Although the weather would have you believe otherwise, we are at the end of May and therefore have a month of recommendations from the Active Profile team.

To celebrate the return of indoor dining (the highlight of most people’s month), we’ve compiled a list of some of our favourite pubs, cafes, and restaurants to help kickstart the return to eating and drinking sans hats and scarves. If there’s one thing that gets Active Profilers talking, it’s food and drink! Get in touch on Twitter or Instagram and let us know what your favourites are too – we’re always looking to try something new.

But before all that, here’s our industry highlights of the month:

Place pod pick:

The Place pod attended the virtual ‘Future of Office Space in Liverpool’ event with Liverpool BID Company and Professional Liverpool featuring our client, Avison Young, and it did not disappoint. We can’t wait to hear more good news around our sector! The recording can be found here.

Growth marketing pick:

The growth marketing team is looking forward to a jam-packed day of expert-led workshops and an opportunity to connect with thousands of industry whizzes in the GROW event with HubSpot on June 8^th. We’re excited to showcase all our new tips and tricks!

We’re appreciating:

• Team meetings:
• After over a year of working remotely, we said a sad farewell to our head of content, Andy, but we were fortunate enough to be able to use the occasion to have in-person leaving drinks. Some of the team (Jonny, Megan and Cait) were meeting everyone for the first time! It feels so good to be back with the Active Profile crew.

• Client meetings:
• After what feels like an eternity without face-to-face client meetings, we’re starting to return in person! Active Profiler, Nicky, and Avison Young’s Stephen Cowperthwaite met at Bean in St Paul’s Square, Liverpool (which now has fantastic parasols in its outdoor seating area– perfect for keeping the rain off earlier in the month before we could meet inside) and discussed exciting plans for the months ahead. We can’t wait to see all our very missed clients again in person!

We’re eating and drinking:

We asked the team what restaurants they were most looking forward to visiting now that indoor dining is back on the menu. From old favourites to the latest hot spots, if you can’t find us, we’re probably in one of the spots below:

• Jonny’s choice is Tribeca, a nostalgic throwback to his student days in Liverpool: “The QUATTRO STAGGIONI was cheap and cheerful but DELICIOUS for a student budget back in 2012.” We can vouch that it’s just as delicious today.

• Megan’s flavour of the month is newly opened French restaurant, Brasserie Loup in Liverpool “A little French fancy is just what Liverpool needed – don’t go without trying the tuna tartare – it's a work of art!”

• Nat highly recommends the Italian hidden gem, La Famiglia on Stanley Street

• Nathan can’t fault Berry & Rye: “The ultimate speakeasy, and the only place where time passes you by, then hits you in the face as you leave weeks later. The ultimate must go-to for a chilled drink with excellent company and even better drinks!”

• Nicky chose Maray in Liverpool and ManCoCo in Manchester, as well as Vero Moderno in Salford – lots to try!

• Cait throws it back a few hundred years with Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese in London: “Owned by independent brewery Sam Smith, this is the place to go to experience a traditional old school English pub, with the likes of Charles Dickens and Mark Twain previously being regulars, it is one of London's best kept secrets!”

• Frankie loves a bit of live music with Blue’s Kitchen in Manchester.

• Some more recommendations are:
• Crust
• Jenny’s Bar
• Old Hardware Shop
• Salt House Bacaro
• PLY
• Sapporo Teppanyaki
• Greens
• Sugo
  
  

We’re watching:

• Three Families
• Available on BBC iPlayer, Three Families tells the story of the families behind the campaign that helped lift Northern Ireland’s abortion law. Based on real events, this two part series will pull on your heartstrings.

• Leigh-Anne: Race, Pop & Power
• Another BBC iPlayer favourite this month was the insightful documentary from Little Mix’s Leigh-Anne as she speaks about race within the music industry and her own experiences.

We’re thanking:

• Dr Tharaka aka Dr T
• Earlier this month, we were joined for an insightful ‘lunch and learn’ session with Dr T, who holds wellness and training sessions on emotional intelligence, helping to develop high performance thinking patterns, motivation levels and sessions to help you think, reflect, and connect.

We really enjoyed the workshop and we are already using some of the tips and techniques that he shared with us to help us think a little differently.