It’s official: a sit-down Chinese is the best way to end a night out in Liverpool

The end of a night out is always terrible: you’re cold, your feet hurt, you can’t find a taxi and you’re hungry AF. You’ve traipsed from Juicy to the top of Bold Street in the hope of flagging an overpriced black cab, only for the bastard driving to demand you leave your box-fresh Pizza King Hawaiian on the curb because he apparently thinks you’ll be wasting precious food cargo by smearing it on the floor rather than devouring every piece. It’s literally the worst part of the night but it’s a struggle you just have to deal with, right?

Wrong. Hold onto your raz shoes, my friends, because I am about to Change. Your. World. There’s a new afterparty in town and it’s kicking off at the Mayflower (48 Duke Street, FYI).

Heaven’s Doors

Yeah, that’s right – you can get a sit-down Chinese after a night on the tiles of Juicy. A sit-down Chinese, full menu, all the numbers meal, served at a table in the calm of a kitsch Asian interior.  5pm ’til 4am every single day of the week.  No greasy takeaway boxes, or too-hot-to-hold pizza boxes here: you can have a meal served up on white china with chopsticks and complementary condiments. And it’s not just the Mayflower: head down to China Town’s arch for a whole host of other late-night restaurants.

Feeeeeeed me

Fancy devouring a whole crispy duck? Or tucking into some sweet and sour chicken? Or may all you’re up for is nibbling on some prawn crackers?  This is the night out food you’ve been missing for the 20 odd years of your life. Forget getting some limp chicken from Chester’s and its 0 star hygiene rating: order your 71 with boiled rice and relish the glories of an early morning Chinese breakfast.

It’s as easy as rocking up, grabbing a table (Watch out, it gets busy at around 1:30am), ordering your food and then paying straight away (Don’t think you can do a runner, Greg). And then… bliss. A red-clothed table piled high with the glories of Anglo-Chinese delicacies, and a display of tropical fish to drunkly gaze upon as you feast.  You even get free prawn crackers to start at the Mayflower, which is pretty fucking fabulous at 3am in the morning.

Just make sure you don’t ruin the atmosphere: it’s calm, collected and sophisticated. There’s no room for drunken screams and vomiting in this Chinese oasis. If you act up, the stone-dead sober clientele who’ve decided that 3:30am is the best time for a Chinese with the family of five will give vibe-killing daggers with their eyes. Also, watch out for the creepy drunken men – they will try to talk to you for 20 minutes while ogling your tits when all you want to do is dive headfirst into your Chow Mein.

But honestly, take the plunge. Having a 3am sit-down Chinese will change your night out for good. You can order an uber while finishing your spring rolls and then hop in, belly full. No stress, no fuss, just full of Peking roasted duck.