Time Out has named its top pubs in the UK for 2026, and Liverpool's Roscoe Head has secured the number 10 spot on the list of 22 extraordinary boozers. The family-run venue on Roscoe Street is praised for its cosy atmosphere and traditional character.
A pub with history
Dating back to the 1830s, the Roscoe Head is one of Liverpool's oldest surviving pubs. It has been passed down through the family for generations and is currently run by landlady Carol Ross. Her parents, Nicky and Margaret Joyce, first took over in 1981 when, as Carol recalled, there was "no roof on the toilet, and it was outdoors."
The pub consists of a main bar, two small rooms and a tiny snug, with no jukeboxes or fruit machines, priding itself on being a "conversation pub."
Time Out's praise
Time Out described the pub: "Not only is the Roscoe Head (est. 1830s) one of the oldest surviving boozers in Liverpool, it's also one of the cosiest. In the shadow of St. Luke's Bombed Out Church, enter through the postbox-red front door, and you'll find this tiny, family-run 'conversation pub' furnished with cushioned stools, wood-finished fireplaces, checker-tiled floors and amber-hued light fittings — all of which shape the feeling that you're glugging away in someone's living room."
It noted the pub is a member of an exclusive club, as one of only five drinking holes (and the only one in the North) to have appeared in every edition of the CAMRA Good Beer Guide since its first publication in 1974. The pub is named after William Roscoe, whose campaigning helped abolish slavery in the British Empire.
Award-winning beers
The Roscoe Head is no stranger to awards, having been listed in best pub guides many times before. Carol Ross previously told the ECHO: "Without a shadow of a doubt, the pub is known for its beer, always has been. It's 50 years this year since we first got into the Beer Guide in 1974. I'm one of only five in the country, only one in the North. It's not just me though - it's my mum and dad before me, it's been in our family for 42 years and before that it was the previous owners for eight years. But it feels good."
She added: "I often look back and think why am I still here, why am I still one of those five, why am I still in the pub of the year challenges all year and it's purely down to hygiene - keeping good beer. I did a beer festival in the street and it was mega. [It was] Only one day on a Sunday and there was loads and loads of planning for it. When I realised the enormity of what I took on I thought oh my god. But I won pub of the year that year, in 2012 - that was a momentous moment for me."
