Gin Festival, Liverpool

It is only really this year that we have started to drink more of and begun to appreciate gin. Stemming from visits Barcelona, Madrid and closer to home, Ginever gin Bar on Hope Street and a fantastic gin tasting night at Lunya. With our gin appetite well and truly whetted, we were eager to sample more gins and jumped at the chance to visit Gin Festival on its Liverpool stop at the Crypt in the Metropolitan Cathedral.

Gin Festival is a great touring event created by Jym and Marie Harris to share their love of gin. Since its inception they can boast that it is the biggest gin festival with gin from around the world.

The event works on a pre-ticketed basis, included in the ticket price is a gin goblet for you to sample as many gins as you can handle for £5 each via a token system. Also included is a a gin guide highlighting the different types of gins and garnishes.

Their are also a multitude of gin exhibitors, each showing off their own distilleries. Small samples can be tried and we lost count of the number of gins we tried before even moving to the gin bar!

The Masons dry Yorkshire tea gin was the best newcomer winner in 2015 and it was special with its unique tea notes which worked very well.

Onto the bar we scoured the gin book and decided on a couple of gins, first of which was the G'vine Floraison, hand crafted in France. This was served with raspberry and grapes.

Next was the Sikkim Fraise from Spain served with mint, this was full of juniper and summer berries.

The gin below is Thevethan Cornish gin from Cornwall. Served with orange and clove, it was quite a bold gin with a rounded orange spice.

The bars were separated into four sections by letters, this corresponded to the gins in the book to make ordering easier.

Gin Festival is highly recommended for both the casual gin drinker and for connoisseur alike with something for everyone. Check out their website for dates and cities, but be fast as tickets sell out quick!

www.ginfestival.com

Old Pulteney whisky and food pairing

We were recently invited by the lovely folk at Old Pulteney to a whisky and food pairing night at Jenny's Bar in Liverpool. The Wick based distillery has formed a partnership with chef Aiden Byrne (Manchester House and Church Green) to provide a series of innovative whisky and food pairings with a variety of single malt whiskies. 

The night was hosted by whisky guru Andy Gemmell providing the lowdown on the whiskies and Aiden Byrne explaining the insight to the food pairings.

Navigator

Pigeon ballotine, caramelised palm sugar and sea salt on ginger bread

12 year old

Cured snapper, orange blossom water, dried rose, salmon caviar

17 year old

Plum, chicken liver parfait, tobacco and chocolate

21 year old

Lobster, smoked apple puree and rosemary, cannelloni

As we worked our way through the pairings it is true that whiskies are better as they age, I like to think that about myself as well! The favourite of the night was the 17 year old single malt which was a smooth sweet easy drinking whisky. The 21 year old single malt was also great but more of a celebration whisky with heavier smokiness and a spicy finish.

It was obvious that a lot of thought had been placed into the food pairings by Aiden Byrne. The pigeon ballotine was a stunner as was the chicken liver parfait, plum and chocolate.

Don't miss your chance to try the pairings at the Liverpool Food & Drink Festival this weekend 19th-20th September at Sefton Park.

Old Pulteney at the Liverpool Food &Drink Festival

Liverpool Food & Drink Festival

Grilla, Liverpool

Grilla is a Scandinavian / Mediterranean grill restaurant on Hardman Street. Having had some bad press recently with a zero hygiene score due to paperwork issues it was reopened with 5 stars. This didn't deter us and we wanted to take advantage of the Monday night deal of 30% of the signature Mix Grilla platter. The customer areas were clean and modern.

With the main event turning out to be monstrous I think we made the worst choice of starters possible in terms of size in garlic bread with cheese and grilled halloumi cheese!

'Mix Grilla' for 2 - variety of meats including lamb and pork on the spit and chicken, roast potatoes, yogurt lemon mint dip, chips and salad. There is certainly a lot of meat for your money, although with it being a Monday night it was quiet which led to the meat being quite dry as we suspect it had been cooking for a while and become tough to eat as it cooled down. The lamb chops were easily the standout of the meats. The tables are on the small side and the platter virtually takes up the whole table so that other dishes had to be perched on a side table.

After being defeated by the meat board we were presented with a small brownie dessert to finish, complimentary to every table as far as we could tell. Although the food didn't wow us, the grilled meats would be ideal with a little less cooking. With 30% off the Mix Grilla on Mondays our bill for two come to just under £30 which is good value for money for the quantity of food.

The Art School, Liverpool

The Art School is the latest fine dining venture by Paul Askew which recently opened in early September. As a stalwart of the North West dining scene and formerly of the London Carraige Works on Hope Street the website states that it was Paul’s dream to open a fine dine food haven in Liverpool city centre. The restaurant is located in the lantern room of the Victorian 1888 ‘Home for Destitute children’ building on Sugnall Street which is a stones throw away from Hope Street. 

The ethos of the restaurant is to provide a high end dining experience using only the finest produce and ingredients perfectly accompanied by superb wines and champagnes. A range of menus is offered depending on the day including a tasting menu at £85 per head, prices to match the ambition of the restaurant. We visited to sample the prix fixe offering which at £29 for three courses offered good value for money, especially on an early Saturday evening. The dining room is bright and airy with a large window allowing guests to view the chefs at work in the kitchen.

The prix fixe menu has a large variety of dishes including fish, meat and vegetarian. I opted for Lakeland venison carpaccio with horseradish snow, parmesan and caperberries whilst Mr Nom chose the twice baked soufflé of wild mushrooms, thyme and truffle served with Dijon cream and charred onions. The carpaccio was wonderfully presented and a light dish with ingredients with complemented rather than overpowered the venison. Breaking from his usual meat/fish preference the soufflé was well received.

For my main I chose the Whitchurch free range chicken with sweetcorn, buttered spinach, game crisps and local black pudding. Topped with a multitude of crispy fired slices of root vegetables the dish came together as one to form a pleasing dish.

Back on familiar territory as Mr Nom chose the braised Hereford ox cheek and tongue served with heritage carrots, champ and natural jus. The braised ox cheek flaked easily with little pressure and the champ mash was a delight.

The dessert offering was a sharing plate of mini desserts including pear and apricot bordelou, mini éclairs,lavender pavlova, coxs apple tatins and macarons. Indivudially the pear and apricot bordelou and coxs apple tatins were excellent and we would have been satisfied with larger portions rather than one bite! The other components we felt would be more suited as petit fours.

Service is overseen by the ultra-professional restaurant manager James Campbell who we have come across during his tenure at Fraiche. Despite the youthfulness of the staff, service was efficient and the team seem well drilled despite its early days. The drinks are not bad as well with my favourite cocktail being the sacred strawberry, sacred gin with strawberries with a Lichi-Li lychee liquor adding a lovely scent. Overall we were impressed with the prix fixe menu and it offers something very different to the current dining scene in Liverpool, although to truly judge the restaurant and its ambition the tasting/full menu is on the agenda for our next visit.

Slims Pork Chop Express, Liverpool

Slims Pork Chop Express is an offshoot of the popular watering hole, Salt Dog Slims. Conveniently situated next door on Seel Street on the site of an ex sex shop. The exterior retains an alluring black painted frontage with a pink neon sign. Occupying two floors we were led to the upstairs dining area also where the kitchen is housed.

The menu is split between brunch and evening with a strong emphasis on American style fare. Being a large group we took the opportunity to order an array of smoked meats to share. I think we over ordered but it was only clear to what extent when the food arrived! 

On two large trays we tried beef short ribs, 7 hour hickory smoked beef ribs, peppered house rub and slaw. Two great hunking pieces of beef, the first of which was slightly tough and dry on top but the rest of it was sensationally moist with fatty goodness running through the meat.

The 5 hour hickory smoked spare ribs, 16 hour smoked pork with bone marrow butter, and beef brisket hit the spot without hitting the heights of the short rib.

For a bit of meat variety we also ordered some chicken dishes. Chicken and waffles, buttermilk fired chicken with light malted waffle, served sweet. Slightly over fried but somehow the texture of the chicken was fine. The sweet waffle ended up being dessert when everyone gave up on the meat from being too stuffed. Chicken wings in hot and original flavours were average.

For carbs we opted for the Coach Bombay fries, confit duck, duck gravy, fired duck egg, topped with montery jack and chilli cheese fries, homemade chilli with cheese sauce. To top off the meal we also tried the XXX mac and cheese, a deep fried mac and cheese burger.

A good addition to the city centre with some interesting brunch options for next time. Be prepared and go hungry would be our advice, or alternatively don’t be greedy like us and order the smaller sizes for the smoked meats. One of our party had one final query and rightly so, where are the pork chop options on the menu?

Mei Mei, Liverpool

For a dim sum lunch in Liverpool there are only really two restaurants I would consider, Mei Mei on Berry Street by the bombed out church (St Lukes for the out of towners) and Tai Pan further out from the centre on Great Howard Street.

The beauty of dim sum is that it is a sharing affair and is best enjoyed in large groups which allows for more dishes to be ordered. Portions of dumplings usually come with four pieces, although more upscale Chinese restaurants may serve in portions of three or even allow you to order each piece individually as in the case of A Wong.

Siu mai – prawn and pork dumplings

Har gau – prawn dumplings in a translucent case

Shanghai dumplings, not on the level of those I've tried at Din Tai Fung in Hong Kong but decent

Whelks in satay sauce - a childhood favourite

Churn fan – silky smooth rice rolls which come in a range of fillings, fried dough, char siu and beef are generally our picks

Fried churn fun and turnip cakes coated in XO sauce (made with dried scallops)

Blackbean and chilli steam spare ribs

Chicken feet, braised and steamed with blackbean and chilli

Bean curd wraps – filled with pork and spring onion, deep fried beancurd spring rolls and yee mein noodles with mushroom

Deep fried cuttlefish cakes and mixed roast meat ho fun