Pleasant... but it could be so much more than that

IT’S a warm weekday afternoon in Liverpool, and the front windows of The Brownlows Inn are open to let out some of the heat. It’s an old-school pub on Mount Pleasant, a city centre street that links Lime Street at one end with Hope Street at the other.

- By JAMIE GREER

Inside The Brownlows are husband and wife Duncan and Joyce Emsley, aged 82 and 79 respectively, sipping on pints of lager as part of their weekly routine.

Joyce tells the ECHO: “We come here from Southport twice a week, every Monday and Thursday. We start at the pubs on Ranelagh Street and then come up here. We've been doing this for 20 years. This is a nice pub. Everybody in here including all the staff are always friendly and helpful.”

Joyce thinks the area is “more vibrant” to drink in than their hometown of Southport. Mount Pleasant is a street a lot of people pass through, including many students and tourists as they venture up to the Georgian Quarter and nearby universities, but not everyone makes a point of visiting the venues on the street itself.

The street boasts pubs, several restaurants and takeaways, along with flats and offices inside stunning Georgian buildings, a cathedral, and a public garden. In 2024, a new food market opened on the street, which includes Zaman Coffee and Safi’s Desserts.

When asked how she would describe Mount Pleasant, Larnie Cadwallader, who works for Morgan Jones Barbers, said: “I would say it's a bit lost. People don’t venture up this way. There’s probably a little bit more that could be brought to the area.