St Helens, French Restaurant Guide

“Breathtaking 360° views of the Mersey, the city and the region beyond” are the USP of the 34th-floor restaurant atop Liverpool’s West Tower, where “floor-to-ceiling windows” make it “one of the best places to watch the sunset”. Cathy Frost, head honcho for 14 years, passed the baton in early 2025 to Paolo & Donato Cillo (the brothers behind Gran Caffe), who promised to maintain the venue’s legacy of modern European dining (reports praise the “very good starters and mains”) while adding their own Italian/Mediterranean vibe; they also expanded afternoon tea opening in response to demand.

This “French-style fine-dining experience” in Cheshire has just celebrated its 25th anniversary, serving “the kind of traditional Gallic fare you want to eat – frogs’ legs, coquilles St Jacques, onion soup, profiteroles”, all of it “meticulously presented”. Chef-patron Oliver Troalen trained in Paris and began his UK career at the French Embassy in London (ever the diplomat, he “didn’t bat an eyelid when a friend asked for her steak to be served ‘burnt’!”).