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60 Hope St (Restaurant)

60 Hope St, Liverpool L1. Tel: 0151 707 6060

Update: (see below for original review) My recent visit to 60 Hope St was very enjoyable, and so I was only too pleased to return, this time with a larger party. This was a midweek visit, and so without Colin Manning working front of house we weren't treated to a run through of the menu downstairs in the bar. In fact we were left languishing with no sight of the menu for an hour. Two rounds of drinks later, we made it upstairs to the restaurant.

The dishes turned out by the kitchen were up to their previous high standard. Worthy of mention was smoked salmon with crème frâiche, caviar and beetroot, an interesting starter that was well matched by the Didier Dagueneau Pouilly Fumé Pur Sang 2000, which was just as enjoyable as my last tasting. My repeat visit to this wine reflects, however, a deterioration in choice at 60 Hope Street. Not necessarily a bad thing, but accompanied by deterioration in quality as well - the disappearance of Ernst Loosen's Rieslings the saddest loss - it is more worrisome. I hope the wine list receives a boost before I next return. My main course, roast rack of lamb, was also extremely good, and this I paired up a Chinon from Charles Joguet. Joguet, run by Alain Delaunay and Michel Pinard, is one of the most celebrated winemakers of the Loire Valley.I was looking forward to the 1996, but the 2000 arrived. I decided to accept the wine. On pouring it seemed a little muted, but within five minutes or so the wine was clearlydisplaying the aroma of TCA. I sought a replacement. When this arrived we were now some way into our meal, and unfortunately we had a repeat experience - after a few minutes or so it became clear that this wine too was corked. This was a great shame, as it put a real dampener on the evening, although the blame lies with Charles Joguet and his cork supplier rather than 60 Hope Street. I wasn't at all impressed, however, when on sending back the second bottle the head waiter returned with the platitude "..this is just a strongly flavoured wine..". Nevertheless, this was the only glitch on the part of 60 Hope Street, and I am willing to overlook this from a well meaning waiter whose wine knowledge was far outweighed by his courtesy at table. 60 Hope Street remains, at present, a Winedoctor recommendation.

Prices: as below.

My previous visit:

This was my first visit to the restaurant proper at 60 Hope Street. Despite hearing numerous good reports, my enthusiasm for visiting has been tempered by two less than enthralling experiences in the bistro downstairs. Nevertheless, a string of awards (Lancashire Life Restaurant of the Year, Mersey Tourism Board Restaurant of the Year 2001 & 2002, and so on) suggested that I should really see what this place is about.

We visited on a Saturday evening, and were met downstairs by Colin, one of the two brothers running this establishment, who works the front of the house. As we sipped aperitifs (including a glass of one of the three house whites, a pleasing AC Touraine with fresh lime-fruit nose and clean palate) Colin ran through the menu plus specials for the evening with a wonderful touch of theatre. Not too long after making our selections we were escorted upstairs to our table, where there were many pleasing sights. Modern decor and fittings contrast with an original wooden floor, and crisp starched linen adorn the tables. A selection of stemware, of appealing shape and size, completes the picture. The evening was full of promise.

My starter of Paprika king prawns with Piemontese peppers and sun-dried tomatoes was good, subtly spiced, but with each of the ingredients coming through with its own distinct, rich flavour. Crab spring rolls with a small pot of Asian sauce were also very good. Things only got better with the arrival of our main courses. Breast of pheasant on creamed Savoy cabbage and pancetta was a delight, although I must levy a minor criticism - the pheasant was a little dried out on one side. It was served with delicious glazed roast potatoes and a lightly textured but intensely flavoured jus. Pan-fried salmon with a risotto was also extremely good. Accompanying these courses we had the following:

Didier Dagueneau Pouilly-Fumé Pur Sang (Loire) 2000: Fresh and vibrant nose, rich with citrus and lychee fruit. Similar impression on the palate, but with a mineral complexity. There is a fat, rounded, mouthfilling texture, offset by marvellous acidity. 17/20 (20/2/03)

This was one of many tempting wines listed, with a good range of styles and prices. The list is well laid out, and packed with information - grower, appellation, vintage, the lot. Other than mistakenly locating Dagueneau in Austria (?!) I cannot fault this list. A delight. To round off the meal I chose a plate of caramelised apples and pears with pine nuts, wafers and crème fraiche, and I also sampled some of the peanut butter brulee with roast bananas. Both were excellent, and were washed down with a stickie:

Willi Opitz Goldackerl Beerenauslese (Neusiedlersee, Austria) 2000: Rich golden hue. Some tropical fruits and good botrytis on the nose. Sweet, a touch unctuous on the palate, with acidity sufficient but on the low side. No great complexity at present, but very enjoyable. 15.5/20 (20/2/03)

Naturally coffee ensued, and this gave me a chance to reflect on my evening. On the basis of this evidence, 60 Hope Street is head and shoulders above the competition, in Liverpool at least. The praise I have heard heaped on this establishment is well deserved, as it is without doubt Merseyside's finest restaurant.

Prices: £40 (three courses) per head, not including drinks. Wide ranging selection of wines with prices to suit all pockets. The wines have significant mark-up but nothing out of the ordinary.

60 Hope St (Restaurant)

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