Dinner at 60 Hope Street...

Hope Street is one of my favourite places in Liverpool, due to the magnificent Georgian architecture which I could happily stare at all day. Another reason I love this area of the city is because it is populated by several rather excellent restaurants. I had already dined at many of them but I had not had the pleasure of dining at 60 Hope Street* before tonight.

The restaurant is an elegant town house style building  and upon walking in, the high ceilings and spacious feeling create an impression of grandeur. We enjoyed thick slices of farmhouse bread and butter as we settled in at our table and soaked up the ambience.

We perused the table d’hôte and à la carte menus, choosing to opt for the table d’hôte. We both chose to start the meal with the wild garlic, Jersey royal and spinach soup which was silky with plenty of subtle and satisfying flavour.

My main course of gnocchi with creamed leeks, wild mushroom, rocket and pine nuts was excellent. The gnocchi were at once crispy and fluffy whilst the wild mushroom added smoky and meaty flavour and the creamed leeks brought in a smoothness which contrasted with the crunch of pine nuts and peppery rocket.

My dining companion had Lancashire chicken breast with Lyonnaise potatoes, apple and red chard and mustard dressing which was a sophisticated dish with tender chicken, golden crispy potatoes and a zesty bite from the apple and earthiness from the red chard.

On to dessert and of course we had to succumb, especially since I had already earmarked the chocolate fondant I noticed on the specials menu. It was a fait accompli as soon as I spied the fondant on the menu that I would order it, although I was tempted by the deep fried jam sandwich with carnation milk ice cream which sounded fun and intriguing with a vaguely retro slant. Oh well, next time for that one! I chose well as the chocolate fondant with caramel ice cream was simply divine, I know it is a cliché to call a dessert indulgent but this was sin on a plate and I was not looking for redemption as my spoon met the rivers of chocolate sauce, smooth ice cream and meringue textures. Wow is all I am saying.

My dining companion looked on in envy at my fondant so I swapped him a little of my dessert for a taste of his dark chocolate tart with coconut sorbet and passionfruit curd. I had assumed that nothing could live up to the divinity of the fondant but how wrong could I have been, the dark chocolate tart ascended to equally celestial heights with a crunchy base, rich chocolate topping and tropical explosion from the coconut and passionfruit. This was a stunning plate evocative of palm trees and distant shores.

We declined coffee and we relaxed for a while whilst I uploaded several envy inducing images of the food to social media. 60 Hope Street is a treat, a restaurant where food, service and interior design are all equally good. Flavour profiles are well matched and it is clear to see a lot of thought has gone in to menu development with so many great options using seasonal and local produce. The wine lists are equally pleasing and there was a selection of dessert wines on offer too, such as the outstanding 2010 Muscat de Beaumes de Venise. I cannot think of a thing I would change about this charming and refined restaurant which has echoes of a bygone era, something of a rare treasure in this hectic modern day world.

60 Hope Street 

 Liverpool

 L1 9BZ

http://www.60hopestreet.com/

So that is all from me for now, what do you all think, would you like to dine in the grandiose surroundings of 60 Hope Street and which of these dishes would you like to try first? As always I cannot wait to hear your thoughts and thank you so much for reading this post.

Until next time,

Camille 

xo 

*Disclaimer 

I was invited to dine at 60 Hope Street, The meal was complimentary for review purposes. All opinions expressed herein are my own and honest.