Influential Liverpool chef Paul Askew and his son Harry have found a permanent home for Barnacle, their ‘Scouse brasserie’ – in a grand Grade II-listed building formerly occupied by the Royal School for the Blind in the city’s Georgian quarter.
Named after Paul’s seafaring father, Captain ‘Barnacle Bill’ Askew, the restaurant champions produce grown on or near Merseyside and celebrates Liverpool’s rich maritime history. Barnacle was initially launched five years ago at Duke Street Market and has more recently operated as a pop-up in the Albert Dock. The bar and lobby at its new address open tomorrow for a soft launch, with the full restaurant to follow in October.
The restaurant follows Paul’s 10-year-old flagship The Art School – Liverpool’s highest-rated restaurant in the current edition of the annual Harden’s guide – which also occupies a historical building with charitable origins, the late-Victorian former Home for Destitute Children. Paul trained as a chef in the Wirral and worked in New York and Singapore before returning to Liverpool, where he made his mark as founder and director of the Hope Street Hotel and London Carriage Works.
He says of the new Barnacle: “It’s a historic place, part neo-classical and part art-deco, imbued by Victorian grandeur and with the Philharmonic Hall and Everyman Theatre as our neighbours. At Barnacle we offer something for everyone, from a quick drink to a full dining experience, to sharing a bottle of wine and catching up with friends, to popping in for flowers on the way home from work. Our bar is a wonderful, cosy space with the addition of what I like to call our secret snug which seats just twelve people. And back across the lobby, the main dining space is a joy; we’ve longed for an environment like this to serve lunch and dinner, and finally we have the perfect venue for the Barnacle Restaurant & Bar.
“My dad was Captain Barnacle Bill Askew and he sailed the world on the Blue Star lines. His travels inspired me when I was young and along with my mother, they set me on my culinary path decades ago. I always think of barnacles on the hulls of the great ships which once sailed to and from Liverpool and how so much culinary knowledge and experience ended up here and helped shape the dynamic range of flavours, styles and secrets from countless far-flung locations. And we will proudly tell the story of the city’s food and cultural odyssey through its maritime history at Barnacle, this time from our very own restaurant.”
Harry, who is the restaurant director, said: “We can’t wait to open our doors and show people our new home. We really feel Barnacle has now found its true home in a unique building which offers several spaces to dine, drink and socialise in.”
