The Shipping Forecast — Restaurant in Liverpool

Once a go-to spot in Liverpool’s bar scene, The Shipping Forecast has now become a shadow of its former self. Established around 2008 (correct me if I'm wrong), it was buzzing back then, but with the drinking scene in Liverpool now stepping up its game, this place hasn’t really kept up. The venue still offers that 'authentic' vibe with exposed steel and brickwork, but let’s be honest—it’s just a recycled trend that doesn’t bring anything new to the table.

Venue: The place still has the industrial look that seemed trendy years ago. Exposed steel and brickwork try to sell an ‘authentic’ vibe, but it feels more like a generic checklist of what a cool bar should look like. It was once a standout, but now it’s just another spot in the mix.

Atmosphere: The atmosphere has lost its edge. It used to be lively, but now it feels a bit stagnant. The crowd can still be decent, but it’s not as buzzing as it once was. The music and overall vibe just don’t hold up to some of the newer spots around Liverpool.

Service: Nothing special here. The service is alright, but it doesn’t wow you. It’s the usual pub/bar experience—fine, but forgettable.

Drinks: The drinks are okay, but there’s nothing that makes this place stand out anymore. It’s the same old menu, and while the beers are decent, there’s nothing innovative. It needs to step up its game to compete with the better venues that are popping up...

Grotty pub which has changed a lot over the years.

I came here when I was at uni in 2016 and, as I was back in Liverpool, decided to revisit. Could see that it'd gone downhill, grubby, sticky, worn upholstery on the chairs.

Was given a menu with some food crossed off. Fair enough, a busy day means not everything is available. So, we ordered something from the remaining options. Ooops. Don't have that either. Or that or that. So we needed to look at the menu again. We had to secure our order with a debit card, apparently the order only goes through to the kitchen in this way.

It got to 9pm and we were thinking about the 10pm closing deadline due to COVID-19. Waited over 45 mins for the food, asked if it'd be much longer. The bartender went to enquire, then the fella who took our order comes over to say that our order hadn't actually gone through. He wasn't very clear. Does that mean, we must wait another 45 mins or that we weren't getting it at all? I asked for clarification, would we be getting served? He said no, our food wouldn't be made. So we'd sat for over 45 mins for nothing, having to rush out to find another restaurant that'd accept an order so close to closing. Obviously, everywhere was full or closed, ended up eating a takeaway on my lap in the street. Not what I'd planned for my visit back...

We booked our friends Christmas dinner in September. This was confirmed by the shipping forecast and we paid £140 deposit.

We arrived 10 minutes before our booking. Our table was ready none of the staff could tell us where it was and after running up and down the stairs they found our table.

Xmas dinner. We was all looking forward to this but without any communication they told us they are no longer doing Xmas dinners. This was a disappointment especially considering we have 2 vegetarians who liked the look of the Xmas dinner.

Regardless. We ordered our starters and main meals.

The starters turned up. They were ok. The cheese on the cheese and bacon fries was solid like it had been under the heat for half hour. Annoyingly they got our order wrong and still sat here 2 hours after I haven’t received my started.

Main meals. These turned up fine. Again they missed one of the orders and got another wrong.

Deserts where fine.

Drinks the bar appears to be well under stocked. Whatever we asked for we where told they have none in stock.

Summary- ok food but we will not be back. For food or drinks. Very inadequate and we have re-arranged Xmas dinner for the florist where we went...