Blakes at Hard Day's Night Hotel

The concept of a Beatles-themed hotel might conjure up images of in-your-face psychedelia and paraphernalia, but this upmarket addition to Liverpool’s city centre, set in Grade II-listed buildings, manages to sidestep the usual clichés. The hotel’s surprising restraint carries through into Blakes restaurant, where muted colours & stylish outsize lampshades gel with quirky touches such as a Sergeant Pepper wall of fame. The menu is eager to please, with a line-up of appealing starters such as seared diver-caught scallops with pea & lemon risotto, ahead of robust mains taking in dry-aged beef fillet, Dover sole & best end of Cornish lamb. Cooking & service can falter at times & the acoustics of the large open room can prove intrusive (though the exclusively Beatles’ soundtrack is barely audible). Nevertheless, this doesn’t seem to faze the well-groomed clientele who are there to see and be seen, particularly come the weekend.