Food and Drink
Restaurant reviews, food and drink news
Red joins the Blue side of Liverpool
This restaurant review is by Gareth Clarke (I don’t want to be tainted as a Liverpool supporter)…
Like many footie supporters in Belfast, any time I take the short flight to Liverpool, it’s to join the red half of the city in a chorus of You’ll Never Walk Alone.
So it was with great interest that I went over to the dark side and went blue. Don’t worry, it wasn’t to cheer on Moyes and pals, but rather to have dinner in one of Liverpool’s hottest restaurants – the Blue Bar And Grill.
We arrived early on Friday and after a hard day shopping around the city, followed by a few quiet pints we made our way to the Blue Bar. The staff were very friendly and attentive to us and gave us a great seat overlooking the docks.
The restaurant is a well known celebrity spot, and it’s no wonder because the food is top notch.
Mrs C went for a starter of white crab and baby clam risotto, which was presented really well and tasted delicious – the rice still had a little bit of bite to it and the seafood was cooked perfectly. I opted for the mozzarella and sweet cheery tomato tart served with walnut and balsamic dressing. My only complaint was the starter was big enough for someone half my size.
For mains we both decided to treat ourselves to chargrilled 8oz fillet steaks both served with tomato and flat mushroom and bearmesee Béarnaise sauce with sides of chips and champ. I’ve always been a big fan of a well-done steak but this time I accepted a little pink in the middle and I can honestly say it was the best steak i’ve ever tasted. It was cooked perfectly and was tender and full of flavour.
After the main neither of us could find round for a dessert so I went for an Irish Coffee while Mrs C went for a Café Calypso. The bill would have been quite expensive but thankfully we had a voucher giving us 50 per cent off (check their website it sometimes has some great offers). So in total the whole meal came to £55, including a bottle of wine and a few beers. We went downstairs to the bar area where we had a few drinks, so the Blue Bar probably made back the money they lost out at on the dinner.
If you’re ever in Liverpool I would strongly recommend going to Blue Bar. Was a great and memorable experience. And, of course, the Reds won the next day. What else can I say?
5 Responses to “Red joins the Blue side of Liverpool”
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albarin blanco said on Thursday, February 4, 2010, 17:50
bearmesee sauce – havent come across this one before is it a scouse thing
John Ferris said on Thursday, February 4, 2010, 17:53
Ha ha Albarin, quite right too… I thought I had removed all the errors… obviously I didn’t read it too well. That should, of course, be a Béarnaise sauce
fattakin said on Friday, February 5, 2010, 9:46
Seems I was at the same game as Gareth! Only I stayed Red and went to Jamie Carragher’s restaurant ‘Cafe Sports England’ in the City Centre. I was told you need to book on game days but there was plenty of space as they also have an underground bar & resturant. Attractive from the outside with large, plate glass windows and stripped back brick walls, the inside instantly grabs you as every single wall has a plasma screen on it. Your table has one and just about every angle you look will have one. On the way back up the stairs from the loo, there are 4 placed vertically above you so you really, really can’t miss a beat. I can imagine Jamie at the design meeting “I want a plasma on very wall” and they certainly delivered.
The food is advertised as an healthy alternative and while the menu was perhaps too large to leave everything freshly cooked on the day, there was ample choice. Now I was travelling with 2 brothers & 1 nephew and they are not know for being adventurous when it comes to food. I decided on the day to join in and lower my requirements, basically I couldn’t face being the only one to order something unusual off the menu, I was having a ‘simple man’ day. So it was 4x Chicken wings all round followed by 2x Chicken Burger & 2x Aberdeen Angus Burger. I texted my wife to tell her that and she laughed, far cry for the Mourne Seafood bar’s whole John Dory the Saturday before!
The wings were really nice, appeared like they had been baked?? The meat fell off the bone and it was in a nice bbq style sauce. Generous portion of about 15 wings for £5, thoughtfully served with a moist towel that nephew tried to blow his nose with. I told you, these guys don’t get out much!
The mains arrived and looked well, served on a foccacia style square bread with lettuce, tomato & red onion. The burger itself was moist without looking at all greasy and tasted the part. The chicken breast was cut & splayed in the bun and looked great too. Draught San Miguel and sky sports news on rotation it definitely helped us get into the match mood. Taxi to the ground was only £7 and a few more snifters before the game, everyone happy. It seems like Liverpool is the last place you can still get 4 drinks in a bar and have change from a tenner!
4x Chicken Wings, 2x Aberdeen Angus, 2x Chicken Burger, 4 pints, 1 bottle beer & 3 pints of coke – £76
http://www.cafesportsengland.com/cafe_sports_menu.php
johnferris said on Friday, February 5, 2010, 10:06
Nice review Fattakin, thanks. I’m still shocked Gareth went Blue… he should be ashamed of himself!!!
303 said on Friday, February 5, 2010, 11:41
Fattakin, have been the carra golds restaurant keepa few times, the latest being when we went over for the Man City game in November 2009… Really enjoyed it… But we just fancied sumthing a bit more fancy this time! Don’t let the name (Blue Bar) full you thats were quite a few Liverpool players drink…