Food: Bold Street Coffee x Santa Maluco Collaboration*

Food: Bold Street Coffee x Santa Maluco Collaboration*

Wednesday, 4 April 2018

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Anyone who knows me well will know that I’m an absolute fiend for good food and going out for dinner is my favourite thing to do. I love the rush of looking at a brand new menu and picking out something that looks and sounds absolutely delicious. The idea of being a ‘lady who brunches’ appeals to me on an exponential scale so any opportunity to try out a good old fashioned brunch menu goes down a treat. 

Liverpool is renowned for having a mighty fine breakfast scene with restaurants all over the city hosting their own take on the most important meal of the day. The most recent take comes from a collaboration between two renowned Liverpool favourites – Santa Maluco and Bold Street Coffee. 

I am a massive fan of Santa Maluco, making absolutely any excuse to visit for pizza and a cocktail. Bold Street Coffee is another firm favourite, with their brunches drawing in the crowds from all sides of the city. When they announced that they were closing for refurbishment reasons, naturally, disappointment and frustration was wide-spread. Opening a pop-up shop in the Santa Maluco restaurant was a bit of a no-brainer really, utilising the mornings to share good old-fashioned breakfast and keeping the pizza loving customers happy with their traditional rodizio and mouth-watering wood fire pizzas in the afternoons and evenings. Being invited along to taste their menu made for a very happy Hollie. 

With my brunch side-kick in tow, we arrived at Santa Maluco with our stomachs empty (very impressive, considering it was Easter weekend and Easter eggs were sat there waiting to be eaten) and our expectations high. We were seated quickly and it was clear to see exactly why Santa Maluca is the perfect location for a brunch pop-up – the atmosphere of the place was relaxing and very chilled out, making for a fantastic first impression.

Deciding what to order was a difficult one, as there were so many delicious sounding options to choose from. In the end both Emily and I decided on scrambled eggs on toast, with sides to accompany our dish. I decided to add bacon on the side of my dish and Emily was a little more ambitious, going for bacon AND mushrooms. We ordered lattes to accompany them – or, as Emily referred to them as; those fancy coffees that look good on Instagram- and settled down for a good gossip while we waited for our food. The wait wasn’t a particularly long one and before long we were tucking into a generous portion of scrambled eggs on fresh crusty toast. The bacon was crispy and salty, exactly how I like it and the eggs were beautiful. I always worry that I’ve ordered the wrong thing when eating out but this was definitely not the case here – the food was delightful, left me full to the brim and feeling incredibly content, ready to seize the day (and the shops). I can guarantee I’ll be definitely going back there of my own accord in the coming months, ready to try the other items on the menu and get a feel for their entire menu.

The menu offers for people of all dietary requirements, with gluten free options and options for vegetarians as well. I’m not sure how well the restaurant accommodates vegans but I’m sure they’d be happy to change things around if you follow a vegan diet. I’m completely recommend trying out the brunch menu here while you have the chance – top notch food, a lovely environment and friendly, thoughtful staff make for a wonderful and fulfilling experience. 

You can try out the Bold Street Coffee menu at its new home in Santa Maluca from 7.30am-3.30pm during the week and 8.00am-3.30pm over the weekend. 

*Food was provided in exchange for a fair and honest review. Thoughts, as always, remain my own.

Food: Tickling My Tastebuds at The Vincent Kitchen, Liverpool

Food: Tickling My Tastebuds at The Vincent Kitchen, Liverpool

Monday, 23 October 2017

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Of all the things that Liverpool is famous for, I really do believe that it’s fabulous restaurant scene is the one that is the most underrated of all. There are a wide breadth of different cuisines readily available all over the city, with no street no more populous than Bold Street if you’re looking for the perfect place to dine. Whenever I’m struggling for somewhere to eat, I tend to take a wander down Bold Street and see what tickles my taste buds the most. New to the joint, The Vincent Kitchen sits perfectly amongst well-reputed restaurants with their own personal styles and unique palettes and when I was invited to check out their new menu, I was full of optimism for a fantastic evening of food. I was not to be disappointed.

Boyfriend in tow, we arrived at the restaurant with our expectations high and our stomachs rumbling. The place has a cool, chilled out vibe, furnished to a high standard with quirky wall art and a self-serve drinks machine that offered a crazy amount of flavoured fizzy drinks. I loved the added ‘spooky’ touch that had been put in place for Hallowe’en, although Rich wasn’t best pleased with the fake (but very realistic looking!) spiders scattered around the restaurant. The restaurant has built its reputation on the fact that the vast majority of its meals and drinks are suitable for those with special dietary requirements, with vegan and gluten free options available in surplus. I personally eat a predominantly (with the exception of drunken cheese feasts) dairy free diet and I know of people close to me who eat gluten free, so already I had high hopes for the food offerings. Knowing that there were gluten free beers available as well was an additional positive.

Having perused the menu, both Richard and I decided to build our own bowls, to really get the most out of the experience. I combined rice noodles with Moroccan lamb, butternut squash and sweet potato, a teriyaki glaze and cucumber salad. The butternut squash and sweet potato was seasoned in the most delicious chilli, mint and garlic mixture, and the lamb was sweet and minty, the perfect accompaniment to the sharp teriyaki glaze. Richard went for rice noodles with Thai grilled chicken, and after discussion with the waitress over spice levels, decided to try out the recommended peanut sauce; a bit of a kick, but not one that’ll leave you senseless. He went for butternut squash, sweet potato and cucumber salad on top. We were really impressed with the standard of the food, everything was cooked beautifully and went together so well, in spite of the range in choice. You can pair your meat, fish or veg choice with a whole range of different toppings, veg accompaniments and seasonings- there really is something for everyone, no matter your preference.  

I would definitely recommend The Vincent Kitchen to lovers of Thai and Asian style food and I must say that the experience on the whole was a fantastic one and I think we’ll be heading back to The Vincent Kitchen very, very soon.

Food: Fantastico!! A night At Gino's My Restaurant, Liverpool*

Food: Fantastico!! A night At Gino's My Restaurant, Liverpool*

Sunday, 24 September 2017

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Last week, I was lucky enough to attend the press event for Gino D’Acampo’s brand new autumn menu at his Liverpool My Restaurant. Liverpool is a city that is slowly but surely becoming renowned for its quirky bars and restaurants and I’m pleased to say that Gino’s restaurant is everything Liverpool needs and more. The restaurant is situated on the corner of Castle Street, in the old HSBC bank, and we had the pleasure of enjoying the glitz and glamour of the night in an old bank vault.

  

The restaurant itself was a lot bigger than I was expecting, and was laid out in a stylish and sophisticated way. It was nice to have a glance around the restaurant before we were led down to the vault- the Bullion Room-  where the event was going to take place. The restaurant hosts a mezzanine style area overlooking the kitchen, allowing visitors to watch their food being cooked before their very eyes. The restaurant was full of hungry diners and smelt of a whole range of beautiful aromas.

The Bullion Room, our venue for the night, is a beautiful private dining area that guests can book out for a range of different occasions, from birthday parties to business meetings alike. The room hosts a bar, dining area and a games room with foosball and pool tables ready and waiting to be utilised. Glass of Prosecco in hand and my blogging pals next to me, I was more than ready to taste test all the amazing food and drink in store for us. We had the time to socialise and network with the other people attending, before we were invited to take our seats.

Hosted by the charismatic Michela and Giuseppe, the event was an enormous success. Michela introduced us to the restaurant and spoke all about the vision that Gino had for his chain of restaurants. I own a fair few of Gino’s cookbooks and rave about him and his cooking style, so I was a bit gutted that he wasn’t going to be there himself but he did send us a little message welcoming us to his restaurant and explaining some of the methods behind his choices. Another perk of the restaurant is the fact that diners are treated to a complimentary glass of Prosecco with their meal- a bonus, if ever I knew one!

Finally, it was time to start munching away on the delightful delicacies that Gino’s had to offer. We were treated to a platter of antipasti– the Fantastico platter- a whole range of cheeses, meat and olives to tickle our tastebuds. As a lover of cheese (in spite of its tendency to upset my lactose intolerant tummy) I was delighted with the chance to sample quality mozzarella and ricotta. Gino’s restaurants import all of their ingredients from Italy and this was evident in the taste- the tomatoes were fresh, the cheese hearty and full of flavour. The flavoursome addition different meats- salami and prosciutto- only made the experience more memorable. As Prosecco played a particularly significant role in the evening, the antipasti board was paired perfectly with a generous glass of the Primo Prosecco Spumante DOC. We were treated to mushroom and truffle arancine, which were absolutely phenomenal as well as a platter mix of the classic tomato bruschetta and a slightly more ‘out there’ bruschetta, that was accompanied with prawns and chilli mayonnaise!

In terms of main courses, again, nothing was left to be desired. Giuseppe kept the wine flowing, ensuring that every dish that we tasted was paired perfectly with a glass of the good stuff. I was lucky enough to sample slices of The Real Neapolitan Pizza, the most delicious Italian sausage and friarielli based pizza, straight from the rustic streets of Napoli. There was also the Super Spicy pizza on offer, if you so desired, although I personally stuck to the Neapolitan. Finally, the pasta arrived: fresh linguine with crab and the most phenomenal risotto with Italian sausage. As a pasta enthusiast, this was the moment I had been waiting for. The linguine was everything I needed and I’m still craving it over a week later. We finished up the night with a tiramisu, a much needed digestif and the most delicious Aperol spritz that I’ve ever had the pleasure of drinking.

All in all, a fantastic night was had and I can’t wait to go back there and explore the rest of the menu in the future! It’s a restaurant that’s more than suitable for all types of people, professionals and students alike, and I feel very lucky to have been invited along for the ride!

Buon Appetito!

Food: Barton Rouge, Exchange Street, Liverpool*

Food: Barton Rouge, Exchange Street, Liverpool*

Wednesday, 5 July 2017

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Last month, I received a VERY interesting invitation to a brand, swanking new establishment that was opening its doors in Liverpool city centre and last week it was FINALLY time to check it out. Barton Rouge has already fully established itself in Chester and Heswall in Cheshire, so I was very excited to go and try out some amazing grub at their new restaurant in the swanky Exchange Street in town. I dragged my friend Emily along for the ride (although, considering everything we’d heard about the restaurant, I’m not sure she was complaining about trying out the menu!)

After giving my name and being handed Liverpool themed wristbands that entitled us to complimentary food and drinks, we were shown to a lovely table right in the centre of the restaurant. There was a bit of confusion tracking down the drinks we ordered (gin and tonic for me, wine for Emily) but that was all resolved incredibly quickly and the staff were nothing but perfectly hospitable for the entire evening.

When we had our drinks and had settled down, servers started offering different canapés to us to nibble on. We tried one that was made up of potatoes in teensy weensy little poppadoms, which were little bites of happiness. They reminded me of the Chat Bombs you can get at Mowgli, which is NEVER a bad thing. We were also offered chicken tikka bites and the MOST phenomenal battered prawns that I have ever had the fortune of eating. I am still dreaming about those prawns. Eventually, a server brought us over a selection of different main dishes to feast on. I’m a bit funny about trying things that I’m not sure I’ll DEFINITELY like, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that I actually loved both of the dishes offered and I’d probably order them for myself if I went back independently. Neither of the dishes was too spicy for my very mild palette, which was a relief – one being chicken based, a butter chicken curry, and the other a fried cheese curry, made up of paneer cheese. The cheese curry was phenomenal and definitely wouldn’t have been something that I’d personally have chosen to order. This was all coupled with basmati rice and naan bread perfectly fluffed and ready for sauce mopping.

The restaurant itself was an absolute delight. I loved the beautiful, stylistic decorations that adorned the place- it looked sophisticated and fit in perfectly with the surrounding Exchange restaurants (Fazenda and Stevie G’s own The Vincent just round the corner, I’ll have you know!) The service was fantastic, everyone was incredibly attentive and staff checked on us enough that we knew they cared but not so much that we were talking to them through a mouthful of curry. I’ll definitely be going back at some point to try out the rest of their menu, which I’ve heard is an absolute treat.

You can find Barton Rouge at 26 Exchange Street East, Liverpool, L2 3PH.