Review

John Lennon famously complained that the price of fame meant 'not being able to go to the Phil for a drink', which aptly demonstrates the City's loyalty to this Grade I monument of Victorian exuberance. The Philharmonic Dining Rooms - its official name - is a late-Victorian gin-palace commonly known as 'the Phil' and is most famous for its ornate, marble urinals and toilets, into which women are allowed as part of a guided tour.

The Philharmonic has dark wood-panelled walls, copper reliefs that depict a musical scene and Art Deco lights that shine onto the mosaic covered floor and bar. The central, horseshoe-shaped bar is awash with ornate stained glass and is notable for its bunches of glass grapes and huge, golden eagle watching over the drinkers.

There are three rooms at the rear of the pub: the Brahms room, the Liszt room (no smoking) and the Grande Lounge. The Brahms and Liszt rooms are small and snug-like with panelled and glazed walls and are indicative of what it must be like to be inside an old, wooden grandfather clock. The large lounge has crystal chandeliers, stained glass skylights and an ornate, gold-reliefed cornice, upon which life-size figurines stand, holding up the magnificent ceiling. A less ornate bar at the front of the pub contains a TV and glazed lamps in the windows, each of which looks like an ice cream cone or the Statue of Liberty's touch.

There are several Fruit Machines and a Quiz Machine, the latter of which stole my £1 in typical Liverpudlian style.

The Philharmonic is a Walter Thomas design and was opened in 1898. It stands opposite the Philharmonic Hall, which first opened in 1849, and is Liverpool's orchestral heart and a venue for middle-of-the-road pop concerts. Of interest in the Philharmonic Hall's foyer is a plaque 'dedicated to the memory of [the] members of the band on board the "Titanic" [who] bravely continued playing to soothe the anguish of their fellow passengers until the ship sank in the deep, April 14th 1912'. The Plaque was unveiled on 4th November, 1912, in honour of Titanic's viola player, John Clarke, had played at the Philharmonic Hall on several occasions. In 1933, the Philharmonic Hall was razed by fire, yet the Titanic plaque was one of only a few items found amid the rubble. The rebuilt Philharmonic Hall opened in 1939; Hitler's Luftwaffe flattened large swathes of the city, yet fortunately the Philharmonic pub and Hall survived.

Review by mr_psm