Sunday Afternoon Quickie: Wreckfish, Liverpool

Wreckfish in Liverpool opened a few weeks ago.  I was already a fan of Gary Usher’s other three restaurants Hispi, Burnt Truffle and Sticky Walnut, so I made sure to book in quick at Wreckfish.

What these restaurants do well is high end, interesting food at really affordable prices in simple, attractive contemporary venues.

Wreckfish is in a lovely old building in the centre of Liverpool, inside there’s lots of exposed brick and it has a cool industrial feel.  It’s really classy.

I went for crispy lamb’s tongue with pear puree and roasted peanuts for starter, and I attempted to balance out my meat consumption by having a vegetarian main of roasted turnip cakes and I finished with a dark chocolate and blackberry mousse for pudding.

The crispy lamb’s tongue was spot on, deliciously cooked and I loved the peanuts and puree that went with it.

I was less keen on the turnip cakes.  It was a bit of a non dish, nothing wrong with it, but it was just a bit bland and more like a side dish.  To the restaurant’s credit, they were very eager to hear our thoughts on the food and relayed back to the chef that I was disappointed with my main.

Jamie’s main, which was a roast beef dinner, was absolutely glorious though (see feature photo).  I got very involved in helping him eat his dinner having lost interest in mine.  I can honestly say it’s one of the best roasts I’ve ever eaten.

And I ended on a high as I was very pleased with my dark chocolate and blackberry mousse – just a very fresh and tasty pud!

All in all, I think it’s a brilliant restaurant, the staff were lovely, and the food (bar the turnip cake) was exceptional and great value for money.

wreckfish Crispy lambs tongue 
Crispy lambs tongue
wreckfish Turnip cake
Turnip cake
wreckfish Dark chocolate and blackberry mousse
Dark chocolate and blackberry mousse

An Evening of Vegan Treats With Jackie Kearney

Last night I got to stuff my face with the most delightful vegan street food treats at Jackie Kearney’s book launch.

For those who haven’t heard of Jackie, she was one of the Masterchef finalists in 2011 and is a committed vegetarian.

Her latest book is called My Vegan Travels.  Jackie has travelled a lot in South East Asia and picked up a ton of great ideas for cooking vegetarian and vegan food.  Her previous book Vegan Street Food was along a similar theme, but her new book is focussed on super simple, comfort food recipes.

I got to munch my way through: shitake mushroom croquettes, bombay veg sandwiches, beetroot and watercress samosas and artichoke torta.  All rather lovely.  But the icing on the cake for me as a greedy sugar fiend, were the chai doughnuts with raspberry jam and soft pecan cookie ice-cream sandwiches (with a vegan malted coconut and blueberry ice-cream). Scrumptious.

The book looks absolutely superb, so if you want to buy an original Christmas gift for a cooking enthusiast, My Vegan Travels is a great shout.

All the photos were taken by the talented Paul Wolfgang Webster.

Jackie Kearney shitake mushroom croquettes
Shitake mushroom croquettes
Jackie Kearney bombay veg sandwiches
Bombay veg sandwiches
jackie kearney beetroot and watercress samosas
Beetroot and watercress samosas

Northern Quarter Restaurant and Bar Express Menu

It was Saturday, and we were heading into town to watch a 6pm film at Home, and fancied a light dinner out beforehand.

After a bit of a sniff about on Tripadvisor, we decided on the Northern Quarter Restaurant and Bar. Partly because we’ve both been before and loved it, but also because they have a brilliant Express Menu – 2 courses for £14.95 or 3 courses for £18.95.

4.15pm is an early dinner, but it meant that it was quite a calm, quiet time in the restaurant, which is always rather nice on a busy Saturday in town.

We only went for two courses.  Much as I would have liked a pudding, I was fixated on having a tub of ice-cream at the cinema, so held off.

Jamie had a pale ale rarebit with Goosnargh duck egg and I chose Brixham crab cakes.  Both were delicious and the presentation was lovely too.

Pale ale rarebit with Goosnargh duck egg
Brixham crab cakes

And for mains, I decided to go carb-less with a flat iron steak and a salad and Jamie chose Goan chicken, Asian slaw and chips.  I’m not a massive red meat eater, but the steak was a triumph – very melty and tasty.  Obviously I had to test Jamie’s chicken too, which was succulent and full of flavour.

Flat iron steak
Goan chicken

All in all it was great value for money and a lovely way to spend a wet and windy Saturday afternoon.  The venue is really chilled, unpretentious and classy and I love the large glass windows which look onto the old Smithfield fish markets. I don’t go back to many restaurants, because I always like to be finding new spots to write about, but this place is worth breaking that rule for.