The Seel Street Empire

Once named the fourth ‘hippiest’ street in the UK by Google, Seel Street now has a newcomer: Empire.

It opened last weekend on the street with the eclectic collection of independent bars and restaurants. Everyone knows Heebies is a given for a guaranteed good night out; Salt Dogs is just up the road if you fancy something a little alternative; and Peacocks is perfect for a quick pizza and a beer.

But along with the Kazimier Gardens, Alma De Cuba, Pogues, Brooklyn Mixer and a few more, it might seem there is little room for a newcomer.

However, Empire opened its rather discreet red door to a full house each night this weekend, and supplied endless drinks and great music from various DJs.

Each of the different areas over the three floors in the old disused mill has been transformed to represent a different country from around the world.

Not only is the décor matched to the continent, but so are the drinks and even the bartenders.

The Japanese room features Geisha style waitresses and Sake cocktails. There’s an LA bar filled with American craft beers and graffiti artwork, a private Russian themed TZAR room which can be hired out for private occasions, and lastly an Arabian themed shisha courtyard, where you can forget you’re sat outside, in December, in Liverpool.

There was definitely a great atmosphere about the place and enough quirky features in the different rooms for the club to hold its own in Seel Street.

Riad Erraji, the club’s CEO, said: “We wanted the club to be sectioned into countries to create a different experience in each room, so it seemed obvious that we would need to get designers from those countries on board to make sure we executed the idea properly and it proved to be a great collaboration.

“The amazing new venue is going to be very cool and high quality. Customers can visit three different cultures in one night. We will have live singers, surprise acts and a music policy that has to be experienced to believe it. We want everything that average isn’t.”

Although the décor is beautiful, having been designed exclusively by Lenny Kravitz’ executive SLS Hotel designer, there is certainly a price tag to match.

Most of the clientele seemed to be in their late 20s, early 30s, and dressed to impress; so the price of the cocktails, about an average of £7, was probably of little concern to them.

For us student,s however, it perhaps will be more of a bar for occasions or a girl’s nights out rather than an alternative to a quick pre-Heebies quad-vod in Faculty.

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