Philharmonic Dining Rooms, Liverpool

Yes its in the Nicholson chain worth a visit just to see the toilets

Widely touted as one of the country’s most richly decorated pubs, this Grade II listed building is a wonderful example of late Victorian grandeur. The external appearance alone is something to behold - putting the actual Philharmonic Hall over the road to shame. The interior is even more impressive with a multiple room layout which showcases the skills of the architects who designed it. The entrance takes you into a lobby type area with the servery to the left and very few seats. There is a mosaic floor and an intricately carved ceiling, whilst the bar back is decorated with stained glass. The windows and many of the internal partitioning screens have wonderful etched glasswork and to the left of the bar you can admire some colourful tiling in a passageway that leads to a small drinking space at the front of the pub. To the right of the front door, the pub splits into three, with a corridor leading to a large rear room and doorways either side giving access to smaller rooms titled Brahms and Liszt. These two rooms are carpeted with large armchairs, grand fireplaces with integral mirrors and portraits of the respective composers. Musical motifs in brass can be found throughout and there are further examples of the stained glass work. The larger lounge at the rear has the best selection of seating of all the rooms and includes a few comfy looking sofas. Others have mentioned the gent’s toilets, so I won’t elaborate further other than to say they are well worth a look and far better than I had imagined. This is a Nicholson’s pub which meant there was a decent range of beer on at the bar including Cropton Top of the Hops, Thwaites Original, Moor Amoor, Sharp’s Doom Bar, Wold Top Dawn of Time, Project Venus Venus Black and Green Jack Excelsior. I gave the Cropton a try but thought the pint was a bit tired and I wasn’t surprised to see that the clip had been turned by the time I left. Service was prompt and the staff were friendly and helpful. I have to say that this pub’s reputation for its splendour is well deserved and that it has to be an essential port of call on any crawl of Liverpool. Consistent beer quality would be the icing on the cake, but I guess you can’t have it all ways.