Reviews in Liverpool and Merseyside

The service was excellent, and the decor and location were very special indeed. However ... From personal experience, my internal alarm bells go off when I see geometric shaped porcelain dishes and balsamic vinegar sprayed liberally all over the food. It says to me that the chef/restaurant are lacking in confidence and do not really know what they are doing. Sure enough, the alarm was going off when we were presented with our main courses. Large white rectangular plates, which were stone cold, and vinaigrette lavishly sprayed across everything. That the plates were cold was very important, as the vegetables were small and thin. The portion size was small (more on that in a moment). Consequently, from the very moment the plates were set on the table, the food was cold. Everything... completely cold... One dish was the "Duroc iron age" pork, the other was the sirloin of "Bowland charlais beef". One the plus side, the vegetables were perfectly cooked, if completely cold. If you think of it as a salad, then you will be quite satisfied. The Duroc pork was dry and very, very chewy. I'm used to this breed of pig giving a succulent and very tasty meat. But this was bland, and tough work too! In a similar fashion, the beef was if anything even chewier! I know the tendancy is to hang this meat for up to 20 days, which will have the tendancy dry out moisture, but this was quite extreme. If it had been over-hung, making it too dry, then I would be happy to experience a more intense taste (hanging increases flavour). But this beef was dull and bland. Had the meat been frozen for a long time, I wondered. Another poor point was the portion size, which has been mentioned elsewhere. For 20 pounds I recieved two pieces of pork, one the length and breadth of a tablespoon, the other smaller. Not much for your cash. The beef was also a small two piece arrangement, this for 24 pounds. And both the pork and beef were cold. And i do not mean luke-warm, i mean cold. If this was they way they preferred to serve dishes in the London Carriage works, they really should mention it in the menu. Perhaps our jaw muscles were grateful for the small portion size, but my wallet felt empty, and my stomach cried out for more! Regretfully, we did not complain, because my partner does not like a scene. It really was a case of presentation above quality and taste. Seeing the other glowing reviews here, I can only hope that this was an off-night. -And I hope other diners have a better experience.

This place rocks. Great food at the right price. We ate from the pretty pea menu.........what a deal!

If you like a relaxed atmosphere, excellent service, reasonable prices and great quality fantastic food. Then like me you will love ETSU, because simply it is all that. Try it! Once you go once believe me, you will be back for seconds. (i have)And the toilets WOW.

A number of work colleagues and myself decided to try out the lunchtime menu at the Panoramic. Entrance to the restaurant is suitably impressive as you are greeted by spectacular panoramic views of Liverpool City Centre and beyond. The restaurant certainly lives up to it's name in this respect. This raised our expectations and on first impressions, the staff's polite and helpful manner appeared to live up to this. As expected with restaurants of this genre, the food was minimal but delicious until I found a hair in my main meal. I reported this to the waiter however after that I heard no more about it. I did not pursue the matter as we were celebrating a colleague's birthday and I didn't want to spoil the day. In addition the waiter was initially eager to ensure we did not pour our own wine however we were then left waiting with empty glasses and ended up refilling the glasses ourselves. This is not normally a cause for complaint as far as I am concerned but I felt they were trying to offer a standard they just could not maintain. Also as this was a lunchtime menu in the midst of the office quarter of the city centre, we expected the service to be much more speedy. However meals were delivered at a decidedly leisurely pace which resulted us in being 30mins late back to the office! Also for someone who normally is sated with a sandwich or jacket spud for lunch, after eating a 3 course meal I was still left feeling hungry! I am not averse to fine dining but for £17.50 I wanted to feel full up! In summary, although it was an experience, it was more show than substance and I probably won't bother again unless it is to show guests/visitors the view.

A number of work colleagues and myself decided to try out the lunchtime menu at the Panoramic. Entrance to the restaurant is suitably impressive as you are greeted by spectacular panoramic views of Liverpool City Centre and beyond. The restaurant certainly lives up to it's name in this respect. This raised our expectations and on first impressions, the staff's polite and helpful manner appeared to live up to this. As expected with restaurants of this genre, the food was minimal but delicious until I found a hair in my main meal. I reported this to the waiter however after that I heard no more about it. I did not pursue the matter as we were celebrating a colleague's birthday and I didn't want to spoil the day. In addition the waiter was initially eager to ensure we did not pour our own wine however we were then left waiting with empty glasses and ended up refilling the glasses ourselves. This is not normally a cause for complaint as far as I am concerned but I felt they were trying to offer a standard they just could not maintain. Also as this was a lunchtime menu in the midst of the office quarter of the city centre, we expected the service to be much more speedy. However meals were delivered at a decidedly leisurely pace which resulted us in being 30mins late back to the office! Also for someone who normally is sated with a sandwich or jacket spud for lunch, after eating a 3 course meal I was still left feeling hungry! I am not averse to fine dining but for £17.50 I wanted to feel full up! In summary, although it was an experience, it was more show than substance and I probably won't bother again unless it is to show guests/visitors the view.

We were told to visit Bacchus by friends and we know we have great friends for recommending this to us. The restaurant has a friendly, welcoming atmosphere. The staff and owner are warm, friendly and appear to just want to ensure you have, not only an excellent meal but an enjoyable experience too. They catered for our party of 4 and the large party of about 30 with relative ease. We will be going back again and again! The best Greek food we've had for a while.

Fantastic food. We asked if we could order the set tapas meal normally for a minimum of 8 but there was only 4 of us. The manager was only too pleased to help. The food was beyond expectations and as someone said previously, the house rioja was magnificent. Next time i'm in Liverpool I will definitely book a table here.

Not a restaurant I would ever wish to return to unless someone takes it in hand. The atmosphere on a Saturday night was cheerless (the place was virtually empty)and it came as no surprise that apart from a table of footie fans (who left early) we were the only diners. My starter: scallops was pretentious and a rip-off @ £8.75 and my 2 companions found their b&B pud inedibly stodgy. Wines overpriced, but service willing

wrote earlier to declare this a v disappointing experience: price, atmosphere and dining wise (service acceptable). Just hope my constructive comments have been noted. Unlikely to return to Ziba!

what a restaurant, very reasonable prices, excellent service and fantastic food, i can see why it is booked up so far in advance,

Went there last night and it was fantastic. We were in a large group of 16 and the staff still managed to keep on top of the service throughout the night. Food was excellent, I recommend the Lamb Sagwala, and portions are very reasonable and the prices for what you get is brilliant. It also helps that the beer they serve is top drawer as well

We are regular customers at Ego but last night had a very poor meal. The calamari was soggy and overcooked. The venison casserole was completely overseasoned, insipid and the venison was very poor quality. We told the waitress and she told us it was the "nature of venison". I would not recommend this dish to anybody!!

the ambience in Blakes is wonderful, we went saturday 8th march for my 40th birthday. the menu could have been better although what we had was very nice. bit pricey as well. the only disappointment was the fact they have only been open a few weeks and yet a lot was unavailable on the menu, they didn't even have any brown sugar for coffee, which for those like me who like a coffee liquor was disappointing, overall quite nice

the ambience in Blakes is wonderful, we went saturday 8th march for my 40th birthday. the menu could have been better although what we had was very nice. bit pricey as well. the only disappointment was the fact they have only been open a few weeks and yet a lot was unavailable on the menu, they didn't even have any brown sugar for coffee, which for those like me who like a coffee liquor was disappointing, overall quite nice

what a restaurant, very reasonable prices, excellent service and fantastic food, i can see why it is booked up so far in advance,

i have eaten in Etsu now a few times and have got to say i think i'm addicted i have thoroughly enjoyed the warm welcome and relaxing atmosphere and the food is spectacular if your new to it like i was try the Kara Age and the tonkasu tori they are fabulous although i am trying to work my way through the menu and make sure you try the sushi it out of this world

Have eaten here several times once in the private dining area. The food is excellent as is the service. Will go back again

been going here since it opened. it is great food at very reasonable prices. love the salt and pepper ribs, if you have not been GO