The Belvedere, 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.