Foodie opinions provided by Abi Meadow.
We recently visited the stunning Barnacle in Duke Street Market and we haven’t stopped dreaming about the food since. This yummy restaurant is led by some of the city’s best chefs and the combination of talent and experience culminates in a great restaurant experience all round, from the food to the cocktails and the service. Here’s why we loved it and why you should visit.
1. The food, of course!
We had the following dishes:
Starters
-New Liverpool chowder, smoked haddock, cockles, samphire, lovage
-Beef brisket, sweetcorn, cornbread, Granny Smith apple
Mains
-Ward’s Peterhead hake, tomato, strawberries, gooseberry, horseradish, borlotti beans
-Herdwick lamb, smoked anchovy, curd, broad beans, mint, baby gem, basil
Desserts
-‘Strawberries and Cream’ Claremont Farm strawberries, elderflower
-Chocolate fondant, 92 Degrees Coffee
Every dish was delicious, with such depth of flavour packed into each and every bite. The stand out dish for us was the hake with pickled strawberries. I mean, how did they even think to put fermented strawberries next to that buttery-soft hake?
The strawberries just burst in the mouth, delivering a delicious little pearl of flavour without overpowering the delicate hake. And the meat. Ohhhh, the meat. It was cooked perfectly so that every bite just melted in the mouth.
2. Delicious cocktails
The cocktails were to die for, and so creative! We had the Solero Dream, which tasted just like the ice cream and the Dockers Umbrella which has a tasty, smokey flavour. Both were perfect for those who like to sip and take their time with a drink.
Also available at Barnacle is a good selection of beers, tons of Liverpool gins, loads of soft drinks that sound super-interesting and a huge wine list. Lots of the wines are available by the glass as well as by the bottle.
3. Reasonable prices
This place is offers absolute luxury for a very reasonable price. 2 courses cost just £37 and 3 courses cost £45. You could easily spend that amount of money at a restaurant and not enjoy the food, but at Barnacle you get something that you know will be delicious. It’s perfect for date nights, or just a treat yourself night and the plates are not small!
4. Incredible service
At Barnacle the staff are so knowledgeable about all of the dishes. When the waiters can give you advice and recommendations on what to choose it’s a great sign that they’ve actually eaten there and enjoyed the food themselves.
Our waiter was fantastic and able to tell us what their favourite dishes were, which was perfect because we couldn’t decide what to order. Everything sounded so good! Oh, and you’re not seeing things, Calvin Harris popped round for some scran the other day – he clearly knows a good thing when he sees it!
5. Local ingredients
‘Celebrating local’ is the tagline on the Barnacle website, and it’s clear that this is something the restaurant lives by. From local, seasonal produce (which always makes food taste way better) to local chefs and local, Liverpool gins, this place screams Liverpool and we love it!
[Sidenote: look at the size of that Yorkshire pudding. What a whopper!]