#betwixthebar

There have been a series of murmurs, whispers and urban legends circulating around the streets of Liverpool of a secret bar, a bar that in order to gain access involves the acquisition of a coveted telephone number. If you're wily and have your wits about you, you may be so fortuitous to procure this telephone number. With the number in hand if you are polite, punctual and lucky in equal amounts when you enquire about entering the bar you'll be gifted a four numbered code; if with this information you've come before a magnificent steel door, you'll know you've made it. It may all seem a bit like a mythical yarn span by some bibulous vagabond of a valhalla for the drunk. It is, however, true. Step inside your very own Ian Fleming novel; from the romantic Fitzgerald-esque art deco decor to the sleek and sexy audio-aesthetic of Miles Davis harmonising with the unmistakable staccato beat of the cocktail shaker; 81 Liverpool Trading Dock embodies all that one would expect from one of the cities most esoteric, decedent and stylish bars. 

There's a certain sense of romanticism that is unique to 81 Liverpool Trading Dock, housed within a grade II listed building on one of Liverpool's most iconic streets in one of it's most historic districts. The building itself, 79 to 83 Seel Street, is a lofty Georgian Townhouse built in the 1800s, despite its architectural and historical relevance 79 to 83 Seel Street is a particularly unassuming building. Dazzling white with symmetrical fringes of black upholstered window frames, it seems to be little-more than a refurbished town house. To the unassuming, that is. Step inside, through Salt Dog Slims, 81LTD's big brother bar, and you're welcomed into a bar that teems with its own idiosyncratic personality adorned with a bath, mounted boar heads and other worldly far-out oddities and peculiarities but I'm not willing to divulge anymore, we'll deal with Salt Dog Slims as it's own beast in due time. So, using the beautiful technique of non-linear narrative that is afforded the laziest writer, I'll skip a floor and deliver you to the door of 81LTD. Nothing, absolutely nothing about what awaits inside is given away by the six foot by six inch black door that stands between the outside world and the bar within. A conspicuously placed plaque inscribed "81 Liverpool Trading Dock" and a automatic door release are the only real clue. Upon punching in the right code, the first striking thing about passing through the door is that what follows is a corridor of wall to floor mirrors, reflecting a kaleidoscopic image of the contents of said corridor; deep in the left hand corner lies the fabled steel door.

From here, you're met by one of three beautiful and disarmingly charming hostesses who usher you into the main bar area. You'll be hit by the vogue of an bygone era, fastidiously decorated representation of unashamed class and style, three marble toped tables on the outer hemisphere, with dotted stools and plush velvet couches. Intersecting the very far right of the room is a caged area, floor to wall black iron bars, with a heavy arduously closing door and hanging table; a bold choice considering the context of the bars style but this juxtaposition in aesthetic allows the cage its own charm, many nights see starry eye'd patrons professing their innermost feelings. Then to follow, lining the outermost wall are three booths seating eight people each, crowned with royal green hemispherical hanging lights that act as inclusive spots of soft light for friends to convene in the otherwise dark and mysterious bar. Then we have the bar, stretching almost all of the width of the entire floor space. The highly polished, wood panels reflecting up at the patrons their distorted image, at the very centre meridian of the bar is a grand looking gold and emerald green table lamp, which always puts me in mind of the opening scene from the Godfather, "You don't even think to call me Godfather. Instead,you come into my house on the day my daughter is to be married, and you uh ask me to do murder, for money.", this light for me is my favourite point in the bar for that reason; it adds a poignant brevity and atmosphere to the bar. Illuminated by the grand looking light are a myriad of different bitters from around the world each in their own intricate crystal decanters. One thing anyone who graces the 81LTD bar top will immediately notice is the magnitude and volume of choice on the three tiered glass backbar, ranging from recherche aperitifs to your refined cognacs and armagnacs and then a whiskey selection rivalled by no other in the city. It would seem too, that with this mammoth backbar, comes the expertise and understanding to substantiate it. Each bartender seems professionally versed in the nomenclature of both cocktail and spirit and while some of their tastes may ultimately differ they all seem to approach their job with the aplomb people approach the bar. There is a definite sense of ownership in the bar, the people behind it are proud, just as they are with the bigger brother Salt Slims.