The Yard at Alcotraz is back for summer 2026 bigger than ever

Break out your mates and maximise your rec time with illicit cocktails and games at Liverpool’s outdoor prison experience.

Alcotraz: The Yard isn’t just a bar, it’s a theatrical event where you get to dress up, have fun and drink smuggled liquor hidden in all kinds of undercover ways from paint buckets to prison-issue boots!

There’s no tickets and no time slots, and it’s free to enter so you can just turn up and make the most of a unique space that really does feel like a film set.

Not only can you order bespoke quirky cocktails, you can challenge fellow inmates to yard games from checkers on barrel-top boards to bowling and basketball.

Alcotraz: The Yard, which is styled on the grounds of the notorious prison, has been created by the team behind the original Alcotraz immersive experience on Seel Street.

They wanted to add an outdoor area next door that was the perfect place for hen dos, work nights out, date nights and more.

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Sam Shearman, director of Inventive Productions said:

“Alcotraz, our main experience in Liverpool, has been open for over four years and been a huge success,”

“Now we’ve added an outdoor courtyard, which we’ve transformed into the prison yard as an extension of the concept.

“The idea is to make the Alcotraz experience as accessible as possible, so you can just build it into your day or night out plans.

“It’s different to Alcotraz, which is a ticketed immersive experience with start times and a structured show. The Yard is more of a regular bar venue, but elevated because you’re in this cinematic themed environment so it’s something you’re going to talk about long after.”

Unlike Alcotraz, where guests ‘smuggle in’ their own liquor, at the Yard everything’s there – contraband drinks are ordered from a disguised tool shed.

The Yard’s signature cocktail is the Cherry Stomp, covertly served in a leather boot, containing vodka, cherry puree, lime puree and Coca-Cola.

The Tag & Run cocktail, which comes in an oil can, is another popular serve made with white rum, strawberry puree, basil syrup, lime and soda, and The Yard also has its own take on classics such as Doing Hard Lime (margarita) and Solitary Spritz (Aperol spritz). 

As well as drinks, the Alcotraz team did its research on real-life prison games too, to make the venue as authentic as possible.

Sam said:

“We genuinely looked at Alcatraz and what was played in their yard,”

“With checkers, or draughts, the inmates wouldn’t have any actual pieces so they’d be made from stones they found. We followed a similar idea in our own way, using black and white stones, and you play on boards which we’ve created. 

“Also pétanque was a popular DIY game so we’ve used that inspiration and one of our inmates has built their own homemade bowling alley with pins and balls.”

With actors, and loads of live entertainment all part of the Alcotraz: The Yard experience, doing time has never been so good!

Book your table at Alcotraz here.

Find more great nights out in Liverpool on our website.

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