VIP-ed off by the velvet rope brigade; Your Bar Nick Peet visits the Mosquito/Vampire Suite

0 Comments | Liverpool Echo (Liverpool, England), June 19, 2008

Byline: Nick Peet

THERE are many things which our great city obsesses about.

Music, fashion, history, literature, the arts and, of course, football.

But we also have one or two perhaps less attractive qualities; like wearing pyjamas in public or our dedication to a year-round sun bed tan for example.

However, the ugliest of these failing qualities has to be the city's apparent obsession with all things VIP.

And so I come to this week's bar review.

The Mosquito bar and its after hours members club the Vampire Suite is one of the most popular vibrant venues in the city.

It's been that way for around 10 years and its prominence and celebrity-rich clientele list shows no sign of waning.

And the venue itself is brilliant.

The intricate layout is filled with booths off the main bar area capable of nestling canoodling couples or even the liveliest of hen nights.

The dark demean our of both bars also sets the scene for a night of indulgence and an opportunity to shake your thing under the cover of darkness.

However, the venue's popularity among the OK magazine set also spoils what could be a cracking night out - after all, the music, staff and decor are second to none.

The problem is the VIP crowd have turned the place into an asylum for pretentious prats. Hundreds of them.

Take Saturday night for example.

First you needed to be on the clipboard guest list to get from the Living Room on the ground floor down into Mosquito, which itself had a VIP area sectioned off at the back.

Then you needed a stamp to get from Mosquito down to the Vampire Suite in the lower basement.

Then in the Vampire Suite the dance floor in the far right corner was also roped off for its VIP guests.

By one o'clock the suite was rocking, nicely full and the music was getting kicked up a notch.

But the dance floor was in the area which had been roped off and people were queuing to get inside, even though it was shoulder to shoulder with champagne sippers.

People, who had already manoeuvred through three VIP areas to get here, were now actually standing in line to take their place five feet inside a velvet rope.

It was almost unbelievable.

Eventually an impromptu dance area had to find its feet in front of the washrooms as the engineered dance floor was packed out with those desperate not to allow a good night get in the way of their own vanity.

If nothing else it made for some amusing viewing.

However, one thing I wasn't amused by was the appointment of a guy holding out a silver tray in the bath rooms. When are they going to get rid of this tired and unprofessional idea?

Is there anything more irritating than having to pay to pee?

It's a shame as the bar itself is great - as long as you can get through the door. There is no real dress code but if your face fits you won't have too many problems.

The music is great, the ages of the loyal patrons range from 21 to 51 and, if you can find space, you can really let your hair down.

Just make sure you take your celebrity sickmag attitude with you.

Fact File:

Venue: Mosquito/Vampire Suite, 15 Victoria Street, city centre. Tel: 0870 4422535.

Pint pullers: Slick and well educated.

Powder rooms: Feeling like you have to pay to pee - disgraceful.

Long drinks: Ice cream cocktails and spirits by the bottle.

Heroic Hops: Export on draught, Cobra by the bottle.

Entertainment: Brilliant soundtrack provided by DJs with live PAs on Sunday.

On the pull: Matureman's oasis.

Time please: Mon-Wed private hire, Thurs 9pm-2am, Fri-Sat 9pm-3am, Sun 9pm-midnight.

CAPTION(S):

VIP FREE: But the Mosquito bar is a magnet for the celeb watchers on a Saturday night