Wirral Life February 2018 | Page 34

W REVIEWS L WOLF & LAMB by Nicky Rigby-Smith & Si Hall Situated on Banks Road, West Kirby, Wolf & Lamb is a cosmopolitan restaurant offering French and European cuisine. The restaurant is light, airy and spacious – industrially designed with re-used materials and featuring bespoke art pieces created exclusively by renowned visual company, Decent Peoples – this really adds to the relaxed atmosphere. Greeted by owners Tom and Jerome, we were seated to our table and offered the menu and wine list. The menu offers half plates – which is a great idea for smaller appetites or those who prefer small plates so we decided to try a selection of these dishes. Out first was the Scottish langoustine with octopus and avocado salad. This was a colourful, pretty and delicate dish. The langoustine came served on a bed of avocado salad with grapefruits, apple and passion fruit puree. The flavour combination was awesome. We paired the dish with a refreshing glass of ‘Corte Giara’ - an Italian pinot grigio. The Wirral Life team are very fond of steak tartare so we were delighted to see this on the menu. Served Japanese style, the steak tartare came with quail egg, cucumber and chives. A rich combination of flavours – steak tartare can be bland, but this definitely wasn’t the case here. Highly recommended. We paired the dish with one of the finest Bordeaux’s, the Notre Dame de La Solitude which has notes of black cherry that punches through and nicely compliments the tartare. The Ouef Surprise was a trio of shrimps Wakame, Truffle and Iberico Morcon and is a superb take on the classic egg and soldiers dish, but with an inventive twist. Arriving in egg shell cases, each one is made using a base of finely scrambled egg and lemon cream. The shrimp wakame was divine with shrimp and super healthy Okinawa seaweed. The truffle was delicious and the Morcon, which was a mix of chorizo and cured ham was seriously tasty. As this is a slightly heavy dish, we paired with a light red wine, a Spanish grenache El Circo. Perfect! Out next was the Lobster Bisque. Served cappucino style with crystale blue prawn tempura (this is apparently one of the most popular dishes on the menu). The bisque got full marks – the flavours and consistency 34 wirrallife.com were on the money. Accompanied with the prawn tempura, the dish offered the perfect rich taste combination. We had a glass of Chablis 1ER Cru, a French chardonnay. This paired really well, cleansing the palate. Crispy soft-boiled egg served with potato, butternut and hazelnut oil. Again, another clever dish. The egg was encased in a crispy covering of potato shavings and came sat on a bed of butternut squash cream. The test here was how well the egg was cooked, when cut, the yolk oozed, perfect! We paired with a refreshing and clean, white Grenache ‘Le prelat’. Our final dish, was French pigeon with roasted vegetables and winter fruit. A very generous portion, presented beautifully and packed with deep rich flavours. We paired with a glass of Hecular, a red monastrell. Feeling super full and satisfied, we decided to give dessert a miss – and opted to try out the cocktails instead, which turned out to be a great call - these guys know how to mix - big time! Wolf and Lamb is definitely a hidden gem and a restaurant Wirral should be proud of. If you’ve not been yet, you need to. Owners, Tom and Jerome are warm and accommodating, their passion for the restaurant shines through with its relaxing atmosphere, creative menu and outstanding quality food. Wolf & Lamb has tried to create something truly different and they’ve pulled it off! In addition to the main menu, Wolf and Lamb also offer a bar menu for lighter bites and special nights such as ‘Bring your own vinyl’ on Wednesdays for Cocktails & Tapas. Overall: First class French cuisine with a clever twist. Booking is advisable: Call 0151 625 3409.