Blue Bar & Grill - I like it (Blue Bar & Grill)

Member Name: fionajm

Product:	Blue Bar & Grill
Date:	27/12/01 (132 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: location, delicious food, celeb spotting

Disadvantages: gets busy at weekend evenings

Blue Bar & Grill is owned by Lyceum restaurants who own the Pan American and Baby Blue in the Albert Dock. There website is http://www.lyceumrestaurants.co.uk/ with a variety of trinkets of information and online booking operating soon.

Where is it?

Blue Bar and Grill is an approximately 150 seater restaurant and bar in the Albert Dock down by the waterfront in Liverpool overlooking the dock directly with stunning views of the old Victorian grade I listed architecture. It is a two storey bar with cement flooring and all the old ceiling features of an old dock building with great red brick work, and grill with outside seating. The upstairs is used solely for the restaurant and the downstairs bar area is for drinks and light snacks during the day. In the summer tables are laid outside and you can watch Fred (from This Morning) on the floating weather map if you are early enough! It is really easy to get to because the Albert Dock is sign posted from all round Liverpool - just follow the seagulls.

Food & Drink

I have eaten at Blue at least a couple of dozen times now and I have never had a bad meal there. The menu changes every couple of months depending on the season which is fantastic as you know you won't pick 'the same old thing again'. There are good vegetarian options such as pasta, tofu, soya, vegetable dishes- my favourite is deep fried vegetables with hoi sin sauce in a chinese wrap. Fish options are also great my favourites being the tuna and the red snapper with onion marmalade. I ordered the tuna stake last time with cajun seasoning and it was delicious. Meat dishes are also plentiful ranging from tip top steaks done to perfection - the chef will take note of whether you really want it rare or well done. The sweets menu is superb too - watch out for the dime bar cake and the jaffa cake (not the biscuit), or if you simply want cheese and coffee they do that too.

The bar is good for flavoured
coffees eg vanilla, hazelnut or mocha; good for cocktails of which there must be a couple of dozen to choose from; lagers are mostly bottled but you can buy anything from cobra to stella. The wine list is great as is the champagne list - all you could want from £12 to £300 (yes I did say £300!) a bottle and they even sell oxygen for a couple of pounds a bottle (I did not buy one of those!!). The prices are a little pricey for Liverpool but if you compare like with like across the trendy Liverpool bars then this is well priced and still half the price of a drink in London.

Ambiance

There are some brilliant comfy couches downstairs, in you guessed it - blue, the tables are set out as I like them, not too close that you can hear your neighbour's darkest secrets. The chandelliers are a little naff but then you can't have it all can you. During the day families are often in there having snacks and coffee and it isn't too full. In the early evening local business men and women pop in for after work drinks and later on the place - especially Thurs - Sun gets heaving with loads of people. If there has been a football match on Liverpool and Everton players are seen frequenting the bar along with many other actors from the area. So if you like Brookie, Hollyoaks, Merseyside football then this is your place to spot the stars. Unfortunately this has caught on with a few young girls who want to marry a rich bloke - but this is also good for people spotting and having a laugh at their expense (I am heartless I know!). The toilets also deserve a mention as they are communal when it comes to hand washing (obviously the loos are still private though!!)- I reminis about the time when I was washing my hands with a drunken friend who saw a rather famous Blackburn player coming out of the loo and decided to introduce herself rather embarrassingly - he took it well though.
Dress is smart, except in the day when anything goes.

Service


Excellent. Staff are very friendly, clean and smart. They also do not give precedence to famous customers which is refreshing. If you fancy something that is not on the menu then they will also try and get the chef to knock up your requirements with no fuss.

Prices

Comparable to other bars in Liverpool. As an example I have had a coffee and sandwich for a fiver, but I also spent £50 per head on a meal of four courses with a couple of bottles of wine and after dinner drinks. Not bad I think! Parking is free too so you can work that into your price as well.

Recommend

Yes I have to really, I have eaten in many bars and restaurants round the UK and I really do think this place is value for money.

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