

Jacket potatoes are now provided. I’ve yet to try one but I certainly will be doing, as it’s rare to find healthy food in a pub!

Where? 139 Church St, Blackpool FY1 3NU.

Shickers Tavern

This is the younger sister pub of Shickers Micropub, which we’ll come to later. This one is slap bang in the town centre.

For me, the best features of this pub are its friendly staff and belting jukebox.

It feels like a locals pub in the centre of town (much as Cask & Tap does). Cask and keg offerings are available. This is somewhere I could happily settle in for a lengthy session.

Where? 31 Birley Street, Blackpool FY1 1EG.

Alberts Ale Micropub

This is not a pub you are likely to find by accident. Indeed, many locals and regular visitors to Blackpool might not even know of its existence. It is a hidden gem – and the quirkiest pub in Blackpool.

What is quirky about it? For a start it’s in the basement of a B&B, accessible (not accessible) by a metal staircase in the garden. You’ll find Punch & Judy (together with crocodile and sausages), a tiki bar sign, a great photo of the Bee Gees… Even the music is quirky, with Teddy Bears Picnic being my favourite song heard in there.

Oven bottoms can be found on the bar and I still can’t get my head round what these are. I guess I’ll have to try one sometime.

This is one of those micropubs where you’ll find yourself chatting with fellow drinkers on adjacent tables. It’s also good for that low ABV beer you might need to factor in if you’ve been to the pubs above! Check opening hours, as they, too, can be quirky.

The comfy sofas can make this pub a difficult one to leave.

Where? 117 Albert Road, Blackpool FY1 4PW.

Raleside Brewhouse

This is Blackpool’s newest pub (so new, it’s not even open yet at the time of writing). It couldn’t be handier for Blackpool North station (just across the road). This is the sister pub of Shipwreck Brewhouse in Cleveleys (more of that later). I understand they’re collaborating with Poulton’s Fuzzy Duck Brewery for some unique beer offerings. Watch this space (or visit for yourself when you can).

Where? 2a Bickerstaffe Square, Blackpool FY1 3AH.

Abingdon Street Market

I’d been eagerly awaiting the reopening of Abingdon Street Market following a massive revamp. It promised street food outlets and bars and I wondered how it would compare to Chorley Market, which I’d visited recently and loved.

Dear reader, I needn’t have worried. The sight and sounds of the already-bustling market make my heart swell with pride. It looks just like the foodie markets in Manchester!

This is a great choice for food if you’re (a) in a group and/or (b) you don’t want to commit to an hour in a restaurant. Food options come from:

• Neighbourhood (subs, bagels, coffee, doughnuts)
• Pizzarana
• Flipadelphia (burgers, hot dogs, corn dogs)
• Tuk Tuk (Punjabi street food)
• Nensho Men (Japanese street food)
• Capo (The Pasta Place)

And then there’s the bars (which I can’t differentiate between but there must be a difference):

• Public
• Nomad

This place is exactly what Blackpool has needed. For months, nay years, I’ve been searching for a suitable casual dining place in town. And this, dear reader, is it. And a bonus that it has lush beer too!

Here’s a little video if you’d like to have a look around:

Where? Abingdon Street, Blackpool FY1 1DR.

Thirsty? Alehouse

Recently reopened under new ownership. Their Filipino food and live music nights at weekends are popular (you might need to book). Watch the step on your way in/out.

Where? 277 Church St, Blackpool FY1 3PB.

Cask Micropub – Layton

Simply a fabulous friendly micropub with a great range of well-kept beers. It is a little out of town (in Layton) but well worth a visit. You could get the bus but I’d recommend walking there (20mins) accompanied by a bag of fish, chips and gravy from Yorkshire Fisheries (see below). Alternatively, if you’re coming in on the train to Blackpool North, check if your train stops at Layton as it’s only a short walk from Layton station.

Great pubs like this deserve our support. Use em or lose em, folks.

Where? 9 Layton Road, Blackpool FY3 8EA.

Yorkshire Fisheries

Home of the best fish, chips and gravy in Blackpool. What more do I need to say?

Eat in or take away. Best washed down with a can of dandelion & burdock.

Where? 14-18 Topping Street, Blackpool FY1 3AQ.

Akash Tandoori

Lush Indian food and decent portions (I need a doggy bag if I’ve had a starter). the perfect combination of lush and spicy and hearty.

You’re assured of a warm welcome from Sammy and the team. You might even get photographed for their Facebook page, alongside such special guests as Barry Hearn, comedians John Thompson (nice!) and Rob Beckett – and the mayor and mayoress of Leek!

Where? 76 Topping Street, Blackpool FY1 3AD.

Post Match Crawl

Shickers Micropub

This is very handy for the football ground. There are three cask ales on. There’s usually some sort of snackage available (I had a tasty pasty in there once).

This pub is so small that you’ll end up chatting to fellow drinkers. It’s got sofas, so you can get comfy.

You won’t, however, get comfy on the loo: the smallest room really is the smallest room and even I (with my short legs) have to sit side saddle on the loo.

Where? 3 Royal Oak Buildings, 93 Waterloo Road, Blackpool FY4 2AB.

Backstage Blackpool

This is a fab music themed micropub within the Waterloo Music Bar, brimming with music memorabilia. They have a good range of beers on cask, keg and in the fridge. This is in the ‘post match crawl’ section because it might not be open pre-match. It tends to function as a pre-gig watering hole while the bands are soundchecking in the Waterloo. If you enjoy live music I would recommend heading into the Waterloo: an award winning venue. They have beer on in there too – usually including a dark beer on cask. I recommend the Bomber Stout on keg: a chocolatey creamy lush beer with a safe ABV of 4.1%. On a weekend gig night you’ll usually find the Bedrock Pizza van outside.

This place is shaping up to be a right little belter. There’s no pub in Blackpool with more love gone into it than this one and it’s reaping dividends, with the Waterloo famed amongst music lovers and artists alike as a truly special, unique venue. Check out who’s on the weekend of your visit.

Where? 166 Waterloo Road, Blackpool FY4 2AF.

No 10 Bar & Kitchen

This is the sister pub of the Fylde Coast’s first micropub (RIP) – and the start of the brilliant micropub revolution over here. I love this pub because the beer is always well kept and delicious – and the Thai food is divine.

This pub was recently revamped (and rebranded from No 10 Alehouse) to cater for the younger market – with less of a focus on real ale (although this is still available and lush); however this remains a pub where it is very easy to while away an entire evening. You might even get live music.

This is another pub I could happily stay in all night. I’m always saying I really ought to visit more often. It’s one of Blackpool’s absolute gems. The beer, food and people are top notch.

Where? 258-260 Whitegate Drive, Blackpool FY3 9JW.

Tram Crawl: Bispham, Cleveleys & Fleetwood

If you’re here for longer than a day – or heading to Fleetwood for a match – don’t miss out on the opportunity to visit these belters.

Cask Micropub – Bispham

This is the younger (but bigger) sister to Cask in Layton – maintaining the excellent standards in beer and atmosphere – and is a great addition to Bispham. There are loads of restaurants on the same road if you’re hungry while you’re here. Bispham is now a destination. These Cask places are exactly what I want a micropub to be: a hub of the community, where strangers talk to each other as friends and the beer is top notch. I definitely don’t visit these places as much as they deserve.

Where? 103 Red Bank Road, Bispham, Blackpool FY2 9HZ. 

Now get back on the tram and continue northbound to Cleveleys…

The Shipwreck Brewhouse

This is the first pub you’ll come to once you’ve hopped off the tram in Cleveleys. Cask and keg beers are available but be sure to check out the fridge for more exciting beers. It was from this very fridge that I enjoyed my first ever Black Edge beer (an irresistible gingerbread stout). It was so good I bought the entire stock to take home.

Food is served during the day – and I can recommend the Shipwreck Platter.

They make great use of the space here, with seating out front and out back in addition to the bar area and back room in the main building.

Where? 53 Victoria Road West, Cleveleys FY5 1AJ.

Backstage Cleveleys

When is a micropub not a micropub? When it becomes so popular that they expand into the next two units. This, I proclaim, confirms Backstage’s status as a megapub. I rate this as the best pub on the Fylde Coast, making Cleveleys a must-visit destination for anyone heading to Fleetwood.

So, if you’ve been paying attention, dear reader, you’ll know the Waterloo Music Bar (or Waterloo FY4 or whatever it’s called now) contains within it a micropub called Backstage. Well this is the sister pub of those – and thus it was guaranteed to be good. So much love has gone into those places and it’s obvious in the surroundings.

The floor is covered with gig posters that all feature Blackpool.

The beer range in here is so good (cask, loads of keg, epic fridge) you might not want to leave.

This is another great live music venue so check out the listings before your visit.

Where? 107-109 Victoria Road West, Cleveleys FY5 3LA.

Wobblinn

This is the newest micropub on the block – run by the former gaffer of The Weavers in Kidderminster. It has Black Country beers on cask, including the legendary and lush Bathams and Sarah Hughes Dark Ruby Mild. If you’re not familiar with these beers then get familiar with them! I could drink Bathams all night and there’s not many beers I can say that about.

All this place is missing is the cheese and black pudding cobs for the full authentic Black Country pub experience. Oh and Church End Gravediggers wouldn’t go amiss while you’re down there collecting your beers, Jeff…

There’s a music theme here too in terms of decor and there’s a tv playing music channels.

Where? 131 Victoria Rd West, Cleveleys FY5 3LA.

If you can bring yourself to leave Cleveleys and are heading to Fleetwood for a match, hop back on the northbound tram.

Beer Shed

If you find yourself in Fleetwood, be sure to call in at this friendly and very definitely micro micropub.

What I love about micropubs of this size is that you can’t help but talk to other people as it’s like you’re in someone’s living room or at a party with them or something. This is my favourite type of micropub.

Help yourself to free nuts from the dispensers on the tables.

Ask gaffer Steve about his book. If you’re in the pub industry this makes for an interesting read.

Where? 20 Poulton Street, Fleetwood FY7 6LP.

I’m proud to say that Blackpool is finally a great beer destination – now you know where to look. If you enjoy our pubs then be sure to spread the word and send others our way. These excellent establishments deserve our support.

I hope you enjoy my recommendations. Feel free to thank me via this link.

Touristy Stuff

If you’re looking for touristy stuff to do while you’re in Blackpool, check out this blog. We also have a new museum celebrating Blackpool called Showtown.

Next Up: Clitheroe v Chasetown.