Last weekend we took a trip up north for a sneaky night away as treat. We stayed in the Merseyside Coastal town of Southport, maybe most famous for it’s nearby golf course, Royal Birkdale. I’ll tell you more about the town, and lovely hotel where we stayed in future post, but for now I’m going to focus on where we ate – Warehouse Restaurant.
The restaurant has been around for many years, and undergone quite a few revamps over the time. Now at the helm in the kitchen is chef Matt Worswick, who comes with positions at some excellent restaurants in his wake, including Michelin starred Glenapp Castle and Le Champignon Sauvage.
In a quirky backstreet location, the outside of the restaurant gives way to a luxuriant interior, very stylishly fitted out, with a warm and vibrant atmosphere.
From beginning to end, the staff were friendly and all seemed to know their individual jobs really well. They were attentive and pleasant without forcing their personalities upon you.
We were treated to a couple of cocktails to start with – a mix of elderflower, apple and gin, which was delicious. The have a really extensive wine list with some great affordable bottles up to the more luxurious. We had a bottle of New Zealand Pinot Noir which came in at £32 and was excellent. To nibble on while we looked through the menus some Cauliflower Beignets with Curried Mayonnaise were sublime, and it was all I could do not to stick my fingers in the mayonnaise when the cauliflower was gone.
The Warehouse offers 2 menus; a lunch and early supper menu with 2 courses for £15 and then the normal A La Carte. We ate off the former, but obviously went for a pud as well!
To start I chose Miso Sticky Ribs with Coriander Salad, while Lee went for the Ham Hock Terrine with Piccalilli. My ribs were succulent and juicy, and the meat came off the bone easily whilst the glaze was sticky sweet and delicious. The coriander salad was a hit with me too – shredded mooli, carrot and cucumber, vast amounts of coriander with a thai style sweet, sour and spicy dressing – one of my favourite things. I couldn’t fault it. Similarly with Lee’s starter, he declared the piccalilli probably the best he had ever had!
For my main I chose the Cod Scampi, Duck Fat Chips, Tartar Sauce. The cod was very well cooked, and the tartar sauce of good quality. They paid attention to detail well – the lemon was wrapped in muslin to stop the seeds falling on your food. And the duck fat chips, well, no more need be said. Yum. Lee’s Sirloin Steak, Peppercorn Sauce, Watercress Salad, Roasted Tomatoes, Duck Fat Chips was a perfect cooked medium rare, and the peppercorn sauce really decent too. If you’re feeling even more extravagant, the sound of the A La Carte menu is amazing as well, for example Beef Tartare, Wasabi Cream, Garlic or Braised Lamb Neck, Lamb Bacon, Roast Apricot, Toasted Almonds!
Moving on to puddings and possibly they were they best course of the night!
I had Chocolate Délice, Burnt Milk Ice Cream, while Lee went for Strawberry Parfait, Shortbread, Elderflower Sorbet. The delice was light as air and the ice cream had a wonderful flavour to it. Lee said that the sorbet with his dessert was fabulous, and the flavour of the strawberry in the parfait was really intense.
Overall our meal at The Warehouse was really fabulous from start to finish. Those lucky enough to live nearby who haven’t been, what are you waiting for? And to everyone else…get planning a trip up north!
http://www.warehouserestaurant.co.uk
Disclosure: We were invited to dine at the restaurant free of charge as their guests. We were not required to write a positive review. All opinions are our own, and as usual, if there’s something I didn’t like, I’d tell you about it!