W
L
PINION
by Carl Housbey
Cast your mind back to October 2017, the UK Government and
EU were in talks about Brexit and Gary Usher had just opened a
restaurant called Wreckfish in Liverpool after a record-breaking
campaign on Kickstarter. A year later the Brexit talks continue,
and Gary has just opened yet another restaurant after a record-
breaking campaign on Kickstarter, this time it’s Pinion in Prescot. observe the continuous stream of people who would stop to read
the menu in the window and then quickly step through the door to
book themselves a table. I could even see that a few of them were
staring longingly at my starter of torched mackerel with watermelon,
radish and pickled shallot salad, but they had no chance as it was so
delicious that I nearly swallowed it whole like a gannet.
The challenge for Pinion was to raise £50,000 in 24 hours to turn
a former Bet Fred unit into a neighbourhood bistro, and thanks to
a brilliant campaign video from Dan Burns at Natural Selection
Design together with everyone’s belief in Gary Usher the target was
smashed in less than an hour, perhaps we should get them both to
sort out Brexit next. I spotted a new dessert of profiteroles with salted caramel sauce so I
decided to give them a try, and wow was I glad that I did, the choux
pastry was as light as a feather with a wonderfully crunchy texture on
the outside, and I did intend to ask the pastry chef how it’s made but
forgot – never mind there is always next time. Although I still didn’t
remember on my second visit with Mrs Gastro Grazer as I was too
busy telling the chefs how much we both enjoyed the duck.
The name Pinion was chosen for the restaurant in recognition of
Prescot’s history of manufacturing parts for clock and watchmaking,
and it is tempting to imagine that some of those parts may have been
used by the watchmakers based in the building that is now Wreckfish
in Liverpool. One thing that certainly links the two restaurants is the
quality of the food and the high standard of service.
Those of you who’ve eaten at any of the other Elite Bistro’s will find
several familiar dishes on the menu including the perennial favourite
of many, the braised featherblade of beef with parmesan and truffle
fries, this time served with broccoli and a celeriac puree. I find it
almost impossible to resist this dish as it is absolutely packed with
flavour and the meat is so tender it just falls apart, that combined
with the rich stickiness of the sauce makes it so satisfying. In fact, I
had to visit twice in one week just so that I could order something
different for this article.
My initial visit was for the very first lunch service during the soft
opening week, and as Mrs Gastro Grazer couldn’t get away from
work, I was dining alone, which gave me plenty of opportunity to
40 wirrallife.com
This is a dish that is designed to share, as it is a whole roast duck
served with salsa verde and a generous portion of buttered baby
potatoes, so you won’t be going home hungry. The presentation is
spot on with the thickly sliced duck breast and confit legs placed on a
platter in the middle of the table to serve yourself from, or even sneak
a few extra slices when your other half isn’t looking (I hope Mrs GG
isn’t reading this). Everything was perfectly cooked and it tastes as
good as it looks, with the salsa verde providing a nice contrasting
piquancy to cut through the richness of the duck.
All in all this is another very fine addition to the steadily growing
Elite Bistro’s of the World and provides the same high standards
of food and service that we have come to expect from one of Gary
Ushers restaurants so I suggest you take a look at the menu and then
reserve a table by clicking on www.pinionbistro.com or by telephone
on 0151 493 0660.
Why not follow me on Twitter @carlhousbey to see what else I get up
to.