INTRODUCTION

The Philharmonic Dining Rooms www.merseypub.com

A great area to say Grace, or even take Grace, because Hope Street is blessed with a selection of fine restaurants and a magnificent cathedral at either end. Also has one of the greatest pubs in Britain, the Philharmonic.

Pre-theatre menus are offered at many of the restaurants because on, or near, Hope Street are the Everyman Theatre, Unity Theatre, Philharmonic Hall, and the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts. Also nearby are Liverpool University and Liverpool Art College.
Halfway along Hope Street is a crossroads, with Hardman Street running down towards the city centre.

RESTAURANTS
Let's start at the end of the Metropolitan Cathedral end of Hope Street, by its junction with Mount Pleasant:
The EVERYMAN BISTRO, (L1 9BH) in the basement of the theatre, has enjoyed a fine reputation for more than 20 years (0151 708 9545). It claims to be the genesis of the gastro-pub. Fine food for less than £10. Twenty yards further along Hope Street is the Mexican-style EL MACHO, (0151 708 6644). Next is THE OTHER PLACE, opened after the success of the restaurant of the same name in Liverpool suburbia. (0151 707 7888).

On the corner of Hope Street and Hardman Street is the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, which has its own restaurant, called LOWER PLACE (0151 210 1955). Just 20 yards on, towards the Anglican Cathedral, is EGO, serving Mediterranean dishes. (0151 706 0707).

Across the road is THE LONDON CARRIAGE WORKS restaurant, part of the boutique-style Hope Street Hotel, which opened in 2004. The restaurant, which takes its name from the history of the building, boasts classic cuisine with a creative modern twist. The London Carriage Works, 40 Hope Street, L1 9DA Phone. 0151 705 2222.
Along the road is 60 HOPE STREET which, despite the ordinariness of its name, is a favourite with the city's businessmen. (L1 9BZ, 0151 707 6060). For some years it has been one of the city's most highly rated restaurants.
Almost opposite is the elegant Faulkner Street and The Quarter Cafe (0151 707 1965)

Walk back to the crossroads and turn left down Hardman Street. After its junction with Hope Street (which runs parallel to Hope Street) the downhill road ceases to be known as Hardman Street and becomes known as Leece Street. Along Hardman Street-Leece Street are several eateries, notably MAGNET (0151 709 1998) popular with students, and VALPARAISO (0151 708 6036), run by a restaurateur from that Pacific port in Chile. In Rodney Street, L1 2TE, is the restaurant PUSCHKA (0151 708 8698), which stands 30 yards from the HSBC bank. Puschka has established itself as a favourite with many.

BARS and PUBS
One of Britain's most magnificent pubs is the PHILHARMONIC. Such a fantastic interior, it is a cathedral of a pub. It stands on the corner of Hope Street and Hardman Street, diagonally opposite the Philharmonic Hall. If you have any interest in design, visit this pub.

Across the road in Hope Street is the CASA BISTRO, opened by Liverpool dockworkers after they lost their jobs in a long-running dispute over the use of casual labour. Takes its name from the Casablanca, a legendary late-night Liverpool bar of yesteryear which was situated in the same building.

Next to the restaurant 60 Hope Street is the narrow Rice Street and 30 yards down there on the right is YE CRACKE, once frequented by art college student John Lennon. Seemingly minimal change since his days there, apart from the records on the juke box.

In Hardman Street-Leece Street, MAGNET is very popular with bright-eyed students even though it is actually very dim. It's a few yards from another student haunt, the FLUTE.
Down the road there is the former Kirkland's bakery building which in the 1980s was a wine bar so fashionable it was a legend in its own lunchtime. Now it takes the form of a fine, traditional-style pub, THE FLY IN THE LOAF, thanks to the Isle of Man brewery Okells.

REAL ALE GUIDE
What a varied collection we have here. The EVERYMAN BISTRO (0151 708 9545) has frequently made the CAMRA Guide. It has a late licence, but tends to be closed Sundays.

If you like real ale, you probably enjoy historic pubs. So get yourself to the PHILHARMONIC (0151 707 2837) which is the Queen of them all - better than anything in London. Beer's fine as well. Sometimes overlooked these days is YE CRACKE, close by in Rice Street.

Walk down Hardman Street to the FLY IN THE LOAF which is an outpost, but also a creation, of the Isle of Man brewery Okell's. At the bottom of the hill, (near the bombed-out church) in the side street Roscoe Street is the super snug ROSCOE HEAD (0151 709 4365), one of very few pubs in Britain to have been listed in every edition of the CAMRA Guide.

Around the corner in Renshaw Street is a Cain's house, THE DISPENSARY (0151 709 2160), another favourite of the Merseyside CAMRA brigade.

For a five-pint tour of traditional pubs that each have their own appeal, try in this order Ye Cracke, Philharmonic, Fly In The Loaf, Roscoe Head and Dispensary.