The Belvedere, Liverpool

This early 18th Century pub is Grade II listed as well as being on the CAMRA Regional Inventory of pubs with historic interiors. It has a corridor/bar with two distinct rooms leading from it; the room on the left is the plusher of the two and is probably regarded as the saloon or lounge bar. The room on the right has the bar counter, and spying four handpumps on the counter I made a beeline for this room. There were a couple of ales from Liverpool Organic Brewery (Sunshing and William Roscoe), LVE Light Ale, and George Wright Hop Fusions Marynka. I didn't see any sign of food. This is an unspoilt local tucked away down a side street. There are some nice brewery mirrors, as well as some original etched and cut glass, mainly decorating the screening between the hallway and the "public" bar. I tend to like these unspoilt locals, and this one is no different. Having four real ales on is also a massive plus as

A teeny multi-roomed backstreet outlet in the rather nice Georgian Quarter, not easy to find but worth persevering. Historic interior - a curved room to left off the entrance lobby, a small room to the right with another larger one to the right of that. As mentioned below the etched glass (wild fowl) in wood panelling that separates the rooms is lovely. It’s basic but certainly not shabby nowadays. Four interesting ales; my Melwood Knowsley Blonde was in good shape. Also a couple from Liverpool Organic available. As it’s small it was rammed on my Friday evening visit, standing room only. So time it well and you should be rewarded with a good visit.

The old bar back is now fully restored and it's still a great pub. On my visit there were 3 barmen on behind the small counter - the good one could have managed on his own and the service might have been quicker as a result. The others were really spare parts. The usual customers and good beer quality remains even if the choice is sometimes as eccentric as the customers. I don't miss out this pub every time I'm in Liverpool.

Tucked away just off a nice cobbled street in Liverpool’s Georgian quarter, the Belvedere is a simple, compact traditional two room pub of the sort that focuses on good beer and conversation. A curved bar counter serves the right hand public bar and a connecting space that gives access to the lounge on the left. The public bar is fairly cramped with little in the way of seating and just a few pictures (including some of John Lennon, of course) on the green walls. The highlight is the etched glass in the partitioning screens which give the room an attractive focal point. There’s a fireplace too which was lit when we ventured in, warming up the friendly, if slightly eccentric, locals who we got chatting to. The lounge is a little shabby looking, with some decent banquette seating and another fireplace but tellingly, very few customers. A choice of four ales – Liverpool Organic Cascade, Titanic Steerage, Liverpool Craft Viking and Caledonian Flying Scotsman – plus Weston’s Scrumpy Cider, faced us at the bar. I ordered a pint of the Cascade, which the barmaid poured with a particularly large head, but before I had a chance to mention it to her, a colleague took the pint away from me and to my confusion, poured it down the sink before informing me that the beer was off. I gave the Viking a try instead and thought it was well kept and pretty tasty. The pub struck me as a slightly scruffier version of the Roscoe Head, which is certainly no bad thing. A pub with absolutely no pretension and one that the pub purist should make a bee-line for.

Good atmosphere. Bright friendly batman. Interesting range of beers. Caledonian 80 was a Super malty pint. Harsh hop in the Liverpool Organic bitter - a hop back beer was on - but didn't try that. Higsons best bitter was delightful - excellent aroma, good mouthfeel and a very Pleasant lingering aftertaste. 2 guys playing crib at the bar, good background music, if in Liverpool Worth a visit to a very interesting small pub with good beer and real characters.