WRECKFISH by Carl Housbey
Earlier this year I was very fortunate to secure a booking for the Wreckfish Bistro popup which took place between February 15th- February 19th in an abandoned building on the corner of Seel Street and Slater Street in Liverpool’ s Ropewalks district. Tickets for the event were limited to 30 guests each night and were in such demand that they sold out within 10 minutes of being released.
Wreckfish Bistro is intended to be the latest restaurant from Gary Usher, who many will know as the man that keeps us all entertained on Twitter with his very forthright and amusing opinions about TripAdvisor, and the rest will know from his restaurants Sticky Walnut in Hoole, Burnt Truffle in Heswall, and Hispi in Didsbury.
The concept of the popup was to raise public awareness ahead of his latest Kickstarter campaign which is aiming to raise £ 200,000 towards the cost of making Wreckfish Bistro a permanent feature on the Liverpool dining scene.
We went along on the last day to see how everything had gone so far and to sample the set menu on offer. The menu was an ambitious six course tasting menu, I say ambitious because remember this is an abandoned building with no electricity, gas, or running water!!
When we arrived, we were greeted by Gary’ s ever friendly General Manager Emma, and shown to our places amongst the other guests at a long communal table. This was a great idea as it gave everyone the chance to talk each other and share a common love of Gary and his food, so within minutes the place was filled with excited, friendly banter.
To start, we were served a deliciously creamy cauliflower soup accompanied by focaccia, sourdough and rye bread. Next up was a Sea Bass Ceviche with pomegranate, lime and crispy kale. I am a fan of Ceviche, but this one was particularly good with fabulously fresh Sea Bass and that lovely citrusy hit of lime to make your palate zing.
The first couple of courses lasted no time at all, as everyone had wolfed them down greedily, but this meant we had time to watch the chefs perform an impromptu pyrotechnic display while they flame grilled Sea Bream, before serving it to us on a bed of courgette spaghetti with taramasalata and parsley oil.
Meat lovers amongst the guests, myself included, were very happy with the beautifully tender venison served with a prune puree, red cabbage, juniper and a light dusting of chocolate. This lead us onto our dessert of a deliciously bitter dark chocolate tart, which was complimented superbly by the sweet homemade honeycomb, and hazelnut praline cream.
If my experience at the popup is anything to go by, then Wreckfish will be a roaring success, but there is the not insignificant sum of £ 200,000 to raise first. This is a lot of money, but I am certain that Gary’ s loyal following, together with the famously generous people of Liverpool will be digging deep when the time comes.
The campaign starts on 2nd May, so keep an eye on www. kickstarter. com and www. wreckfish. co for more details.
34 wirrallife. com