Victoria Street is right in the centre of the city. The Mandarin is only a couple of minutes walk from the Liverpool Museum and at most 5 minutes from the Cavern. There are a couple of other restaurants in the same street, so this is a good area to go browsing for a meal.
The Mandarin is a beautiful-looking restaurant. Someone has obviously taken a great deal of care over its appearance, and it pays off. You really feel like you are in a calm, serene atmosphere. The musak is a little annoying, but although it is sugary pop, it is Chinese sugary pop.
After all the care that had been taken with appearances I was a little disappointed in the menu. Basically it looked just like what you would get in any other Chinese restaurant in the country: chicken, beef, duck, seafood, choice of sauces. I was rather hoping for something more exotic, such as wind-dried duck. When it came, the food was good, but it seemed a bit of a shame that a restaurant that had tried so hard in other areas should slack off in the one area that really mattered. They had done their work on the wine list, which was very good and even included one Chinese wine. Why not the food.
Still, mustn't complain. The food was good, the location is good, and the setting is excellent. It was pretty good value as well. If you are stuck in central Liverpool of an evening you can't go wrong at the Mandarin.