British, Modern Restaurants in Merseyside
1. The London Carriage Works, Hope Street Hotel
British, Modern restaurant in Liverpool
40 Hope Street - L1
Since 2003, this minimalist contemporary dining room – part of one of the city’s first ‘boutique’ hotels (named for the 1860s business for which the premises were created) – has helped lead the charge in modernising dining out in The Pool. It doesn’t attract the volume of reports it once did, but its quality brasserie-style cooking continues to inspire nothing but favourable feedback: “my meal of the year: occasionally hit and miss, but usually excellent”. Top Tip – bargain prix fixe.
2. Restaurant 8 by Andrew Sheridan
British, Modern restaurant in Liverpool
16 Cook Street - L2
Native Liverpudlian Andrew Sheridan upped sticks from Brum to relocate ‘8’ to a Victorian building in the city centre (next to the original Cavern Club) in April 2023. Seating is at one of two counters for, appropriately, eight diners; the lighting is low; much of the décor is black or slate-grey; and the level of ambition in the cooking is high, with the aim of delivering ‘an immersive sensory experience’. The eight courses (for £110 per head) are of very diverse inspiration and there’s also a wine pairing option (for £80 per head).
3. Nord
Scandinavian restaurant in Liverpool
The Plaza, 100 Old Hall Street - L3
In April 2023, the former HQ of Littlewoods morphed into this co-venture between Liverpudlian chef Daniel Heffy and the GSG Hospitality group – a startlingly futuristic space with pod-like seating. The titular ‘Nord’ nods to both good old northern hospitality (Heffy had a hand in local haunts like cult supper club Secret Diners Club and the Buyers Club) and to the chef’s recent stint in Stockholm, meaning contemporary, ingredient-led cooking showcased in a wide range of menus (the most affordable of which is the sharing plates-style Sunday lunch). By early reports, the “beautifully cooked dishes” make it “well worth the journey” – more feedback, please!
4. Spire
British, Modern restaurant in Liverpool
1 Church Road - L15
“Local restaurant which has been there for years and always produces high-quality fare with excellent service”, from the “consistently awesome Locke brothers”, Matt & Adam. “There’s a wide choice of dishes – nothing too ostentatious, just good cooking”, “well-executed and reasonably priced” in a “modern European” idiom. It’s popular, so “booking is necessary”.
5. Belzan
British, Modern restaurant in Liverpool
371 Smithdown Road - L15
“Fabulous food with unusual flavour combinations, lovely staff and great service” make this neighbourhood bistro from Chris Edwards & Owain Williams “well worth the trip to the student quarter of Liverpool”. “Seasonality is the key here” – but “don’t come here for a romantic dinner-for-two: it’s buzzing!”. Top Tip – “the amazing early-bird dinner menu”.
6. Wreck Bistro
British, Modern restaurant in Liverpool
60 Seel Street - L1
A leading link in the Elite Bistros chain, run by chef-patron (and tireless social media poster) Gary Usher, who dropped ‘fish’ from the name at the end of 2023 to highlight the wider-ranging nature of the menu. Fans say it’s “excellent all round”, and particularly “great- value at lunchtime” (plus early evenings) when there’s a two-course set for £17 per person, and a three-course set for £20 per person. Despite its change of name, there are “some lovely fish dishes” on the menu, but that’s just the start of it, with the “unctuous featherblade of beef” singled out for praise this year.
7. Hanover Street Social
British, Modern restaurant in Liverpool
16-20 Hanover St - L1
2021 Review: “Consistently good food at a competitive price” plus a “useful central location and a great choice of gins” means this modern brasserie from Merseyside’s Red & Blue Restaurants group is “worth a visit”.
8. Moor Hall
British, Modern restaurant in Aughton
Prescot Rd - L39
“Everything about Moor Hall is exceptional: the warmth of the welcome, the quality of the food, the care of the service and the calm dining room” (and that also goes for the prices!) at Mark Birchall’s trailblazing venue, a short drive north of Liverpool. “Set in a Grade II 13th-century manor house, there’s a sense of occasion on arrival and they make use of the cosy lounge as a bar and snack area, with the main restaurant in a light-filled, glazed modern extension with exposed rafters (and even a built-in cheese room where you can choose a platter as an additional course)”. “Like the best-oiled of well-oiled machines, everything passes over you in a show of excellence that’s so well-rehearsed and so well done, it’s almost imperceptible that this isn’t all just an interactive theatrical experience just for you” – with the main event being an eight-course tasting menu at £235 per person: “extraordinarily good food, as is the service, which can also be extremely friendly”. “The downside… the downside is the cost. I wouldn’t – couldn‘t – question the value, but the cost, even with the high prices of eating out” is a sticking point for an increasing proportion of diners, leading to an increasingly disgruntled minority who say “nothing blew me away at a place with such excellent reviews, and I was very surprised”. That’s still a minority feeling though. A more common reaction? – “It’s expensive but, that said, the last time I drove away, several hundred pounds poorer, I felt it was all so perfect that I should start robbing banks, or getting government PPE contracts or something, so that I can go more frequently!”
9. The Barn at Moor Hall
British, Modern restaurant in Aughton
Prescot Rd - L39
“This is called Moor Hall’s neighbourhood restaurant and that’s how it feels” – Mark Birchall’s descriptively named operation, complete with brick walls and pitched timber-frame roof, is the more informal option at this famous destination and the Michelin star it holds carries perhaps a hint of distraction in that the dishes – while not exactly ‘everyday’ – are in a much less eye- catching vein than in the main building. “Great food is prepared and served by pleasant and efficient staff and the finishing kitchen/pass is in view of the restaurant – it’s a pleasure to see the calm dedication of the team preparing the food”.
10. So-lo
British, Modern restaurant in Aughton
17 Town Green Lane - L39
“At a mere (…cough) £100 for 6 courses, the more wallet-friendly Michelin-starred alternative in Aughton, Solo offers less of an amazing experience, but still a bloody good one” compared with Moor Hall down the road. Chef-patron Tim Allen has a strong CV and opened here in late 2021 in his first ‘so-lo’ venture. “He’s a very accomplished chef – you always get exceptional cooking – and very nice with it” which, via the open kitchen, helps infuse the relatively simple interior with good vibes. Top Menu Tip – “Halibut is far from my favourite fish, but here it’s a shining example of how good it can be when handled by a top chef. Served with a wild garlic crumb, pickled shimeji and a vin jaune foam. A nicely cooked slice of duck breast came with preserved blackberries, a quenelle of pureed, caramelised cauliflower, and an excellent little roulade of hispi cabbage studded with morteau sausage. Great desserts: a blood orange granita, on top of a vanilla panna cotta, with shards of saffron meringue and rather otiose (but excellent) milk ice cream. Then a sort of apple financier-ish cake, topped with a remarkable aerated honey cream/mousse that rounded things off beautifully”.
11. Barnacle
British, Modern restaurant in Liverpool
Mezzanine, Duke Street Market, 46 Duke Street - L1
This “lively place” on the mezzanine of the city centre’s Duke Street food market serves “nicely presented dishes”, and benefits from the involvement of Merseyside food heroes Paul Askew (of The Art School) and Harry Marquart (Bone & Block). Aiming to provide an ‘intimate Scouse brasserie’, it launched in late 2021.
12. Queens Wine Bar
British, Modern restaurant in Liverpool
8 Queen Avenue - L2
“A fantastic find!” – “neatly tucked away” down a smart city alleyway, this understated wine bar/bistro “feels like a secret discovery” that is “perfect for a cozy sojourn”.
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