Hope Street Hotel
Liverpool, United Kingdom[view map]
Guestbook
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Liverpool is certainly up and coming, no doubt about that, what with the city centre re-development and the waterfront with the Tate etc, but it lacks good places to eat for a major city. If you are staying in the Hope Street Hotel, which I highly recommend, you need to book in advance as the few good restaurants tend to be busy at the weekends. The London Carriage Works restaurant is attached to the Hotel and is definitely worth considering. The food is prepared to an excellent standard and is not overpriced, but when I was in Liverpool the menu lacked excitement – the usual steak and fish option.
Another excellant restaurant is 60 Hope Street, just down the road from the hotel. Again, booking is essential; you are sometimes competing with Liverpool football players for a table! The menu changes reguarly and is a lot more interesting for about the same price as the London Carriage Works. If you want a pre-meal drink I can recommend the Philharmonic Dining Rooms – a large heritage pub in Hope Street. This is a gem of a Victorian pub, not quite in the gin palace mode but very interesting inside. The gents' toilets are a wonder to behold; they are exactly like they were when first installed.
I went to the Bar and Grill in Bold Street for a evening meal, (having failed to get into 60 Hope Street). It used to be a Halifax branch and on a Saturday night is bustling with all age groups.Tthe centrepiece of the building is a cocktail bar, square-shaped so you can stand there and watch the bar staff making cocktails. I had an excellent Bloody Mary. My partner had a martini and that too was made to perfection. The meal was very enjoyable and there was a good choice on the menu and the waiting staff were friendly and efficient. The whole meal cost £100, including two cocktails, two starters, two mains, six lovely truffles and a bottle of wine – excellent value.