Philharmonic pub gets £300,000 makeover

AS one famous door closes on Hope Street, so another prepares to reopen. 

The Philharmonic, one of the best known pubs in the UK, is undergoing a £300,000 makeover that will see the eponymous Dining Rooms open again to the public for the first time in years. 

Food sales are up in pubs but down in restaurants, and in response, perhaps, an upgrade of the Phil's kitchens is taking place to make way for a new improved menu.

Owners Mitchells & Butlers say it's a gentle restoration, rather than a wholesale facelift. 

Urinals“It is a beautiful building and we are looking to ensure all of the original character shines through,” said M & B spokesman Andrew Roache. “For example, some original flooring is being brought back into use which was hidden under carpets.”  

But while an informal dining area to be opened upstairs, the Phil isn't about to reinvent itself as a gastropub. 

“It will be about traditional favourites and excellent quality cask ales and wines,” Roache told Liverpool Confidential. 

"Mitchells & Butlers has proudly owned and operated the Philharmonic for many, many years and it is one of our best-loved and indeed famous pubs in the UK. It is also an established part of the character of Liverpool. 

"We have taken several weeks to carry out a sympathetic upgrade to the pub's amenity to ensure many future generations of pub goers can continue to enjoy it.  

"All of the team are very much looking forward to welcoming regulars and new customers through the doors next month."

The Philharmonic pub, complete with legendary gents toilets, apparently, reopens on Tuesday July 12.