A top guide has named 17 Merseyside restaurants you should try in 2020.
Waitrose’s Good Food Guide 2020 was released in September last year, serving readers the names of foodie hot spots for the year ahead.
The Good Food Guide is compiled and written from scratch every year and restaurants cannot elect or pay to be included.
The guide is compiled by restaurant feedback, anonymous inspectors, reviews and an extensive scoring system.
Now that 2020 is underway - and the January blues have passed - we’ve listed the 17 Merseyside restaurants you should try this year.
How many have you checked off already?
Maray, Liverpool
Liverpool favourite Maray has three restaurants across the city, though its Bold Street venue may be the most well known.
Maray is known for serving up flavours of the Middle East with a selection of vegetarian, vegan and non-vegetarian small plates.
Where: 91 Bold St, Liverpool, L1 4HF / 57 Allerton Rd, Liverpool, L18 2DA / Unit 4, Britannia Pavilion, Albert Dock, Liverpool, L3 4AD
Roski, Liverpool
Roski is owned by 2012 Masterchef winner Anton Piotrowski who moved to Liverpool to open the site back in 2017.
The restaurant serves a tasting menu, which is served exclusively on Fridays and Saturdays and features stone-bass, aged wagyu fillet, peanut butter parfait and more.
Where: 16 Rodney St, Liverpool, L1 2TE
The Art School, Liverpool
The Art School Restaurant has been tipped for success since it launched in 2014.
From Wirral chef Paul Askew, The Art School is known for its fine dining experience and range of menus.
The Art School’s Menu Excellence features dishes such as roast Lancashire quail with date and tarragon forcemeat, seared king scallop with Southport smoked pork, and wild line caught Liverpool Bay sea bass.
Where: 1 Sugnall St, Liverpool L7 7EB
The London Carriage Works, Liverpool
Based on one of the city’s most beautiful streets, The London Carriage Works serves up delectable dishes such as duck breast with confit leg pastille, pak choi, daikon, plum and soy.
Where: 40 Hope St, Liverpool, L1 9DA
Wreckfish, Liverpool
The Liverpool restaurant which broke crowdfunding records in 2017, Wreckfish is hugely popular throughout the city.
Chef Gary Usher , the man behind Burnt Truffle, Sticky Walnut and Pinion, raised more than £200,000 to open the Slater Street restaurant.
The menu at Wreckfish features glazed duck hearts on toasted brioche, braised featherblade of beef, hot smoked salmon fishcakes and more.
Where: Slater St, Liverpool L1 4BS
Belzan, Liverpool
A relaxed bistro and bar on Smithdown Road, Belzan serves simple and seasonal food, wines and cocktails.
Belzan has several menus, including a Prix Fixe menu which features lobster pasta, lamb rump, wild mushroom gnocchi and more.
Where: 371 Smithdown Rd, Liverpool, L15 3JJ
Delifonseca Dockside, Liverpool
Delifonseca Dockside, which is part restaurant, part food hall, offers everything from sit-down meals to deli counters serving cheese, charcuterie, wines and more.
The dockside restaurant scooped up the Restaurant of the Year and Retailer of the Year at the Merseyside Independent Business Awards 2019 last year.
Where: Brunswick Way, Liverpool, L3 4BN
Etsu, Liverpool
Tucked away along Liverpool’s waterfront, Etsu offers an authentic Japanese experience.
The menu at Etsu features Donburi, Japanese curry, Sashimi, sushi and more.
Where: 25 The Strand, Liverpool, L2 0XJ
Lunya, Liverpool
With two venues in Liverpool city centre, Lunya is always a popular choice when looking for tapas.
The Catalonian restaurant serves up everything from Catalan Scouse and patatas bravas to a chorizo sausage roll and salt and pepper chipirones.
Where: 55 Hanover St, Liverpool, L1 3DN
Pinion, Prescot
Another restaurant from chef Gary Usher, Pinion launched in September 2018 after a hugely successful crowdfunding campaign.
Dishes on the menu include chicken liver pate, battered haddock and chips, whole camembert, braised featherblade of beef, sea bream fillet, butternut squash and mozzarella arancini, dark chocolate mousse with crushed honeycomb and steamed lemon suet sponge.
Where: 39 Eccleston St, Prescot, L34 5QA
Fraiche, Oxton
Merseyside’s only Michelin star restaurant, Fraiche has been around for almost 17 years.
Marc Wilkinson’s hugely popular restaurant serves a signature menu which features Spanish omelette, Brill fillet, lemongrass panna cotta and more.
Where: 11 Rose Mount, Oxton, Birkenhead, Prenton, CH43 5SG
Claremont Farm Cafe, Bebington
Tucked away at Claremont Farm, the cafe serves fresh, seasonal dishes using local ingredients.
The menu at the farm cafe features a cheese board, smoked salmon, pan fried Hoylake fish of the day and more.
Where: Old Clatterbridge Road, Bebington, Wirral, CH63 4JB
Bistro 21, Southport
Tucked away just off one of Southport’s busiest streets, Bistro 21 has just nine tables, so you have to be quick to grab a seat.
Bistro 21 offers a range of different menus including a la carte, table d’hote, tasting, vegan, vegetarian, and gluten free, all of which are changed every 10 weeks or so.
Where: 21 Stanley St, Southport, PR9 0BS
Bistrot Verite, Southport
A laid back restaurant in the heart of Birkdale, Bistrot Verite has been serving French food with a twist since 2009.
The menu features everything from parmesan and truffle crackers and salt and pepper squid to Japanese tuna tartare and baked dijon chicken.
Where: 7 Liverpool Rd, Birkdale, Southport, PR8 4AR
Burnt Truffle, Heswall
Another from chef Gary Usher, Burnt Truffle serves a monthly changing menu of classic bistro food.
The menu at Burnt Truffle features dishes such as beer battered haddock, braised pork knuckle, salt and pepper chicken wings and more.
Where: 106 Telegraph Rd, Heswall, Wirral, CH60 0AQ
Moor Hall, Aughton
With two Michelin stars and five AA rosettes, Moor Hall is always a popular choice.
The menu features dishes such as turnip and crab, turbot cooked on the bone, smoked eel, oysters and more.
Where: Moor Hall, Prescot Rd, Aughton, L39 6RT
The Barn, Aughton
Following the success of Moor Hall, The Barn at Moor Hall launched showcasing Mark Birchall’s casual dining dishes.
Options include everything from 35-day aged rib eye steaks to a full vegetarian menu.
Where: Prescot Road, Aughton, L39 6RT
