September 4, 2019
10 Best Restaurants in Liverpool
The ones to watch, the ones we love and the ones we want to try ASAP
Since helping amazing Gujarati grub and craft beer hotspot Bundobust open up their third venue over on Bold Street, Liverpool is heavily on our feasting radar. So we fancied curating a list of the best restaurants in Liverpool – ones we want to keep an eye on, ones we already love and ones that are firmly on our radar to try as soon as we can!
The Liverpool food and drink offering is brilliant. From high-end, sleek fine dining options through to informal, independent pop-ups, classic British to the most exciting grub from all around the world, there’s always something to tickle your tastebuds, whatever you’re in the mood for. This is a bit of a rabbit-from-the-hat ‘best restaurants in Liverpool’ list of some that excite us most…let us know who you are outraged that we have missed…
Our Top Ten Best Restaurants in Liverpool:
Maray
Maray is a Bold Street sibling of Bundo, and one who Bundo did a few collabs with to celebrate the Liverpool opening. All about bringing some Parisian flair to Liverpool (the name is a play on the historically Jewish Marais district), Maray serves up small, Middle Eastern-inspired plates and great cocktails and wine. And Jay Rayner loves it too.
Bundobust
Well, no Liverpool food list would be complete without our own pals Bundobust. Gujarati-inspired Indian street food is perfect alongside well-chosen craft beers – some of our fave dishes include the Bhel Puri, Vada Pav and Paneer Tikka. Scratch that. One of everything, please. (Jay loves Bundo too, but he hasn’t reviewed the Liverpool site yet…)
http://bundobust.com/liverpool/
Neon Jamon
This authentically Spanish tapas restaurant brings Catalan dishes and Cava of a great standard. As you might expect, they’re serious about their jamon (which comes solely from specialists in Burgos, Northern Spain), bringing Alba Real jamons and cured meats to the table. But they are also serving up the classic gambas, croquetas and patatas bravas (followed by churros or Crema Catalana) that are bound to make any Spanish food fan drool.
Baltic market
Liverpool’s first street food market, Baltic hosts a roster of traders, meaning every mate with every dietary proclivity can be seen to nicely. Whether they fancy a Middle Eastern kebab, frozen yoghurt, wood-fired Neapolitan pizza, fresh pasta, Korean dumplings, vegan kebabs…ah the list goes on…Baltic can sort them out.
https://www.balticmarket.co.uk/
Roski
Yet again, a bloody Jay Rayner hotspot. Seems we have similar taste, Mr R. Well played. Roski serves up an intricate taster menu, with dishes like ‘Venison, Celeriac, “Grown Up” Granola’ and Red Cabbage Bolognese, from MasterChef: The Professionals winner Anton Piotrowski.
http://www.roskirestaurant.com
Oktopus
You know what I’m going to say. Yup he reviewed here too. Oktopus is a hubbub of a restaurant, serving up European small plates, craft beers and wines. ‘Clean, simple seasonal cooking’ is their priority, and food includes ‘popcorn mussels with malt vinegar mayo.’ Yep that has sold it to me. It’s on our ‘visit SOON’ list.
https://www.oktopus-restaurant.com/
The Art School restaurant
The Art School is more up the fancy end, aesthetically, with sleek red armchairs and linen-covered tables. But their menu (they have 3, including a Prix Fixe and a Tasting) covers classics as well as more modern innovations, with options like ‘Seared King scallop with Southport smoked pork, Granny Smith apple, yuzu gel, cauliflower & herb couscous & morcilla’ and ‘Loin, shoulder & belly of Callum’s Black Faced Suffolk lamb with black pudding soil, spring vegetables, puy lentils & pistachio’. Less well reviewed (by Marina O’Loughlin, here), but well-lauded as an exciting addition to the Liverpool food scene. We fancy giving it a go, anyway…
https://theartschoolrestaurant.co.uk/
Pen Factory
Their seasonal, tapas-style menu has loads of chill factor, serving up dishes like ‘aubergine dukkha with yoghurt and sumak’, ‘chorizo, honey & white wine’, and ‘Bullfighters’ stew with sourdough’. With a great beer garden to boot, it’s the ideal sunny afternoon spot to while away the time, ordering nibbles and supping a good beer.
https://www.pen-factory.co.uk/
[photo courtesy of Salt House Charcuteria & Tapas Bar]
Salt House Charcuteria and Tapas bar
A simple menu of ‘tapas’ with Spanish (and more international) inspiration is split into meat, fish and vegetarian tapas, with a range of charcuterie and breads, too. They focus on quality and delivery here, whatever the tapa. The £13.95 lunch menu for 3 tapas – think pork belly, aubergine, almond & manchego puree and apple sauce, Iberico ham croquettes, a charcuterie board or fried calamari, lemon and aioli – is bound to hit the mark. Owners of Venetian-inspired Bacaro, Hanover St Social and Rocket & Ruby, Red & Blue Restaurants were at the forefront of Liverpool’s modern dining scene with restaurants like Salt House, so they really set the standard Liverpool is living up to today.
[photo courtesy of Salt House Charcuteria & Tapas Bar]
Camp & Furnace
A bit of a different foodie option, Camp & Furnace is a cool events space as well as being in the market for good grub. It was voted “2nd coolest restaurant in Britain” by The Times, no less. The large ex-warehouse is in the Baltic Triangle, and is infamous for its Sunday roasts – think joints of sirloin or an organic chicken – served up whole, with the right cutlery, so you can do the honours. Monday to Friday, husband and wife duo Lou and Matt Hardy host Hardy’s Kitchen there, where they serve up a delicious menu consisting of stuff like homemade falafel, halloumi fries, amazing burgers and panko-breaded fish. Camp & Furnace have their own bottled beer, too – Brown Bear, made by smoking malted wheat over birch chips in the onsite Edwardian furnace. Hipster indeed.
https://baltictriangle.co.uk/camp-furnace/
I mean, there are more than 10, aren’t there, basically. Other contenders for the list included Etsu, Papillon, Duke Street Market (controversially like Manchester’s Mackie Mayor? You be the judge of that)…the list goes on. Basically we need an annual railcard and some more money, because we have a LOT of eating to do.
