Liverpool 'dive bar' shortlisted for title of National Pub & Bar of the Year

A new addition to Liverpool’s buzzing Seel Street has been named the best bar in Merseyside and will now compete to claim the accolade of National Pub & Bar of the Year 2024.

Mean-Eyed Cat Bar opened the city centre venue last year and it has already become a staple for many peoples’ nights out. Inspired by the Johnny Cash song of the same name, the American-style dive bar offers free pizza slices with cocktail orders and even has a hidden Tiki bar.

Now, the quirky venue has been crowned Merseyside’s best at the 2024 National Pub & Bar Awards, which each year presents awards to 94 County Winners from England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Mean-Eyed Cat Bar is on five-pub shortlist for the best in the North West, along with the Cholmondeley Arms (Cheshire), The Swan (Cumbria), BOX (Manchester) and the Britannia Tap and Grill (Lancashire). Each of these venues will compete for the title of National Pub & Bar of the Year.

The pubs, which have been selected on factors such as customer journey, design, service and style of offer, will be officially crowned at a red carpet celebration in London in June, where 15 Regional Winners will also be announced, as well as the esteemed accolade – the overall National Pub & Bar of the Year.

“The fact that we had record entries for the 2024 National Pub & Bar Awards tells us two things,” says Tristan O’Hana, editor of Pub & Bar magazine, which runs the event. “One is how highly the industry regards these accolades, which is fantastic. But, also, it shows that more operators are in need of really positive and strong publicity to help drive business at the moment.

“Pubs and bars are facing some of the biggest challenges in recent history, so if the National Pub & Bar Awards can help by lifting sales across these venues, then we’re delighted to play our part.”

The 2024 National Pub & Bar Awards County Winners - full list

East Midlands

• Derbyshire: The Railway, Belper
• Leicestershire: The Forge Inn
• Northamptonshire: The Tollemache Arms
• Nottinghamshire: The Plough, Normanton
• Rutland: The Olive Branch

 East of England

• Essex: Galvin Green Man
• Bedfordshire: The Crown, Henlow
• Cambridgeshire: The Royal Oak, Hail Weston
• Hertfordshire: The Black Horse, Barnet
• Norfolk: The Dabbling Duck
• Suffolk: The Newbourne Fox

London

• City of London: Mr Fogg's City Tavern
• Greater London: The Audley Public House

 North East

• Durham: The Bay Horse, Hurworth
• Northumberland: The Crown Inn Humshaugh
• Tyne and Wear: NQ64

North West

• Cheshire: Cholmondeley Arms
• Cumbria: The Swan, Grasmere
• Greater Manchester: BOX
• Lancashire: Britannia Tap and Grill
• Merseyside: Mean-Eyed Cat Bar

Northern Ireland

• Antrim: Hearth
• Armagh: Keegan's
• Down: The Dirty Duck Alehouse
• Fermanagh: Charlie's Bar
• Derry: Blackbird
• Tyrone: Tomneys

Northern Scotland

• Aberdeenshire: Beekies Neuk
• Angus: The Birkhill Inn
• Argyll and Bute: Macgochans
• City of Aberdeen: The Tippling House
• City of Dundee: Bertie Mooney's
• Clackmannanshire: The Mansfield Arms
• Fife: Montagues
• Highland: Ben Nevis Bar
• Moray: Badenoch's
• Na h-Eileanan Siar (Western Isles): The Cross Inn
• Orkney Islands: The Ferry Inn
• Perth and Kinross: The Inn at Loch Tummel
• Shetland Islands: The Welcome Inn
• Stirling: King Cons

Southern Scotland

• City of Edinburgh: Brewhemia
• City of Glasgow: Flight Club
• Dumfries and Galloway: Kenmuir Arms
• East Ayrshire: Hollybush Inn
• East Dunbartonshire: The Stables
• East Lothian: Broc Bar at The Bonnie Badger
• East Renfrewshire: Maxwell's
• Falkirk: Behind the Wall
• Inverclyde: One Bruce Street Bar & Kitchen
• Midlothian: Stewart Brewing Brewery Bar & Pizza Kitchen
• North Ayrshire: The Carrick
• North Lanarkshire: The Electric Bar
• Renfrewshire: Craig Dhu
• Scottish Borders: Cross Keys Inn Ettrickbridge
• South Ayrshire: Vic’s
• South Lanarkshire: The Weavers
• West Dunbartonshire: Tullie Inn
• West Lothian: Livingston Inn

South East

• Berkshire: The Loch & The Tyne by Adam Handling
• Buckinghamshire: The Journeyman
• East Sussex: The Geese
• Hampshire: The Mutton at Hazeley Heath
• Isle of Wight: The Old Fort, Seaview
• Kent: The Kings Arms, Elham
• Oxfordshire: The Victoria Arms, Old Marston
• Surrey: The Mill, Haslemere
• West Sussex: The Three Moles

South West

• Bristol: The All Inn
• Cornwall: The Barley Sheaf, Gorran
• Devon: Masons Arms
• Dorset: The Pure Drop
• Gloucestershire: The Bottle of Sauce
• Somerset: The George Inn, Norton St. Philip
• Wiltshire: The Methuen Arms

Wales

• Clwyd: Mold Alehouse
• Dyfed: White Hart Thatched Inn & Brewery
• Gwent: The Goose and Cuckoo
• Gwynedd: The Bull's Head Inn
• Mid Glamorgan: The Old House 1147
• Powys: The Sun Hotel
• South Glamorgan: Hare & Hounds, Aberthin
• West Glamorgan: Britannia Inn, Gower

West Midlands

• Herefordshire: The Oak Inn Staplow
• Shropshire: The Tally Ho Inn
• Staffordshire: Fitzherbert Arms
• Warwickshire: The House at Leamington Spa
• West Midlands: The Tamworth Arms
• Worcestershire: BMK Stourport

Yorkshire and the Humber

• East Riding of Yorkshire: The Old Star, Kilham
• Lincolnshire: The Red Cow, Fishtoft
• North Yorkshire: The Harrogate Inn
• South Yorkshire: Public
• West Yorkshire: Call Lane Social