THE EXCHANGE
Corner of Liverpool Road/Moor Lane, Crosby

The Exchange is the old Barclays Bank in the centre of Crosby. Its decoration is spartan, presumably to allow as much standing room for drinkers as possible, similar to many city centre pubs. At the weekend this layout, plus the loud music attracts a large, reasonably young clientele. The number of drinkers has undoubtedly increased since the George's closure, but it must be said that the Exchange operates a strict age policy and it is only over 18's to be found here.

One consequence of administering this policy is having three bouncers on the door at weekends which, together with the police making a point of walking around about 10.30 each weekend night, smacks of overkill. Whilst I understand some people find police and bouncers reassuring, I find it intimidating in a pub where I've never seen a hint of trouble.

In contrast to the weekend atmosphere, as the pub is not aiming to be a "local" it is usually deserted at nights during the week.

During the day meals are served and in the 18 months or so it has been open, the Exchange has built up a good reputation for its lunches as is demonstrated by the brisk trade it does during the day.