The Hot 20: the most popular Liverpool restaurants

Liverpool’s award-winning, fine-dining restaurant The Art School brings together inventive Modern British cooking and an impressive historic setting.

When chef and co-owner Andrew Sheridan (who you might recognise from Great British Menu) uprooted Restaurant 8 from Birmingham and returned to the city of his birth, it was a tough blow for the Brummies. The restaurant had built up a mighty reputation in the city, being awarded three AA Rosettes. But it was excellent news for Liverpool.

The name says it all: La Famiglia Bar & Restaurant is a family-run outfit serving fresh, traditional Italian cuisine rethought, using the finest ingredients. It’s also The Best Restaurant in the North West according to the 2024 Italian Awards.

The manifesto at industrial-chic restaurant and wine bar Manifest is ‘seasonal plates and famous Liverpool hospitality’, with the Modern British menus regularly changing to reflect both local produce availability and the wines that will be matched to the food.

Nord is a real asset to Liverpool’s dining scene. Housed in a bit of an unlovely 1960s office block – the former HQ of Littlewoods – the building has had some serious TLC. Now the subtle décor has shades of Mad Men rather than The Fall And Rise of Reginald Perrin with pendant lights, earthy tones and a statement orange bar.

Barnacle is a Modern British bistro from Paul and Harry Askew. It may be a step down from The Art School’s fine dining but it offers hearty, honest and accessible cooking with big flavours. Local produce is celebrated on a menu that showcases the best of the land and sea.

There’s a bonhomie and a sense of welcome at Vetch, marking it out as a friendly neighbourhood restaurant and simultaneously one of the best fine dining establishments in Liverpool.

Permit Room is a relaxed all-day dining spot with everything from coffee to cocktails. It’s by Dishoom so you can expect punchy Indian flavours and popular small plates.

With simple, regularly changing menus to showcase the best seasonal ingredients available at market, you can expect carefully prepared plates of stylish food at this equally chic wine bar and bistro tucked away on a ‘secret’ jigger just off bustling Castle Street. 

Voyagers in The Halyard Liverpool is in the league of hotel restaurants that become a destination in their own right. A sophisticated and well-travelled menu of small plates combined with inviting modern design make it a standout addition to the Ropewalks. Expect an individual take on cool, casual dining.

Hawksmoor Liverpool opened in the beautiful Grade II-listed India Buildings, to much excitement in late 2022.

Tavern Co Social is the new city centre opening from the popular Smithdown Road operator. It brings cheap eats, live sport and massive breakfasts to Water Street making it a popular destination for matchday meet-ups or next-day recovery sessions.

With impressive reviews in the local and national press, Belzan is a Smithdown Road destination. Its whitewashed walls and plain interior belie the skill and complexity on the menu. Think wines and small plates but done better than most other places.

Squished on the cusp of the Knowledge Quarter and the Georgian Quarter and resident in the old Flying Picket since 2015, Buyers Club is a neighbourhood bar and kitchen-restaurant, complete with gallery, garden with coffee and spritz kiosk, and even an intimate music venue.

Shrimp & Co is riding the wave of messy seafood boil and platter places where gloves are de rigeur and messy chins are all part of the experience. This small Northern chain, with its platters and seafood boils, has established itself as something you must try. It’s especially tailored to group dining.

Le Viet Social is an independent Vietnamese restaurant serving up dishes that stay true to its roots. Think vibrant street food, wholesome bone broth pho, and casual favourites like banh mi or loaded fries.

One of the buzziest spots in the Georgian Quarter, Frederiks models itself on the neighbourhood bars of Brooklyn. Think casual eats, coffee and lounging, with live music and quality cocktails as the day turns into night.

Blackstock Market is a huge all-in-one food, bar and entertainment destination. It’s absolutely massive and incorporates Liverpool’s largest food hall as well as being the new home of the Hot Water Comedy Club (now the world’s largest regular comedy club space). Big laughs indeed.

Spice Thai’s smart restaurant on Castle Street (as well as a spot at Baltic Market and a newer opening on Bold Street) is a local success story, a sign of the love Liverpool has for this authentic South East Asian business. Orders are prepared by trained chefs following traditional recipes and using fresh ingredients and exotic herbs and vegetables sent directly from Thailand.

The Seaforth restaurant sits in the grand central atrium of the Municipal Hotel on Dale Street. Once the headquarters for Liverpool City Council, the hotel itself is a slice of old world glamour, and Seaforth’s décor and menu of understated excellence plays its part in this.