Reviews in Liverpool City Centre

Etsu The current food trends do not favour Japanese food. At the moment people are supposedly looking for seasonal, local, sustainable and above all cheap food and it doesn’t tick those boxes. The conveyor belt restaurant thing never worked for me. You are never sure of what half the dishes are or how long they have been out and while the individual plates seem cheap when added together it is a pricey meal. There are better ways to eat Japanese food, like Etsu. Etsu is near to Albert dock but on a side street. It is easy to miss, even though it is has a little Japanese garden and there are smells of ginger and soy wafting out. Inside there are about a dozen tables so it is a good idea to book. The decor is not over the top oriental kitsch but the room does suffer from having very little natural light. In order to confuse customers the toilets are unisex, so you really feel that you have wondered into the wrong section. The menu has starters, mains courses and desserts , which is unusual as Japanese food normally consists of lots of little dishes brought to the table together. My dining partner loves sushi and I have never seen him happier than stuffing his face in the sushi bars of San Francisco. We didn’t order starters and he charged into the sushi list ordering prawn California rolls and three types of Nigiri sushi; pickled mackerel, barbecued eel and raw scallops. He also went for a mixed sashimi (raw fish) selection. I ordered a chicken katsu which is chicken in tempura batter and served with sticky rice and salad. I don’t often order chicken in restaurants because it is impossible to tell what kind of life it led. I have no idea what they did to this chicken but by God it was tender. It was as far removed from a frozen, battered chicken piece as a roast rib of beef is from a fast food burger and I loved it. The sauce drizzled over it tasted of barbeque sauce and was too sweet. My partner was served the most exotic California rolls I have ever seen. Usually they are a bit of avocado, cucumber and either prawns or roe, surrounded by pickled rice and wrapped in seaweed. Here the seaweed was in between the rice and prawns and rolled in sesame seeds. This sort of inside out sushi is uramki-zushi, according to a book I consulted . My partner didn’t say if he preferred this style but he ate it with a blissful look. I tried a bit of tuna sashimi, it was fresh but cut too thinly, I like the density of oily fish. The serving of scallop was very pretty but tiny . Overall he was delighted. Despite having eaten enough to feed a regiment he still wanted a pudding. I declined; desserts are not traditional in Japan so they are never the chef’s strong point. The dessert special was a sort of coffee flavoured sponge roll . He said “It was bloody delicious” The staff were efficient and polite. I thought the waitress was very helpful, telling us what each dish was, however my partner thought she was just a little patronizing. She told us, with pride, that all the fish was flown in from the Indian and Pacific Oceans daily. If you want to cut down on food miles avoid this place. According to some grim estimates tuna will be extinct within 20 years but as rice and seaweed are plentiful vegetarian sushi has a future. The greatest dsiappointment of this restaurant was the wine list. There is an extensive list of bottled beers but like all bottled beers they are pricey. There are about 4 whites and 4 reds, all of which were brand names available in supermarkets for £10 or less. As a restaurant they should have something more imaginative. They do have a range of saki both by the bottle and in little flasks. My partner had a 125 ml of the house saki and thought it served too warm but otherwise liked it served warm and very much liked it. The bill was £53.80 for two with one bottle of house white at £9.95 for a meal this good, in pleasant surroundings with good staff it excellent value. Japanese food is never and it was my choice to go with a bottomless pit.

Fantastic food, fast simple service. Great value for money if you control what you spend, all the plates are different colours to make it easier to tell how much you spend!! Lots of variety, my brother came with me who really doesn't like sushi but there was loads of hot food offers for him and he went back the after!!! The restaurant is the best I've seen in Liverpool 1 really colourful and clean with these bright orange lights. Definitely one of my favorite places (especially as I just found out everything is only £2.20 on Mondays)

My favourite Indian restaurant in Liverpool, food's really nice and the price is very reasonable. Staff are very nice too. Sai Rating 9/10

Have been on a few evenings for tapas and the food is always excellent. Very reasonable priced. The staff are so friendly and helpful, thanks!

Great place, tasty food, friendly staff and a favourite restaurant of mine. I would recommend it to anyone on a low budget because you get lots of food for very low prices.

Just returned from a meal at Host and sadly disappointed. Having spoken in detail to our attentive waiter and discussing my hate of spice and chillies, I felt assured that my meal (chicken thai green curry with aubergine) would be freshly cooked to order and have no chillies in it. When my meal arrived it was EXTRA spicy!!! our lovely waiter came to see how we were getting on and was very helpful in returning my meal to the chef. Having overheard the chef tell our waiter that the curry was the hottest on the menu I was confused??? Had i mis heard that i could order a dish that would be mild tasty and cooked fresh?? or i had there been a lack in training with the new staff??? I was left feeling a little embarrassed. When the meal was sent back to me, the dish had not been remade fresh but had extra coconut milk. Sad to say i will not be visiting Host again and will be returning to the delicious and freshly cooked TOKYOU (berry street next to richer sounds).

Really Disappointing!! Ive been here a few times in the past and i couldn't of recommended it highly enough.. I went today and they tried to pass off a little piece of chicken a handful of sweetcorn a spoon full of mash and 3 half's of boil potato. This meal wouldn't of fed a child never mind 2 adults! will not be going here again seem to be cutting back on presentation and high standards of food to feed there back pockets. Would not advise - 2 tables up and left due to poor quality of food.

I ate at The Quarter and as always, the food was superb, the atmosphere was great and the waitresses were friendly and efficient. My only concern was the state of the toilets. One of the two female toilets was out of order, as it has been for over a year, and the other was not very clean and the bin was overflowing. There was nowhere to put or hang my bag and I didn't like to balance it on the sink as it was soaked and messy. I do hope the management can resolve this problem as several of my friends have also commented on the state of the toilets when they have been there. It's the only down side in an otherwise excellent restaurant.

I go to Gusto a couple of times a months and always thoroughly enjoy the experience !

Out for a Birthday Treat before a Theatre visit,My friend and I thought we would try this eaterie. It was just before 6pm Friday eve.The Restaurant was I would say 30% full...so there were an abundance of empty tables { I know some were Reserved...but many were not! } As soon as I mentioned to the waiting "Greeter" waitress we were interested in the early eve meal deal...she said we have no Tables. But I may be able to fit you in sitting outside....where as we all know who dine out frequently, is where the Smokers sit! As we are not smokers this was unsuitable. I was disappointed in there attitude...However The Quarter around the corner accommodated us and we had a fantastic meal...will I go to dine at Ego again.. NO!

I have always been of the thought-of-mind that you go to a pub for beer, and a restaurant for food, full stop! Not any more..... I must recommend the shoulder of lamb, served in a mint and rosemary sauce, with a compliment of mashed potatoes, carrots and brockly. The shoulder of lamb was so thick I wondered if I was going to be able to finish it. However, once I tasted it I knew it would not be a problem at all. The lamb was so well cooked that it just flaked off the bone and was a complete delight. The gravy was as if it came from a 5-star restaurant and the carrots and brockley was absolutely cooked to perfection. Being diabetic, type 2, I have to watch what I eat a little more than most, but I can say without doubt, I will definitely be back again for this meal. I would add, I felt I could marry whoever cooked this wonderful dish, be they female or male! Derry. Liverpool.

The food was lovely, nice decor and polite and friendly service. It was very quiet but perhaps to be expected early on a Wednesday evening. Would highly recommend the chips...very tasty!

£98 for poppadoms (wrong ones delivered) 2 starters (very good) 2 mains (quite good but wrong rice delivered) 1 pint and a bottle of wine. And then the final insult being asked to move to the bar because they were busy before we had finished our drinks. Wont be there again,

An excellent value establishment providing quality produce with attentive staff throughout. A pleasure to dine here and we will be back !!

food was really good, lovely service, nicely decorated, the only thing i found disappointing is that the main meals don't come with rice you pay separate also with the soup you pay separate for the prawn crackers with are usually on the table anyway, apart from that i would recommend a visit.

Went for a family celebration. Once you accept it is not going to be a bargain basement night, I must admit I thoroughly enjoyed the evening. We chose the "2 courses for (about) £32" option. I had the lamb (with small chunks of black pudding / saute potato and something else (?), set out on the plate like a masterpiece. Almost too good to disturb, but once I did, I thought it was lovely. Others had the sea bass and the beef. One thought it was underdone (she likes things well-done), but it was taken away for a longer cook. For dessert, I had the vanilla / cherry option - again very nice. I tried a bit of the chocolate option (via daughter) which was again lovely. A couple tried the rhubarb option, finding the casing a bit tough. We were brought a couple of tasters in between courses. Parsnip soup was lovely. A dessert / sorbet was OK, but a bit tasteless to me. We had a couple of bottles of wine @ £15-20 each, which went down well. Service was excellent throughout the evening. The views were staggering, and we saw a wonderful sunset. On the whole a night to remember.

Went for a family celebration. Once you accept it is not going to be a bargain basement night, I must admit I thoroughly enjoyed the evening. We chose the "2 courses for (about) £32" option. I had the lamb (with small chunks of black pudding / saute potato and something else (?), set out on the plate like a masterpiece. Almost too good to disturb, but once I did, I thought it was lovely. Others had the sea bass and the beef. One thought it was underdone (she likes things well-done), but it was taken away for a longer cook. For dessert, I had the vanilla / cherry option - again very nice. I tried a bit of the chocolate option (via daughter) which was again lovely. A couple tried the rhubarb option, finding the casing a bit tough. We were brought a couple of tasters in between courses. Parsnip soup was lovely. A dessert / sorbet was OK, but a bit tasteless to me. We had a couple of bottles of wine @ £15-20 each, which went down well. Service was excellent throughout the evening. The views were staggering, and we saw a wonderful sunset. On the whole a night to remember.

I have been to this restaurant several times and would definitely recommend it to anyone. The food is out of this world, the staff can't do enough for you and the atmosphere is relaxing. I definitely will be back in the near future.