Greetings from Liverpool
The Philharmonic Dining Rooms
A strong contender for the most beautiful city pub in England, the Philharmonic Dining Rooms, commonly referred to as The Phil, has an ornate exterior and an even more stunning interior. There is a large main room, seen in my feature photo, two smaller rooms named for Brahms and Liszt, and highly decorative wood-panelling, stained glass and floor tiles throughout. The gents’ toilets are said to be rather special too, though I can’t vouch for that personally!
The pub dates from 1898 and was the first in the country to be given a Grade One listing by Historic England. Its music-related name and theming is due to the diagonally opposite Philharmonic Hall concert venue. But the pub has more recent musical connections. John Lennon famously used to spend time here when skipping classes at the nearby Liverpool College of Art. He once said, ‘The price of fame is not being able to go to the Phil for a drink’. And Paul McCartney performed here when he was a young musician, and during an impromptu concert in 2018.
29 Comments
margaret21
I’ve not seen this: something for our next visit to L’pool.
Sarah Wilkie
Definitely worth seeing, and quite handy if you’re visiting either or both of the cathedrals as it’s between the two 🙂
margaret21
Noted! Thanks.
bushboy
That is a rather flash place Sarah 😀
Sarah Wilkie
It does look flash, although apart from the décor it’s pretty much a regular pub when it comes to drinks and food 🙂
bushboy
Oh well, you can’t have everything 😀
Sarah Wilkie
Being a regular pub is more than enough – it makes it possible for anyone to spend some time here (as opposed to a flashy restaurant for instance)
bushboy
That is the best thing Sarah. Being able to take your time to appreciate your surroundings
Egídio
Wonderful!
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks Egidio 🙂
the eternal traveller
You don’t see many pubs as beautiful as this one.
Sarah Wilkie
Very true – we have some lovely old ones in London but I don’t think any that I’ve visited quite rivals this 😀
the eternal traveller
I wish we’d known about it before we went to Liverpool in May 2024. We might have to visit again. It’s one of our favourite UK cities.
Sarah Wilkie
Definitely worth a revisit if you get the chance, there’s so much to see and do there 🙂
the eternal traveller
We had a week there and still couldn’t do everything. We love walking along the river where all those gorgeous old buildings are. It’s such a pretty city.
Rebecca
Absolutely stunning!!
Sarah Wilkie
Indeed – thanks Rebecca 🙂
Graham Stephen
the toilets are rather impressive, by the way.
i didn’t take any photos of them though. that would have been weird.
https://geotopoi.wordpress.com/2018/03/11/philharmonic-dining-rooms-liverpool/
Sarah Wilkie
So I’ve heard! And I have seen photos online even though you didn’t include any 😀 But you do have lots of great shots of the beautiful details!
Graham Stephen
Haha, yes—and thank you!
grandmisadventures
And the award for most beautiful bathroom entrance goes to The Phil 🙂
Sarah Wilkie
Haha yes 😀 And as Graham mentions above, the gents are apparently very impressive too, though I’ve only seen photos (naturally!)
Marie
It’s so beautifully kept…
Sarah Wilkie
Yes, they’re proud of it for sure and look after it well – though I expect they would have to if they want to retain the Grade One listing 🙂
Anabel @ The Glasgow Gallivanter
That looks fabulous!
Sarah Wilkie
It is absolutely fabulous – thanks Anabel 🙂
Sue
It does look rather grand!
Sarah Wilkie
It is – thanks Sue 🙂
Sue
Good!