Blackburne House

Whenever my work canteen is closed, I tend to pop over to Blackburne House to bask in its warm cosy glow and stuff my face full of its tasty tasty food. Despite its entrance being hidden away from the hustle and bustle of Hope Street, Blackburne House is always popular, and you often have to scout around for a seat come 1pm when all the office workers flock to lunch.
Every time I’ve been here, I’ve always been impressed with the quality of its main meals. Not only is there a great range of vegetarian, fish and meat dishes, the portions are absolutely huge to boot. When I was there this afternoon, the vegetable tagine with couscous I was served up could have easily have fed two people, and it was certainly flavoursome and hearty. Whilst the slab of cake I had for afterwards was also pretty damn big, I did find it to be a little bit dry and tasteless — although I’m keen to try some more of their various desserts in the name of ‘research’.
Service at Blackburne House can be a bit hit and miss though. Sometimes you’re served quickly, and sometimes you’re left standing around like a bit of a lemon whilst awaiting your dinner. This isn’t down to ignorance though — most of the time, the staff are just rushed off their feet and therefore will take their time to pop over to your table.
All in all, this is a cute — if slightly unadventurous — little café which is the perfect place to grab a quick lunch. Watch out for the big close-​up picture of a nose on one of the walls though. That’s a bit creepy.

I love boutique hotels, everyone knows it. They are cosy and intimate. The Blackburne Arms is exactly that with only 7 rooms. Not sure about the East India room marking a dark criminal part of our history… the colonial times. There is a room called
«Zen» with a minimalist theme, designed to chill you down. Named after a John Lennon song «Imagine».
The hotel also has on offer a great gastro pub-​style menu with great home cooked food made with fresh ingredients. There is also a good selection of fine cask ales to enjoy if you are staying here or not. The East India room did really put me off though, and the owners mentality was brought into question. If you can get past that then fine, nothing wrong with the place but I won’t be coming back just for that reason. Goes to show how ignorance can put off consumers.

Blackburne House is the home of the Women’s Technology and Education Centre, which aims to provide education and training in various fields for unemployed and low-​income women. The building is also used for other local events through the year.
I did a craft fair at Blackburne House in Sept. 2009, as part of the Liverpool Hope Street Feast. One of my friends and I shared a stall, and we were stationed in one of the smaller rooms on the front of the building.
The day was enjoyable, and proved a great venue for a craft fair. Due to the number of people in town for the Hope Street Feast that day, we barely had a dull moment. The only problem was that there was no air conditioning, or it was broken, and as all the windows were closed for most of the morning and afternoon, it was roasting in there.
There’s a café/​tea shop downstairs so we were able to order coffees and teas throughout the day without having to leave the building, which was very helpful.