Reviews in Liverpool and Merseyside

I recently visited Kasbah Cafe

Hidden gem is an oft used phrase to describe something which is usually not a gem at all, just something different. The Grill Room though is a true gem of a restaurant and whilst it is hidden from the well beaten city centre tracks, it is destined to become THE place to eat in town.Owned by husband and wife team Stewart and Maisie St John, The Grill Room on Muirhead Avenue quite simply gets everything right. From the moment of welcome to paying the bill, this is the kind of superlative experience that the North of the city has been crying out for. It is a venue that you want to shout about from the rafters, but are desperate to keep quiet about because you always want to be able to get a table. The ambiance is convivial and the front of house team have mastered the art of being attentive without being obtrusive. The very best way to describe the service when we visited was that they provided an excellent dining experience but I didn’t see them doing it. Maisie and her team have mastered the skill of making you feel like the most important of important customers, without the cloying gushiness that seems to have crept in at a large number of establishments . Anyone who has visited a Marco Pierre White establishment recently will recognise The Grill Room’s style which combines elements of Michelin standard fine dining with good hearty eating. There is not a whiff of over technical, intimidatingly fanciful cuisine; just an honest combination of local, in season produce and real culinary skill which give the diner the very best eating experience. The menu contains a select band of mouth watering dishes and that is the only difficulty you will experience – choosing what to have from the well balanced and easily understood descriptions of the fare on offer. The difficulty of choice is further compounded by a Specials Board with even more tantalising dishes to select from. Whatever you choose you can be sure it will not disappoint.It must have been a leap of faith for Stewart and Maisie to open a new restaurant in the middle of a financial crisis and in a part of the city which is not generally associated with fine dining. But the mastery of the front of house team coupled with the undoubted talent in the kitchen, mean this little acorn will soon become a mighty oak - and in years to come, I will proudly boast to anyone that will listen, that I was there at the beginning.

Fancy trying a new restaurant in St Helens ?For somewhere different we tried the Sheesh on Saturday 10th March 2012, for Ryan's birthday.Eddie and his team gave us a warm welcome , great service, and above all the most fantastic freshly prepared food....great value too.Loved the open kitchen !We will certainly be going back.

Highly recommended gorgeous food great entertainment,fast and attentive service,ill be back many times for sure :-D

Talk about hidden gem,we had already enjoyed a few fun evenings at the bar at the Sink which succeeds in capturing both a cool New York vibe and a laid back Mediterranean flavour, however we were yet to sample the food. Wow, after having selected four tapas for £10 which consisted of hoisin duck wraps, mini fajitas,meze platter and skin on chips and dips all three of us were amazed at the portion size and quality . Not a chip was left and whilst we were accompanied by a fabulous acoustic guitarist we found out about the 3 course Sunday roast for £8 which is now top of our to do list. I thoroughly recommend this cool and trendy venue which certainly delivers.

Went as recommended by several friends - great venue and chilled atmosphere but bit disappointed with food - it was nice but portion sizes were pretty poor - expensive for what we got??

What a superb restaurant , food was amazing and the staff and service was excellent. I would highly recommend this place. Small but very inviting and charming.

lovely the staff are really polite

Overpriced, extremely bland for Thai food, and on the second attempt (to give it a chance to redeem itself, we love Thai food), also caused an immediate and uncomfortable gastric reaction (down, not up) before even leaving the restaurant.

We went to Sheldrakes Feb 2012.This was one of the worst Sunday lunches I have ever had. We normally do not dine out of a Sunday as we do enjoy our Sunday roast at home,however occasionally I do like the day off as so we go out. I was so disappointed. Chicken thighs on the carvery ??Frozen Yorkshire pudding, the beef was so rare it was sat in a puddle of blood on the plate. It was terrible. On the up side the service was good but I can get service with a smile at home.

Just wanted to send a quick message to the team to let everyone know and see how much we enjoyed our meal at Gusto last night. There were 5 of us, it was the first time for us all eating with you. We were served by Stephen who was absolutely fantastic. Really professional, friendly and made sure we had a wonderful time. We will most definitely be returning, often!

I was looking forward to visiting Prego and was totally disappointed we never even got to order any food as the server was very rude, when we arrived there was a large table eating and only another 2 people in the whole place, I asked could we sit on the balcony and was told it did not open sundays so we sat on a table which sat 4 people even though there were only 2 in our party, we ordered drinks whilst looking at the menu when we had decided on our food a member of staff came over and said we were not allowed to sit at the table for 4 as there were only 2 of us I asked why it was such a problem as the place was empty and he just shrugged his shoulders and said it might get busy, we said we would leave it then and he did not say a word, I will never return to Prego again as your customer service is shocking and lets face it if it is so busy why don't have the balcony open.

Excellent service and excellent food!

Had heard good reviews and brother decided to book for 6 of us last Sat evening. Being within an easy walk from the station was an added bonus for my Mum. Terrific immediate ambience when we arrived. Great attentive staff and wonderful food. Great menu - I think that restaurants that have extensive menus fall foul of trying to present too much. This menu offered something for all and made selection relatively easy. All of us chose excellent starters and mains. We'll certainly be back, next time with the wife - I'm sure she'll be as equally appreciative as we all were! Mark 5Mar12

just went to delifonseca in Stanley street for a bite to eat.it was recommended to me by a relative.O M G the food is FAB my mouth wasn't prepared for the rollercoaster ride of flavours from starter through to dessert.will be going back for sure and recommending it to all my friends.the service was very good,the waitress was very friendly polite and attentive.thank you very much for a lovely dining experience.

Excellent Indian meal ! Took elderly parents who don't eat many Indian meals to which the waiter guided them through the menu, fantastic night! Highly recommend.

My friends and i went to the Kasbah Bizarre, for my birthday meal, and i have to say it is one of the most amazing restaurants and probably one of the best meals i and my friends have ever had! As soon as you walk in through the door your no longer in Liverpool your in Morroco with tastefully decorated ambiance, beautiful aroma's that are breath taking, A warm and friendly greeting were you are made to feel special. we had the platters an tagines and kofta's, we didn't speak much while eating as the food was so delicious! Aromatic mint tea complimentary! Myself and my friends work in the hotel industry and all agreed we would highly recommend the KASBAH BIZARRE to any of our guests who are looking for something different, we will be returning to this fabulous restaurant as couldn't fault anything, absolutely amazing!! as my friend kerry kept saying last night love this so unique,! We all loved it x

My wife and I visited Forge Brasserie today 02/03/2012 to celebrate my wife's birthday and our anniversary. We have been to this restaurant before and were not disappointed. Tara who served us was charming, there when we needed her and invisible when we didn't. The food was excellent as it was on our last visit.