Childwall Abbey Hotel

We have just returned from another wonderful stay at the Abby, Brian and his staff were most gracious hosts. The room was clean, and we loved the atmosphere of the Abby. Our meals were good as was the service. Probably time to give the place a bit of sprucing up as it has been a while., but still very nice. The only negative was loud music being played at a private party in the function room. Brian would ask that the sound be turned down, which would happen, but after a number of minutes, the volume would be increased again. It was unfortunate that the people playing the music would not comply properly. Anyway, it was not enough to deter us from staying here again and are already looking forward to our next trip.

A lovely venue both outside and inside. Outside it has a real stately home look, and inside it’s all dark wood beams and traditional looking pub, but the friendly type of pub that does food, it had a nice atmosphere.
I ordered the BBQ Chicken Melt off the ‘light bites’ menu which was a little bland, but hot and nice enough for what I paid.
The staff also seem friendly too, if not a little rushed off their feet.
A simple criticism is of the entrance towards the car park/​outside seating area. There’s a hidden slight-​ramp as you walk in, which you can easily catch your feet on if you don’t lift them high enough. Also the steps outside are quite steep, and I watched a family helping an elderly lady down them, and declaring that they need a handrail really, which I agree with, but then again I’m not sure if there was a separate disabled access entrance.
Outside, the venue has a good sized car park, and outdoor tables/​seating with a great view of the church and a lovely view into the horizon over the hills.
I’d go again if I was in the area.

I was an immediate, irrevocable fan of the Childwall Abbey from the moment I saw it at the bottom of the road, sitting next to a little church with the horizon stretching out behind. Then I ducked in (I like pubs you have to duck into) and the love continued.
This is what the pub would be like in Utopia. Solid, old and faintly rustic, it’s tremendously pleasing to the soul to slump into one of the windowside leather couches and sip at a pint as the sun dapples on the church across the road. It actually took strenuous effort on my part to remember if I was still in Liverpool, or the 21^st century.
Oh I suppose it has its flaws. Some of the customers were perplexingly dour and the bar service wasn’t the best. This came as a mystery. One quick glance around the place had led me to believe that the barman would be a chippy, chirpy, happy chappy with a grin brighter than the Milky Way. The kind of man who’d pull your pint with a wry one-​liner before saying «Can you believe it? I get to work here! I’m the luckiest son of a gun in the whole wide world!»

The fact that I was stood at the bar with what I assume was the regular village drunk chunnering away down my ear — moaning about football of all things when he clearly knew little about the game — should not be something to hold against this place as it’s unlikely he would do the same to every visitor — having said that the little grove worn into the bar where he stood could be a sign of his permanent fixture in the place.
Just as old as this geezer is the pub itself. A very quaint sandstone building near the leafy grounds of the local church, inside it has retained tudor-​esque features, low ceilings and a cosy looking fireside. But this place can often get a bit rowdy if the local Hollyoaks crew decide to come down for the Monday night quiz.

I seem to have inherited a sense of confusion about Childwall from my mum, which means that I very rarely manage to find this place first time round. I remember driving round for almost 40 minutes looking for this pub with my ex because all I could remember was that it was in Childwall near some trees and a church (otherwise known as Childwall Abbey — duh!)
Anyway, when I finally get there, I immediately remember why I made the effort. It’s the sort of pub you might see in an episode of Midsomer Murders — chintzy and cosy with a smattering of odd characters. The food is standard pub grub, though there is a good selection on the menu and it is of a high standard.
In my opinion you haven’t had a proper pub meal until you’ve been here — I just wish they’d turn the heating up in winter!