Hardens Guide to the Best Restaurants in Oxton
Hardens guides have spent 32 years compiling reviews of the best Oxton restaurants. On Hardens.com you'll find details and reviews of 56 restaurants in Oxton and our unique survey based approach to rating and reviewing Oxton restaurants gives you the best insight into the top restaurants in every area and of every type of cuisine.
Featured Oxton Restaurants
1. Restaurant 8 by Andrew Sheridan
British, Modern restaurant in Liverpool city centre
16 Cook Street - L2
The flagship restaurant of award-wining chef Andrew Sheridan, 8 is one of the UK's most progressive dining experiences. Located in the heart of Liverpool - next to the original Cavern Club - diners are treated to an immersive sensory experience focusing on high quality food and drink, and music. Expect the unexpected.
2. Moor Hall
British, Modern restaurant in Aughton
Prescot Rd - L39
“What can I say that’s not already been said? Just superb!” – Mark Birchall’s converted manor house north of Liverpool is five years old now, but still has the golden glow of one of the UK’s most fast-rising culinary stars, and some fans say they “thought it had a chance of its third Michelin star this year”. That would be an achievement anywhere – never mind in a corner of West Lancashire long seen as a gastronomic wasteland. The long drive, the lake, the grounds, the cleverly refurbished medieval buildings… all create a “perfect and luxurious experience”. “The dining room and lounges are sleek and welcoming and the attention to detail from the kitchen garden to the cheese room, even to the cutlery is flawless”. “Best of all, every mouthful from its tasting menu is fresh, clean and sublime” and a clear reflection of the “dedication, high standards and clear technical expertise” in the kitchen. Fame is bringing one drawback though – even those who judge it a “fabulous” experience sometimes think it risks becoming an “outrageously expensive” one. And – amidst praise for “fun and unintimidating staff who don’t miss a beat” – there is also the odd fear of “an over-focus on creating theatre rather than making the customer totally relaxed”. Top Tip – “the food bonanza continues at breakfast so stay over if you can”.
4. Salt House
Spanish restaurant in Liverpool
1 Hanover Street - L1
Two-level tapas haunt opposite John Lewis that’s “still a big favourite” thanks to its “interesting” selection of dishes. “The only drawback can be the noise – it’s a high space with a mezzanine level and lots of hard surfaces, so it is difficult to talk when it's busy”.
5. OXA
restaurant in Birkenhead
1 Rose Mount, Oxten - CH43
Fine dining in relaxed neighbourhood restaurant setting, Open in Oxton serves a sophisticated tasting menu with optional drinks pairing. Ingredients are locally-sourced and treated with respect. Diners enjoy a casual chef-led experience. ...
6. The London Carriage Works, Hope Street Hotel
British, Modern restaurant in Liverpool
40 Hope Street - L1
2019 Review: 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.
7. Lawns Grill, Thornton Hall Hotel & Spa
International restaurant in Thornton Hough
Neston Rd - CH63
A lot of water has passed under the bridge since 2019 when Boris Johnson and former Irish Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, met for crunch post-Brexit talks at this posh hotel & spa out on the Wirral. On limited feedback, ratings for its grill are good all-round, but more plaudits go to the rather dramatically named ‘Great Wirral Afternoon Tea’ – a “well thought-out offering with good choice of sweet or savoury options” that’s “particularly nice on the terrace or lawn”.
8. Fraiche
French restaurant in Oxton
11 Rose Mount - CH43
“Marc Willkinson is a genius” and “never fails to impress” at his “compact” venue – an unexpected find “off the beaten track” out on The Wirral, in a conservation village bordering Birkenhead. It has, on several occasions, topped our diners’ poll as the UK’s No. 1 destination. With just a dozen covers, it’s very much one man’s labour of love with its “imaginative visuals and playlist”, not to mention his really “unusual” and distinctive cuisine, delivered as a six-course tasting menu. Save space for the end of the meal: chef really knows his way around pudding and chocolates. Early in 2022, there was news that the restaurant was to close, but this is not the case. Marc is hunting for new premises, though, and if he finds them change will be afoot.
9. Lunyalita
Spanish restaurant in Liverpool
Unit 5, Britannia Pavilion, Royal Albert Dock - L3
Outdoor tables near the water are an option during good weather at Lunya’s little sister – a two floor operation, with terrace and upstairs bar in a fabulous setting by Albert Dock. It serves an impressive range of tapas and sharing deli platters.
10. Rosa’s
Thai restaurant in Liverpool
Unit 7, Britannia Pavilion, Albert Dock - L3
2021 Review: The “lovely Thai food” at these reliable cafés is “impressively authentic given that they are a chain” – “excellent value” and “fast”, if occasionally let down by “iffy service”. Founded in 2008 by Saiphin and Alex Moore, who inherited the name of their first East End site, the group has 18 branches in London and expanded to Liverpool, Manchester, Reading (delivery only) and Leeds following the sale of a majority stake to US investors. The couple also have two spin-offs, Lao Café in Covent Garden and the new Chinese noodle bar Hoh Sek in St Katharine Docks.
11. Madre
Mexican restaurant in Liverpool
6 Atlantic Pavilion, Albert Dock - L3
2022 Review: 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).
12. Etsu
Japanese restaurant in Liverpool
25 The Strand, Off Brunswick Street - L2
2019 Review: “A warm little gem hidden in an unlikely corner of central Liverpool”, a short hop from The Strand, and offering “always good” Japanese cuisine and “lovely service without trying to be too chic”. In September 2018 they announced plans to take over the neighbouring property, gaining a new deli section.
13. Panoramic 34
French restaurant in Liverpool
Brook Street - L3
“Magnificent distant views of Snowdonia are the highlight of this establishment” on the 34th floor of the West Tower – although the “great modern food and service make for a lovely dining experience” that is “definitely one for romantics watching the city views at night”. Chef Elliot Hill left in June 2022 (after our annual diners’ poll concluded) to head up the kitchens of the Chester Grosvenor, but we’ve held the ratings as the food here historically has always been surprisingly good for a ‘room with a view’.
14. Salt House Bacaro
Italian restaurant in Liverpool
47 Castle St - L2
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”.
15. San Carlo
Italian restaurant in Liverpool
41 Castle St - L2
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”.
16. El Gato Negro
Spanish restaurant in Liverpool
Unit 2, Walker House, Exchange Flags - L2
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.
17. Fazenda
Brazilian restaurant in Liverpool
Unit B, Horton Hs - L2
2019 Review: “The meat’s good quality, and there’s no limits to what you can select” at this branch of a Brazilian buffet chain, where you eat as much as you like for a fixed price; by its nature, it’s “good for groups”.
18. 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”.
19. Lu Ban
Chinese restaurant in Liverpool
Stanhope Street - L8
2022 Review: “Superb original food, a very amenable chef, plus helpful and friendly staff” – on limited feedback, that’s the upbeat take on this Chinese fine-dining restaurant, where the kitchen is run by Dave Critchley, who – having worked in some of the city’s top kitchens – took his career in this different direction in 2019 (and in 2021 represented the North West in BBC2’s Great British Menu).
20. Six by Nico
International restaurant in Liverpool
11-15 North John Street - L2
“Such amazing value for a six-course, themed, tasting menu” that changes every six weeks – that’s the USP of Nico Simeone’s national chain, which, over five years, has grown from its Glasgow base to number nine in total (with London having two: in Fitzrovia and Canary Wharf). Of course it’s “slightly gimmicky”, but on the whole it’s “a good effort at a budget experience”: “you get what you pay for, and while not all dishes hit the mark, and service can be a bit hit ’n’ miss (particularly at busy times), it is innovative, has a great buzz and is a lot of fun”.
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