Philharmonic Dining Rooms, Liverpool

A sumptuous interior, good food friendly staff and above all, a fine selection of well kept ales. A well deserved 9 out of 10.

Many words have been typed describing the interior of this magnificent heritage pub so I won’t add too many extra. In short, an entrance lobby to a main island servery, Brahms and Liszt side rooms off that with a grand high-ceilinged room beyond, all ornately decorated in a Victorian/neo-classical style like a lavish gentleman’s club (which it originally was) – carved dark wood, mosaic flooring, ornate glasswork, coloured tiling, brass plaques – it’s a riot of style. Ornate red marble toilets in the gents (which are pretty small in size given the capacity of the pub). Not a brilliant ale selection on and the resultant beers were so-so - Liverpool Organic was middling and Great Yorkshire Top of the Hops which was awful ("smells of ladies knickers", commented the lady I was drinking with). Uncleared tables, surly staff, crap piped music - on it went. Quiet for a Friday night and it’s not hard to work out why on this showing. Lovely pub, terrible management; which given it’s a Nicholsons is even more perplexing. Go see it by all means, but I'd be seriously thinking twice about visiting next time.