Liverpool is a city renowned for its great football teams, friendly locals and enjoyable nightlife. This guide is aimed at visiting supporters, whether they are in town for a men's or women's game and will seek to recommend restaurants, bars and things of interest to do around the city.
There are 3 Premier Inns in Liverpool, for rooms and rates click here.
3 Vernon Street, off Duke Street.
48 Hanover Street.
East Britannia Building, Albert Dock.
PLACES TO EAT
Over the last 2-3 years many new restaurants have opened across Liverpool city centre, joining the already vast options on offer and meaning that no matter what, whatever type of food you fancy - there will be something for you!
First stop: Liverpool's burger bars. There are a number of places in the city centre that specialise in burgers, arguably the most popular being Almost Famous. Having recently revamped their menu to feature 9 staple burgers, each more extravagant than the last - 203 On A Bun (cheese, beef chili, mac & cheese patty, jalopeno relish and million island) and Wonderland (cheese, bacon, fried chicken, slaw, cherry coke bbq sauce, million island dressing) to name just two. A personal favourite is the River Phoenix burger with frazzles and baconaise. Almost Famous is under a 5-minute walk from Premier Inn on Hanover Street and also has an interesting take on a drinks menu.
If you prefer to try something a little different from the norm, Bold Street is the place for you. Starting with Lebanese street food and Bakchich which is situated about half way up Bold Street and serves breakfast, lunch and dinner Arabic style. The menu is reasonably priced, starting from a Chicken Shawarma wrap for just £3.50. Bakchich also offers a number of lamb dishes and all of it's Mashawi/ Charcoal Grills are served with Arabic rice and bread.
The newest addition to Bold Street is Mowgli, serving traditional Indian street food tapas style. The staff are friendly and knowledgeable about the menu - comfortably assisting one of my friends on her choices - and also offered tasters of their must-have Lassi's, a traditional yoghurt based drink. Mowgli has 4 flavours on offer and I can recommend the Mango. An interesting part to the menu is the Tiffin box for one, priced at £12 and described as "food roulette, total pot luck" - the chef chooses 4 dishes for you.
PLACES TO DRINK
Liverpool's bar and club scene is thriving, new places pop up constantly and there is something for every night of the week, pre-match and post-match.
To enjoy an afternoon before heading to Anfield to watch a game, you can't go far wrong with the Bierkeller - 3 bars within a bar; Around the World in 80 Beers, Shooters Bar and The Barvarian Bierkeller. During the daytime the Shooters Bar is an ideal place to wile away the hours with it's relaxed and casual atmosphere, live sport channels throughout the day and pool tables, table football and video games. Drinks prices are on par with the rest of the city, beer bottles start from £2.00 and pints from £3.30. There is also a football themed burger menu, featuring 'The Gerrard' and 'The Big Dunc' amongst others.
If you're headed on a night out in the city, looking to (hopefully) celebrate a win O'Neills is the place to start. An Irish pub on the corner of Wood Street and Hanover Street and always busy during evenings, particularly when Liverpool are playing at home. Television screens are placed around the pub so you can catch highlights from the game you've just seen and from others. From O'Neills, Liverpool is your oyster!
Wood Street leads up towards tequila bar Cava (well worth a quick stop if only for a look at the array of film posters on display - and a taste of their one-of-a-kind baked bean tequila) and also consists of a couple of nightclubs, further up and to the right you can also find Concert Square. A good place to sit outside on warm nights, the square is surrounded by clubs and bars with one large communal outside area with benches and high-rise tables to sit at.
A personal favourite of mine for a night out is relatively new bar, Empire. Although the door staff can be quite strict with enforcing a dress code - trainers are not acceptable here. Empire is a stylish bar, located on Seel Street with a great cocktail menu including the brilliantly named 'Tequila Mockingbird' and 'The Dark Rum Rises'. The highlight of Empire is its outside area, heated year-round and with a relaxed easygoing vibe, this is a bar where you and your friends can choose to dance inside or have a conversation outside.
After you've had a couple of drinks and you just want to dance, it's usually time to head towards a nightclub. Enter: Level! Level is perfectly situated amongst the bars already mentioned in this guide, half way up Fleet Street and less than a 5-minute walk from O'Neills and Empire. There are three levels: level 1 is open first and is the only floor open until the club starts to fill up around midnight, when all three floors are open level 1 plays dance and house music, level 2 r'n'b and level 3 pop. On the weekend the club remains open until 4am.
THINGS TO DO
If your trip to watch Liverpool means you are in the city for a few days, there are a wide variety of sightseeing options and activities no matter the weather.
The first stop for any Liverpool supporter has to be the stadium tour and museum at Anfield. Tours are available on match days however I believe are cut short and would also imagine the museum would be quite busy, if you have the opportunity to go the day before or after I would recommend this instead. The tour starts at the Bill Shankly statue, takes you through the press room, allows you to have a look inside the team changing room and touch the famous This Is Anfield sign before taking your place in the dugout having walked out the tunnel.
After the tour head inside to check out the club museum which features artifacts from Liverpool's long and illustrious history - from the 5 European Cups, league title winning medals and, the most recent addition, the Women's Super League trophy.
Back in the city and down at the Pier Head there are a number of museums and art galleries to keep you busy during the day. The Museum of Liverpool has a large football section with memorabilia from both Liverpool and Everton while the Maritime Museum tells the history of Liverpool as a port, including the part it played in the creation of the Titanic. Both museums are within easy walking distance of each other, a 15-minute walk from the city centre. While in the area you could also take the 'Ferry Cross The Mersey' and have a walk around the Albert Dock, which is dotted with cafes and restaurants and even a modern art gallery - the Tate!
Liverpool also has a great outdoor shopping centre, Liverpool One. This opened in 2008 and features all the best-known high street brands, the top floor also has an array of chain restaurants with everything from Wagamamas to Nandos alongside an Odeon cinema and a crazy golf course - Jungle Rumble.
A short walk from Liverpool One you can find the city's two cathedrals - The Anglican (Church of England) and The Metropolitan (Catholic). On a clear day the views from the top of the Anglican across the city are superb, looking out towards the River Mersey you can see all the way to the mountains of Wales on a good day! The Metropolitan is more modern looking than the Anglican, yet also worth a visit to have a look at the beautiful stained glass windows.
Finally it wouldn't be a guide to Liverpool if The Beatles didn't pop up at some point! If you're a fan of the band there is no end to things to see and do around the city centre and its outer areas, the best way to see the majority of The Beatles attractions would be to book onto the Magical Mystery Tour for a 2-hour trip that begins at the Albert Dock and takes you to both Strawberry Field and Penny Lane.
Liverpool Ladies
Regular followers of this blog will be more than aware of Liverpool Ladies recent successes, in 2013 the club that had finished bottom of the Women's Super League in their first two years was overhauled by new manager Matt Beard and his team - who replaced almost all of the starting 11. In the two years since Liverpool have topped the table, bringing silverware and Champions League football to the club for the first time in their history.
Amongst their ranks are captain and England international Gemma Bonner, all-time record England caps holder and influential midfielder Fara Williams, goal machine and club top scorer Natasha Dowie and new signing, Nigerian star Asisat Oshoala.
The womens season runs from March - October, with Liverpool competing on 4 fronts - the league, FA Cup, Continental Cup and Champions League. Tickets are priced at only £5 per game for adults, concessions £2.50.
Liverpool Ladies currently play their home games at Select Stadium, Widnes - 20-minute train journey from Liverpool or 40 minutes on the bus. I can wholeheartedly recommend the football that the women play, we have some fantastic, great to watch internationals along with talented youth players coming through the ranks and benefitting from the clubs turnaround a couple of years ago.
Thank you for reading this guide to Liverpool! It is by no means definitive; the city has so much to offer to visitors. If you have any questions about any places mentioned here, or you want even more suggestions don't hesitate to contact me on @LFCladiesfans and I hope to see you at a Liverpool Ladies game soon!
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