St Helens, French Restaurant Guide

“Just watch the sunset over Liverpool from this 34th-floor restaurant”, say fans of this spectacular venue in the West Tower, the city’s tallest. Run by Cathy Frost, whose developer husband Hugh built the tower, the operation’s modern British cuisine has consistently impressed reporters, and new head chef Nathan Booth has settled in well following the departure of Elliot Hill to the Chester Grosvenor.

“Truly fine dining without being stuffy” isn’t an easy act to pull off, but Olivier Troalen’s “traditional Gallic” venture (he first worked in England at the French Embassy in London) in the Cheshire suburbs does it with aplomb; by all accounts it “never fails to satisfy”, its “healthy northern portions” pairing with “meticulous presentation and high-quality ingredients” (“you can invite anyone, assured they won’t be disappointed”).