Review: Marco Pierre White Steakhouse Bar & Grill [Liverpool]

Marco Pierre White, once the enfant terrible of fine dining seems to have distinctly softened of late. With contracts with a certain stock company, and a chain of restaurants, it could be argued that he’s ‘sold out’.  Do the restaurants deserve to have his name next to them?  Our northern lass Charlie put her skeptical hat on and hopped on a train to Liverpool…

Rating

Cuisine

English – with, as the name would suggest, a leaning towards the grill. 

Appeals To

Middle of the road diners,  those who believe in the MPW name, lovers of dairy (read on MacDuff), meat lovers and guests of the associated hotel.

In A Word

Marco does a James Martin

Liverpool is one of my favourite cities. I’m probably not supposed to say that, given I live in Manchester, but it’s true. Physically it’s imposing, but just like Manchester, everyone knows everybody else, everyone is interconnected, and it’s comfortable enough to walk around for the most part without getting lost. 

Marco Pierre White’s restaurant in Liverpool is situated inside the Indigo Hotel, a four star boutique hotel on Chapel Street. Five minutes away from the Echo Arena, it’s situated nicely between the city  centre and the Docks – with most of the recognised Liverpool sites just a hop, skip or jump away. 

The Ambiance

The restaurant has been recently renovated – it’s plush, glittery and glamorous. Richly furnished booths, dark wood, and lots of glitter, whilst Marco looks over the space in an almost Christ-like picture on the wall. 

The Food & Drink

As the name would suggest, meat is heavy on the menu. We selected items from the A la Carte menu with very mixed results. 

The sourdough that formed part of both our starters didn’t seem very… sourdoughy. Yes, I know that’s not a word, but there was no flavour to the bread, though the texture was good. Even the Welsh Rarebit I sampled seemed lacking in something, it was OK, but there was no richness, no depth to it, no real seasoning.

Compare that to my date’s duck rillettes. Rich and buttery and well seasoned. 

Our mains were excellent. The chicken Kiev featured a tender chicken breast filled with butter, lots of garlic and parsley. Yes, the chips could have done with a little more salt, but that was a small matter.

The rump of lamb too was delicious – tender, with flavour from the grill and soft dauphinoise potatoes. I had to argue with my date for a mouthful. You know, for expert opinion, obviously. 

It also appears, as MPW has had a hand in the entire menu (according to the website), that Marco isn’t afraid of dairy. The side dish of creamed cabbage and bacon was at least 50% cream and butter. Deliciously decadent – and it could be argued, a little reminiscent of another Yorkshire chef.

And when added to the dessert menu which features cream, butter or milk in every single option, it could be considered a nightmare for the dairy intolerant.

The Verdict

I can’t tell you if MPW has sold out. That would be hard for me to do, as I’ve never had the opportunity to sample food cooked directly by the man himself and, let’s be honest, that’s a question for his conscience, not my judgement.

The food that we sampled was good – but lacking a little… something. It’s not bad food, by any stretch, but it’s not the excellent that we’d have hoped for. It’s not the service, that was fabulous. It’s not the venue, that’s distinctly glamorous. I think perhaps it’s the simpler things that have let it down – like the Welsh rarebit and the sourdough.

Come on MPW. Give it a little heart. 

The Details

http://www.mpwrestaurants.co.uk/restaurants/steakhouse-liverpool

Chapel Street, Liverpool L3 9AG

0151 559 0555

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