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LERPWL by Carl Housbey
Regular readers of this magazine will recall that back in December of last year I wrote a review of The Marram Grass in Anglesey and promised that I would tell you all about the Barrie Brothers new restaurant that was due to open in Liverpool ’ s Albert Dock in March 2020 . However , that was before the coronavirus pandemic and the many forms of lockdown we have all endured since , so here we are almost at the end of 2020 before I am finally able to review Lerpwl .
Ellis has been on TV many times , and is an incredibly popular Chef , especially in his native Liverpool , so when the restaurant first opened its doors in September it was almost impossible to get a table , such was the demand . I decided to wait a few weeks and booked for an early dinner so that me and Mrs GG could enjoy a full tasting menu at a relaxed pace .
In normal circumstances we would perhaps have had a few of the very interesting sounding cocktails in the bar beforehand , but as we know that is not allowed at the moment , so instead we made up for this with a few glasses of crisply chilled Nyetimber to accompany the first of our snacks which were freshly shucked oysters . We also had smoked pigs head croquettes and a freshly baked sourdough loaf with pork fat butter , all of which were superb and built up our anticipation of the main event to come .
The first main dish out of the kitchen was a torched mackerel fillet with dill emulsion , and the fish couldn ’ t have been any fresher if I had dived into the dock and caught it myself . This was so delicious that we abandoned any pretence of taking our time and wolfed it down in what felt
like thirty seconds , luckily the chefs were already preparing the smoke gun for the next course of goats cheese with beetroot , beetroot tagliatelle and hazelnuts , which both smelt and tasted amazing .
Ellis always manages to pack loads of flavour into each of his dishes , none more so than the brown crab risotto with sea herbs , that uses celeriac instead of rice resulting in one of the tastiest risottos I have ever eaten . Another very fine example is his take on a Caesar salad which contains chicken , cod , smoked eel , and a crispy fish skin to replace the croutons . However , in my opinion the best was yet to come , in the form of butter poached lobster with artichoke and a foam of shellfish bisque , absolutely mindblowing .
Our main course was a generously sized piece of dexter beef that was melt in the mouth tender , served with hen of the woods mushroom and a rich jus – we certainly weren ’ t going home hungry , in fact Mrs GG was starting to struggle and much to my delight asked me to finish the last mouthful of her beef . Luckily for her the final dessert , a magnificent bramley apple crumble souffle and custard , is served with two spoons to share , otherwise she may well have burst . Although I have to confess the buttons on my shirt weren ’ t too far from popping either .
You ’ ve now read all about our superb meal , so all that ’ s left is for you to book a table straight away by clicking on www . lerpwl . com or calling 0151 909 6241 , and don ’ t forget to DM me if you need help with the beef .
To see what else I get up to , why not follow me on Twitter @ carlhousbey
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