Ormskirk Restaurant Guide

“Superb food every time”, say early converts to high-flying chef Tim Allen (ex-Launceston Place, Wild Rabbit, Flitch of Bacon)’s first venture as chef-patron, a “former Seafood Pub Company outpost” that he opened in late 2021 down the road from superstar Moor Hall. “The cuisine is terrific with a few interesting surprises thrown in” – and “with just Tim Allen and one other in the open kitchen – a model of calmness – it’s all the more remarkable how good and refined the cooking is. There’s a very light touch and freshness to it all that’s just delightful”. “The pricing at Moor Hall (while never not worth it) has always put it into a rare treat category… the arrival of this place is approaching an epiphany of more affordable fine dining!”

The more casual ‘second’ restaurant at Mark Birchall’s all-conquering project still offers a “sumptuous dining experience”, with the “incredible attention to detail” expected from such a venue. Some reporters even “like its chilled style more than its more prestigious neighbour. Service is genuinely more friendly, and there’s less genuflecting at the stuff on the plate – I’ve come to eat, not worship!”. As for the clientele, it’s “a bit less footballer WAGish” than next door – and there’s “an excellent value lunch menu, considering the elevated nature of the cooking”.

This “great French bistro” is a true family affair from the Vérité family, with owners Marc & Michaela nowadays joined by their two sons; “there is always a great choice of imaginative seasonal dishes, expertly cooked and well-presented”, and the “recently acquired adjacent premises” (Petite Verité, a bar/overspill area for the restaurant) is also a “welcome addition”.

This “buzzy and consistent” brasserie at a stylish modern hotel and wedding venue offers “excellent service and good food”, with an eclectic menu that stretches from “delicious steaks and fish ’n’ chips” to sushi and other Asian delights, then back to comforting domestic desserts including chocolate mousse and fruit crumble.

“Just watch the sunset over Liverpool from this 34th-floor restaurant”, say fans of this spectacular venue in the West Tower, the city’s tallest. Run by Cathy Frost, whose developer husband Hugh built the tower, the operation’s modern British cuisine has consistently impressed reporters, and new head chef Nathan Booth has settled in well following the departure of Elliot Hill to the Chester Grosvenor.

2022 Review: ‘General Post Office’ now means ‘Global Provisions Outlet’ at this repurposed edifice in the Metquarter – Liverpool's biggest food hall, with 11,000 square feet in which to graze, which opened in summer 2021 and aims to champion independent vendors by offering support and incubation. High-profile initial sign-ups included Nama from Sheffield's JORO – an izakaya-style offering.

2021 Review: Manchester’s tapas smash hit branched out in August 2019, with this large 250-seat opening, in the Exchange Flags development, overlooking Liverpool’s fine town hall (which formerly traded as Steven Gerrard’s ‘The Vincent’). A big and well-stocked bar is also key to the offering.

Glasgow chef Nico Simeone’s distinctive concept has grown into a national chain with 11 restaurants (including Fitzrovia and Canary Wharf) in just six years, offering a quick-changing succession of themed six-course menus for under £50 a head. It’s widely seen as “fantastic value” and has a sizeable fanbase amongst reporters (“every six weeks, the menu renews and for me, it is something to look forward to…”; “we simply love it and we’ve yet to miss a menu!” – “the Tokyo menu was so good we went back a second time”). Only a tiny few say, “you can feel you’re on a conveyor belt with lots of upsells”; or that the whole thing is “a dystopia of where restaurants will evolve”.

2022 Review: Born in 2019, a Liverpool branch of the Manchester- and Leeds-based street food chain that “specialises in Indian vegetarian food and craft beers. It’s always good, lively, and popular” and “very good value” too.

2022 Review: “Always busy and buzzing with conversation”, this “reliable upmarket resto in the business district of the city centre” – a link in the glitzy national Italian chain – wins solid marks for its “atmosphere, good-quality produce and cooking”.

This “exquisite” venue from MasterChef: The Professionals winner Anton Piotrowski is “a must-visit if you’re in Liverpool” – and “worth a special visit to the city” if you’re not. In the evening, for £115 per person, they serve a seven-course course tasting menu only. One mightily impressed recent visitor, Daily Telegraph reviewer William Sitwell, reported that ‘the Lancashire haggis toastie was the most scrumptious thing I’ve eaten in ages’.

Ex-barrister Nisha Katona is nowadays one of the UK’s foremost restaurateurs on the success of her national chain, of which this “welcoming” and still mega-popular street-food café in a converted former bank was the original (and celebrates its tenth year in 2024). “Always a good choice for all the family: even the young ones will try the food here” – “a very different take on Indian food, including some Indo-Chinese dishes that don’t normally get much of an airing”. Top Menu Tips – “favourite items include Gunpowder Chicken, Maa’s Lamb Chops, Butter Chicken and House Lamb Curry… the cocktails are definitely worth trying too”.

2021 Review: “Italian small plates (this time)” “from the Salt House tapas stable” – win solid ratings for this “friendly, buzzy restaurant” from the Red & Blue team. It’s “great for a larger party”, with “seats at the bar good for dates”; “it’s crowded so you do get to hear your neighbours’ conversations – although in Liverpool that can be theatre”.