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If you’re shopping for designer fashion in Liverpool, the MetQuarter on Whitechapel is the answer the city has worked out for itself — a covered, slightly-elevated shopping centre that opened in 2006 to give Liverpool access to the international brands the previous shopping landscape didn’t quite reach. Three floors, 30-plus designer and premium tenants, an Everyman cinema, a curated food and drink offering, and just enough scale and ambition to have earned the local nickname “the Bond Street of Liverpool”. It’s not actually Bond Street — and any Liverpudlian using the phrase says it slightly tongue-in-cheek — but it’s the closest the city gets to a concentrated designer-shopping environment, and the experience is genuinely good.
This guide covers the MetQuarter in detail: where it is, opening hours, the brand line-up that matters (Hugo Boss, Cricket, Carvela, Jo Malone, Diesel, Armani Exchange, Tommy Hilfiger and the rotating cast), the food and cinema offering, parking and practicalities, and how it sits alongside Liverpool ONE and the other shopping options for visitors after the higher end of the market. Plus the wider Liverpool luxury and designer scene — Cricket’s standalone status, the Albert Dock’s premium retail, and where to find the price points the MetQuarter doesn’t reach.
The MetQuarter at a glance
The MetQuarter is at 35 Whitechapel, L1 6DA — a block north of Liverpool ONE, two minutes’ walk from the Cavern Quarter and five minutes from Lime Street Station. The building is a covered shopping centre with three trading floors, glass roofing that floods the central atrium with daylight, and entrances on Whitechapel, Stanley Street and Victoria Street. The footprint is much smaller than Liverpool ONE — you can walk around the MetQuarter in 10 minutes — but the tenant mix is significantly upmarket, which is the whole point.
Opening hours: Monday to Saturday 9.30am to 6pm, Sunday 11am to 5pm. Restaurants and the Everyman Cinema run extended evening hours through the Victoria Street entrance. Free to enter; you pay only at the tenants. Most stores accept cards universally; cash works at the food court and some restaurants but isn’t necessary anywhere.
Key designer and premium brands at MetQuarter
Cricket — the standout luxury tenant
Cricket is the MetQuarter’s flagship luxury tenant and is the single biggest reason designer shoppers come to Liverpool rather than Manchester. The store carries women’s, men’s and children’s fashion from a roster including Isabel Marant, Roberto Cavalli, Jimmy Choo, Saint Laurent, Givenchy, Stella McCartney, Balenciaga, Off-White and a long list of comparable names. Shoes, bags, accessories and ready-to-wear across the price spectrum from “premium” through “luxury” — entry-level Cricket items start around £200, with the bulk of the range £400-3000 and standout pieces well beyond.
What Cricket genuinely does well is the styling and customer service — the staff are knowledgeable, the in-store experience is closer to a department store concession than a mass-market shop, and the buyers curate distinctively rather than just stocking everything. The store has built a reputation across the north-west and attracts shoppers from a wide catchment. If you’re spending serious money in Liverpool on designer fashion, this is the destination.
Hugo Boss
The Hugo Boss store at MetQuarter carries men’s and women’s lines from the main and Boss Black collections — suits, tailoring, casual wear, accessories. Pricing in line with Boss internationally: men’s suits £500-1200, shirts £100-200, knitwear £150-300. The store runs sales twice yearly and stocks the seasonal Boss Hugo (younger, less formal) collection alongside the main range.
Carvela
Carvela is a British design-led shoe and accessories brand, sister to Kurt Geiger but pitched slightly more fashion-forward. Strong on statement heels, boots and bags at price points £100-300. Useful as a mid-luxury option in the MetQuarter mix.
Kurt Geiger
Kurt Geiger covers shoes and accessories at the accessible-luxury price point — £150-400 for most shoes, more for the seasonal designer-collaboration ranges. Reliable for occasion shoes, work shoes and bags.
Diesel
Diesel’s Liverpool MetQuarter store stocks the full main range — denim, leather, outerwear, accessories. Jeans £130-250, leather jackets £400-900, outerwear £200-600. The denim selection is particularly strong; Diesel’s expertise still leans on its denim heritage.
Tommy Hilfiger and Armani Exchange
Tommy Hilfiger covers preppy-American casual wear at premium-mainstream pricing — polos £60-90, jeans £100-150, outerwear £200-400. Armani Exchange runs at similar price points with a more European-fashion slant. Both useful for gifts and casual wardrobe additions.
Jo Malone and MAC
Beauty is well-represented. Jo Malone’s MetQuarter store covers the full fragrance range with proper consultation services — colognes £55-180, candles £60-130, gift sets at various price points. MAC Cosmetics has its own dedicated store with the full pro range plus event-makeup services. Both work well for gift purchases.
Other tenants
The full MetQuarter tenant mix includes around 30 brands and varies as leases turn over. Other recent and long-standing tenants have included The White Company, Whistles, L’Occitane, Hotel Chocolat, Watches of Switzerland (the watches retailer crucial for luxury watch buyers), various jewellery brands, and a Tesco Express for groceries. Check the MetQuarter website for the current full list before a dedicated visit.
Food, drink and the Everyman Cinema
The MetQuarter food court
The food and drink offering at MetQuarter is curated rather than mass-market — no McDonald’s, no big chains, but several mid-tier independent and small-chain options. Recent tenants have included Indian street food, Korean restaurant, Greek cuisine, sourdough pizza, a coffee specialist and Carluccio’s-style Italian. Pricing mid-range — £10-18 for a main, less for lighter items. The food court works well as a lunch stop during a shopping day, particularly given the MetQuarter doesn’t have the queue-laden chain options of Liverpool ONE.
The Everyman Cinema
The Everyman Cinema at MetQuarter is the building’s standout entertainment offering — four screens with the Everyman premium model (proper armchair seats, sofas, food and drink served to your seat, a curated film programme that mixes mainstream releases with arthouse and classics). Tickets are pricier than standard cinemas — typically £15-22 — but the experience is closer to a private cinema than a multiplex. The Victoria Street entrance remains open into the evening specifically for cinema customers. The combination of designer shopping in the day and an Everyman screening in the evening is one of the city’s better date or special-occasion combinations.
How MetQuarter fits in the Liverpool shopping landscape
MetQuarter vs Liverpool ONE
Liverpool ONE and the MetQuarter complement rather than compete. Liverpool ONE is the city’s main mainstream shopping centre — high street brands, mid-market retailers, the major chain restaurants, two department stores (John Lewis and Debenhams historically), a Vue cinema, and a vast scale that means it absorbs most casual shopping traffic. The MetQuarter is the smaller, more specialised destination that picks up the higher price point and the more curated brand mix.
Most visitors do both in a single shopping day. The two are a five-minute walk apart along Whitechapel and Williamson Street. A typical itinerary: Liverpool ONE in the morning for the big stores (John Lewis, Apple, Lego, Hollister, etc.), lunch somewhere on the route, MetQuarter in the afternoon for the designer browsing and an Everyman screening in the evening if the timing works.
MetQuarter vs Manchester Trafford Centre / Selfridges
For shoppers comparing Liverpool to Manchester for designer shopping: Manchester edges Liverpool on absolute scale, particularly with Selfridges Manchester and Harvey Nichols Manchester both offering full-department-store designer shopping. Cricket at the MetQuarter is comparable to the Manchester equivalents on individual designer ranges but the broader luxury department-store experience favours Manchester. The journey from Liverpool to Manchester is 35-50 minutes by train, so dedicated Liverpool visitors with a serious designer brief sometimes do a day trip. For most visitors, MetQuarter handles the requirement.
MetQuarter vs the independents on Bold Street
Bold Street’s independent shops serve a different audience — younger, more streetwear-and-indie focused, more interested in vintage and one-off pieces than in major designer labels. The two complement each other: someone shopping for a serious wardrobe addition in Cricket might equally pick up streetwear or a vintage piece on Bold Street. Doing both in a single day is feasible and worthwhile.
Designer and luxury shopping beyond MetQuarter
Liverpool ONE’s premium tenants
While Liverpool ONE is primarily mass-market, it does carry several premium tenants worth noting — All Saints, Reiss, Whistles (some of these float between the two centres over time), Apple, Lacoste, the upper-end of the High Street. For premium-mainstream brands (£100-300 price points), Liverpool ONE often has stores the MetQuarter doesn’t.
The Royal Albert Dock
The Royal Albert Dock mixes museum-shop retail with some independent boutiques carrying jewellery, artwork and gift items at the premium end. Not designer fashion, but worth a stop for accessories and gift purchases.
Independent boutiques in the Cavern Quarter
The streets around the Cavern Quarter (Stanley Street, Mathew Street, Williamson Street) carry a handful of independent boutiques selling designer-curated mid-luxury fashion. The mix changes regularly and worth a walk if you’re already in the area for the Beatles sites.
Watches of Switzerland and dedicated jewellers
For serious watch buying, Watches of Switzerland at the MetQuarter is the primary destination — authorised dealer for Rolex, Patek Philippe, Omega, Tag Heuer and the main Swiss brands. For jewellery, several traditional jewellers operate in the city centre — Boodle’s on Lord Street, plus other established names. The watch and fine jewellery retail in Liverpool is comparable to other major UK regional cities.
Practical visit tips for MetQuarter
Getting there
The MetQuarter is a 5-minute walk from Lime Street Station and on most central bus routes. By car, the Victoria Street multi-storey car park is the closest and has direct walkway access into the centre; expect to pay £4-8 for shopping-day rates. The Q-Park at Liverpool ONE is a 5-minute walk and often cheaper for longer stays. Don’t try to find on-street parking on Whitechapel; the area is busy and parking is restricted.
Best times to visit
Weekday mornings are the quietest and best for personal service in the designer stores — particularly Cricket, where personal styling appointments work best with quiet store-floor time. Saturday afternoons are the busiest and not ideal for serious purchases. Sunday opening starts at 11am, which works well for a leisurely shopping morning before an Everyman matinee. The pre-Christmas period (late November through to Christmas Eve) sees extended opening hours and significant footfall.
Personal styling and appointments
Cricket and Hugo Boss both offer personal styling appointments which can be booked in advance for free. Useful for serious purchases, special occasions (weddings, formal events), or anyone who wants more attention than the standard shop-floor experience offers. Worth booking 1-2 weeks ahead for weekend slots.
Sale periods
The traditional UK retail sale calendar runs Boxing Day through end-January and end-June through July. Designer brands typically discount 30-50% off seasonal stock during these windows, with Cricket and the standalone designer brands running their own additional sales at varying times. Visitors timing trips around these dates can secure significant savings.
Tax-free shopping
Note that tax-free shopping for non-UK visitors was discontinued at the end of 2020 following Brexit changes. The MetQuarter no longer offers VAT refunds for international visitors. This is a UK-wide change rather than a Liverpool-specific issue, but worth knowing for visitors who used to factor VAT refunds into UK shopping trips.
Combining MetQuarter with the rest of a Liverpool trip
Designer shopping at MetQuarter is best treated as a half-day rather than a full-day commitment, freeing time for the rest of what makes Liverpool worth visiting. A common pattern: morning at the museums on the waterfront, lunch at one of the central Liverpool restaurants, afternoon shopping at MetQuarter and Liverpool ONE, early-evening drinks at one of the city-centre bars, dinner at a fine-dining restaurant, late-evening Everyman screening or back to the hotel.
For couples on a city break the combination of luxury shopping, dinner and an Everyman screening makes for a strong single-day itinerary. For families with older children, the cinema works well as the family-time anchor with the parents browsing while teenagers do the same in Liverpool ONE. For groups on a special-occasion trip, MetQuarter handles the shopping component while the rest of the city offers the other ingredients.
Where to stay near MetQuarter
Most central Liverpool hotels are within a 10-minute walk of MetQuarter. The central city-centre hotels cluster around the same area. Boutique hotels in the Cavern Quarter are particularly convenient — a 2-3 minute walk to MetQuarter and well-positioned for the rest of the city. For visitors prioritising shopping, staying within easy walking distance means you can drop purchases at the hotel and continue rather than carrying them around all day.
FAQs about MetQuarter Liverpool and designer shopping
Where is MetQuarter in Liverpool?
MetQuarter is at 35 Whitechapel, Liverpool, L1 6DA — central Liverpool, two minutes from Liverpool ONE, five minutes from Lime Street Station and the Cavern Quarter.
What are MetQuarter’s opening hours?
Monday to Saturday 9.30am to 6pm, Sunday 11am to 5pm. The Everyman Cinema and food and drink tenants run extended evening hours through the Victoria Street entrance.
What shops are at MetQuarter Liverpool?
Around 30 designer and premium brand stores including Cricket (which carries Isabel Marant, Roberto Cavalli, Jimmy Choo, Saint Laurent and others), Hugo Boss, Carvela, Kurt Geiger, Diesel, Tommy Hilfiger, Armani Exchange, Jo Malone, MAC Cosmetics, Watches of Switzerland, plus the Everyman Cinema, a food court and Tesco Express. Tenant mix rotates over time.
Is MetQuarter expensive?
Yes, by Liverpool standards. The MetQuarter is positioned as the city’s main designer and premium shopping destination, with most stores running at £100-1000+ price points. Cricket specifically can run into the thousands for individual pieces. For mainstream high-street pricing, Liverpool ONE is the better fit.
What’s the difference between MetQuarter and Liverpool ONE?
MetQuarter is smaller, more designer-focused, and aimed at the higher price point. Liverpool ONE is much larger, mass-market and high-street oriented. Most shoppers visit both during a city break — they’re a 5-minute walk apart and complement each other.
Does MetQuarter have parking?
The Victoria Street multi-storey car park is the closest, with direct walkway access. Q-Park at Liverpool ONE is a 5-minute walk and often cheaper for longer stays. Don’t try on-street parking on Whitechapel — it’s restricted and busy.
Is the Everyman Cinema at MetQuarter worth it?
Yes — the four-screen Everyman runs the brand’s premium model with proper armchair seating, food and drinks served to seats, and a curated film programme. Tickets run £15-22 versus £8-12 at standard multiplexes, but the experience is qualitatively different and worth the premium for a special evening.
Is Liverpool good for designer shopping?
Good but not exceptional. The MetQuarter handles the main designer requirement adequately — Cricket alone is competitive with major-city luxury retail — but Manchester edges Liverpool on department-store designer scale (Selfridges Manchester, Harvey Nichols Manchester). For a typical Liverpool visit, MetQuarter and Cricket cover the requirement; for serious dedicated luxury shopping a Manchester day trip adds depth.