Liverpool Restaurant Guide

‘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.

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.

Nisha Katona’s burgeoning chain has grown from its Pool base to number 12 outposts in total and is finally eyeing up a London opening – in Fitzrovia, on the former site of Côte Brasserie. Reporters “absolutely adore” its “Indian street food with a UK twist” (featuring “lovely, tasty and original flavours”, and served in tiffins), abetted by “good cocktails”.

Peter & Elaine Kinsella’s “fun” and “fabulous” Catalan bar and deli offers a “mix of authentic tapas done exceptionally well”. Since opening in 2010 they have expanded to bigger premises in Liverpool ONE and opened Lunyalita in the Albert Dock, but a branch in Manchester’s Deansgate was a victim of the 2020 lockdown.

“You can’t fault the way seafood is served, from whole fish and seafood platters to battered oysters” at this popular venture from an Italian-Scottish family, that transforms from a daytime café into a “bustling trattoria” in the evening, serving a “very good traditional Italian fish menu”.

Energetic Scottish chef Nico Simeone continued his steady rate of restaurant openings with this Liverpool branch; the style of cuisine changes every six weeks, as at his others (previous menu examples include New York, Vietnamese Street Food, Childhood, Guilty Pleasures), and the only option is the £32 six-course set menu (matching wine flight £29). It’s all “very good food at great value”, although the quality varies “depending on the theme being served”.

“Gary Usher just gets it right” – with his “high-standard” bistro cuisine at prices most reporters find reasonable (and despite the name, this is not a seafood specialist). “Cooking and service remained a delight” through the Covid restrictions, so “Wreckfish managed to recreate the special-meal-out feeling”. The worst criticism? – “I still don’t understand the undressed romaine lettuce leaves that accompanied the tender and sweet pork chop”!.

“Literally nothing could have been done better” – the tenor of reports on BBC MasterChef: The Professionals winner Anton Piotowski's upmarket but “relaxed” mid century-style dining room. The “very innovative” tasting menu (“an edible beetle has been known to appear”) “blew away” most reporters and represents “very good value for money” compared to London prices.

“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”.

“Paul Askew’s cooking continues to excel”, in a “lovely airy room” next to the Liverpool Philharmonic that “really does the business”. The restaurant is “definitely a cut above the rest” and the menu is “always interesting and beautifully presented”. It’s “formal but not stuffy, and a go-to for business lunch meetings as well as special-occasion dining”. Top Tip: “fixed-price lunch (also available pre-theatre in the early evening) is excellent value”.

“Views from the 34th floor over Liverpool and Snowdonia are exceptional” at the West Tower’s crowd-pleasing destination, serving “top-class cuisine at a great height!”. Though not tough to locate, fans say it’s “a real find”, whether you opt for the “amazing” mains or “an afternoon tea with a twist” (the latter generally garnering the most comments).

In the Albert Dock, this collaboration between Belzan and Breddos Tacos occupies the atmospheric vaulted brick premises that characterise these Grade I listed dockland buildings, and comes with a large outside terrace. It’s hot right now as a place to get boozed up in party mood, but the Latino dishes are worth exploring (and The Guardian's Grace Dent raved in a June 2021 review).

The Barrie brothers cut their teeth at Anglesey's Marram Grass (as of November 2021, not in operation) but are nowadays focused on this relatively recent venture, on the Albert Dock site they opened in the turbulent days of September 2020. Lerpwl is the Welsh name for Liverpool, and the offer aims for ‘social fine-dining’. Feedback (on which we’ve based our initial rating) is so far relatively limited, but says results from its ten-course tasting menu showcasing Welsh produce (for £90 per person) are as outstanding as at its predecessor.

The baby sister of Lunya, the Catalan tapas bar in the city-centre, is a top performer in its own right, and makes good use of its “stunning” waterside setting. “Delicious food and excellent service made for a great afternoon at an outdoors table facing Albert Dock on a nippy May day”.

“Real attention to detail in every aspect, with friendly, informed service and terrific food” has proved a winning formula for this little four-year-old in a row of shops, which has become “a restaurant that pulls off the rare trick of being both a destination and a local favourite”.

Liverpool’s first vegan chippy – a plant-based Chinese venture on Lark Lane – opened in November 2019 serving noodles, rice dishes, spring rolls, etc, alongside more traditional dishes like battered sausages and chip butties. For grab-and-go it’s going down a storm in The Pool!