We visited George’s Great British Kitchen in Liverpool for a family dinner on Sunday 9th December. We’d hoped to do a bit of shopping around Liverpool first but unfortunately the weather had different ideas, so we decided to get there early and have a drink before the rest of the party arrived. Nothing much to report for a house rose and a pint of cider, except that we were charged for a bottle of wine instead of a glass. The extra was eventually taken off the final food bill at the end of the meal.
The bar area was something of a squeeze, almost shoehorned in as an afterthought. It certainly wouldn’t fit more than half a dozen people in comfortably. The layout of the restaurant area itself tried to make the most of the space it has by leaving as little room between the tables as possible. This created a very thin line between intimate and intrusive. There are booths available in a raised area made up to look like beach huts named after various seaside resorts around Merseyside. These were a positive addition to the visual aspect of the restaurant.
Due to the size of our party we were sat on two separate tables in a more secluded area of the restaurant, although two other couples were sat quite close to us and were visibly unhappy at being sat near such a large group. Our drinks order was taken quickly and arrived in good time, especially given the size of the order. On perusal of the menu things seemed positive. There looked to be an effort to offer the familiar with a twist, ‘Wild Ocean Cod in an Onion Bhaji Batter’, ‘George’s Full English Pie’ & ‘Mushy Pea Fritters’. I went for the black pudding scotch egg with brown sauce. On arrival I was disappointed to see that it had been ‘deconstructed’, a sad modern fad only done well by the most creative and talented of chefs. A patty of sausage meat mixed with black pudding had been fried and worked as a bed for a fried egg and a small blob of brown sauce lay on the side of the plate. My overall experience was of salt, salt and a bit more salt for good luck. The patty was hugely over seasoned, taking away any chance of tasting the sausage meat or black budding. The egg was a fried egg, nothing more. A few drops of truffle oil could have elevated the ordinary to something a little more special. Tasting the brown sauce I got the impression of HP rather than homemade. In a place that is trying hard to be quirky I expected the brown sauce to at least be homemade, not a lot to ask really. If it is homemade then someone needs to put the vinegar bottle down when doing so. All in all a disappointing start to the meal.
For the main I ordered the ‘Winner Winner Chicken Dinner Pie’. This was served with a Yorkshire pudding, chips and peas. I had visions of a pie filled with all the ingredients of a Sunday lunch with a rich gravy cooked together. The reality was a pie case that had been filled with ingredients that had been cooked separately then placed in the pie case afterwards. Correct me if I’m wrong, but that is not how pies are cooked. The pie casing was incredibly dry, and whereas the starter was overly salty, this was devoid of any seasoning at all. Although the ingredients had been cooked well there was no flavour at all. The two small pieces of chicken were still quite moist but didn’t taste of anything. The gravy had a very Bisto vibe to it rather than a sauce made lovingly by the chef. The chips, like the pie, had no life in them at all. Even a sprinkle of salt and vinegar couldn’t revive them. All I can say about the peas is that they were cold when on arrival, more than just a rookie mistake, unforgivable. Nothing here to make up for the disappointing starter.
We didn’t stay for a pudding, electing instead to call in to the sweet shop further down the high street. All in all an underwhelming experience in a venue that needs to do more then just rely on it’s location. A special mention for our waiter who did an excellent job of looking after what was a difficult party to keep on top of due to it’s size. He was always on hand and took orders with efficiency and haste while maintaining a smile and plenty of humour.
£323 for 15 (4 children & 4 teenagers) including drinks.
6.5/10
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