Liverpool, British, Modern Restaurant Guide

This “excellent, innovative independent on trendy Bold Street” is inspired by the North African/Middle Eastern cuisine found in the Marais district of Paris and “trying hard to be trendy like Ottolenghi”. The place is “very buzzy”, with “fantastic small plates”, “great wine and cocktails” – and it’s “brilliant value”. “Good idea to book as it gets very busy”.

“The Latest (and flagship) branch of Gary Usher’s small but perfectly formed bistro chain” – this November 2017 newcomer (at the time of opening, the product of Kickstarter UK’s biggest ever restaurant campaign) has created more of a splash than any Liverpool opening of the last decade: an “impressively refurbished” workshop in the city’s old merchant quarter that’s now a “buzzy” and “lovely” space (where some of the seating is communal) and with “charming” staff. “Recognisably following his rewarding general formula” – it “serves quality produce in a fresh and interesting way, and delivers great value”. Quibbles are minor: e.g. “many things to love about this place, with some great cooking and brilliant ideas, but some dishes just need better balance to counteract the riot of flavours”. Top Tip: “Early bird dinner menu (two courses for £17) is a no-brainer”.

“Still one of my favourite places to eat in Liverpool”; “it never fails to deliver”, say fans, who reckon this Georgian townhouse, near the Anglican cathedral (opened by Gary and Colin Manning in 1999), compares favourably with many of the city’s newer venues: the menu is “interesting” and “standards all-round are high and delivered at an excellent price”.

“A neighbourhood gem” with a modern British menu, around the corner from Penny Lane, where Matt & Adam Locke have provided “delicious cooking that’s beautifully presented and fantastic value” for more than a decade.

The original Delifonseca (re-named to avoid confusion with its spin-off), now with vintage cocktail bar, wins praise for its “really good food and interesting choices” from a daily-changing blackboard menu. Change may be afoot, however, with the owner eyeing a vast, Kickstarter-funded expansion of its dockside spin-off (home to a famed market hall), with plans to eventually operate from one base.

“A fantastic new restaurant of delightful small plates”, say fans of this yearling, whose “interesting and tasty dishes” make it one of the stars of Liverpool’s gastro boom. Foes beg to differ, complaining that it’s “difficult to put together a balanced meal” from plates which are in fact “medium-sized” – or, more bluntly: “starters after starters. Uninspiring!”.

Somewhat mixed feedback on this “ambitious” city-centre newcomer, opened in late 2017 by BBC MasterChef: The Professionals winner Anton Piotrowski (on the site that was Puschka, RIP). Fans hail its “delightful and intimate” style and “outstanding” cuisine from the five-course and seven-course tasting menus. Some early visitors, though, have also left “disappointed” (an echo of Marina O’Loughlin in The Sunday Times, who reported “hit after hit” but a culinary style she found “tortured”).

For a “really good breakfast” or “fab afternoon tea”, this boutique hotel dining room does still win recommendations. Feedback is much more limited nowadays, though, compared with the heady days of its opening in 2003, when it was the hottest ticket in town.

No survey feedback yet, but some in the press (notably The Guardian’s Grace Dent) have waxed lyrical regarding this December 2017 opening – the result of a successful Kickstarter campaign – serving fairly funky fare in a busy modern bistro environment.