The Fat Budgie; Review

Opening up towards the end of last year a mere stones throw away from Moorfields station, The Fat Budgie has now firmly established its home at 60 Dale Street, nesting within the beautiful red and gold Imperial Chambers building. This delightful little bistro takes its name from the title of a whimsical John Lennon poem, and visitors are welcomed into the restaurant by a drawing of the podgy one himself (the budgie!) on their charming little blackboard sign out on the street. My family and I were celebrating my Mum’s birthday with an evening meal and, with this place having been on our radar for some time now, it was time to venture in and see what all the fuss was about.

Anybody upon entering would be instantly struck by the many other charming aspects of this place, whether it be the quirky collection of books by the door, the spiral staircase leading to the main seating area upstairs, or the mixture of vintage advertisements and evocative photographs of a bygone Liverpool which help make up the décor. We were greeted and seated by two of the Budgie’s welcoming staff, Claire and Alan, who both gave us wonderful service with a smile throughout and happily engaged us in some friendly chat about the place.

We were generously given a few bowls of vegetable crisps to be getting on with as we perused our menus, but choosing our courses from the small selection on offer was still difficult as everything just sounded so good. For starters I was joined by both my Dad and my brother’s girlfriend in sampling the Haggis Scotch Egg with Piccalilli Mayo, whilst my brother opted for the Spicy Crab Cake and Tomato Chutney. My Mum decided to go starter-less in case there wasn’t room for dessert!

Ever the carnivorous bunch, four of us would choose for our mains the Braised Beef Cheek and Celeriac Mash served with Kale, Battered Pickled Onion Rings and resting juices. My Mum went against the grain a second time and opted for the Spiced Pork Belly served with Pickled Cabbage and Glazed Parsnips. Now only time would tell which of us would be the most jealous of the others’ plates.

Thankfully there wasn’t much time to wait at all and before long our starters had arrived. I speak for the others who joined me in the meaty and runny-egged piece of heaven that was the Haggis Scotch Egg – so good I began wishing I was having it for my main as well. The best I could do was chop it up into as many small pieces as possible so that the experience might last that little bit longer. As for the Spicy Crab Cake, equally delicious, and as soft as “cutting through a cloud” was the comment made by my little brother.

Our mains were also delivered in good time and looked absolutely stunning on the plates as they were placed in front of us. The meat fell from the Braised Beef Cheek like it couldn’t wait to be on your fork, succulent and cooked to absolute perfection. It should be noted at this point that there’d been a fair bit of sharing going on since the starters, which enabled me to also sample the Spiced Pork Belly positioned in front of my mother. I was forced to concede that this dish was the pick of the mains, with its gloriously crispy crackling and juicy melt-in-the-mouth meat.

We decided to share between us one of each of the desserts on offer and devilishly devoured their Pecan Treacle Tart, Rum ‘Old Fashioned’ Baba, and Chocolate and Orange Mousse. We were all in disagreement about which was the winner, but would all concur that each one was a delight in its own right. Its worth noting that we also had a fair bit to drink along the way, sampling some of their red and white wine, prosecco, and quaint, local beer selection which they had on offer. All of which was fantastic as ever.

It is safe to say the Fat Budgie has been doing a really great job of carving a well- earned quality reputation out for itself, and it offers great value for money with former Puschka chef Paul offering a hearty take on the fine dining experience. I have definite plans to sample their breakfast and lunch menus at some point in the near future as well – but based on the picture I saw of their Sunday Roast on their Twitter account, I might well be returning even sooner than that.

Sean Ferguson

Originally published on Liverpool Noise 19/4/2015

Hopskotch Street Kitchen & Bar; Review

For just over a year now 54 Stanley Street has been the location of Hopskotch Street Kitchen & Bar, and I must confess that until my recent visit I knew very little of its existence. I quickly realised when standing outside that it wasn’t going to be my first time entering the place, recalling that it was of course once the old iconic Wade Smith building, and my brother ­ who was coincidentally my companion for this visit ­ and I had been frequent visitors during our teen years when we sought the latest tracksuits and trainers from the vast array they had on offer. Those days remain fondly in the past now that the clothes racks and fitting rooms have been replaced by tables and chairs, and the promise of an authentic street kitchen experience beckoned us as we stepped through the door.

Upon entering we were greeted by the vibrant and spacious environment of the place, which was both very modern and quirky with its brightly coloured furniture and décor, and it was nice to see some Beatles artwork which acknowledged its presence on the doorstep of the Cavern Quarter in there as well. We were given a choice of places to sit and time to peruse both the food and drinks menus ­ both of which were very large but pretty reasonably priced. Despite not boasting the vastest or most original selection of bottled beers, they did have one I’d yet to try in a Brew Dog 5AM Saint, and so I opted for that whilst my brother decided to dabble in the draught.

If we weren’t exactly spoiled for choice in this department, the food menu definitely had us both scratching our heads trying to decide what to have. The street kitchen experience here isn’t restricted to any one particular cuisine, and we had a choice of dishes originating everywhere from South Africa, Portugal, Greece and USA to just good old fish and chips from England if we so wished. My brother opted for their very own “Hopdog”, which was topped with Pulled Pork and Cheese and came with fries and slaw on the side, whilst I found myself drawn to the Souvlaki, and the chance to try and relive a family holiday we once took to Greece when we ate little else wandering around the streets browsing the shops and stalls of our resort. Our waiter ­ who was extremely polite and open mannered ­echoed my sentiments upon hearing my order, and recalled his own time in Greece which had resulted in this dish being his own personal favourite off the Hopskotch menu.

Our meals were served up to us on colourful greaseproof takeaway paper, and charming wooden boards, that seemed to pleasingly encourage us to scrap the cutlery and get straight in with our hands – just like how eating proper street food should be done. The Hopdog was duly devoured – and quickly – by my brother, who found it to be nice and meaty and in need of a good solid bite to pierce the skin of the sausage. The Souvlaki pork skewers I set about immediately disassembling and, along with the chunky chips and tsatziki (and standardly requested hot sauce), reconstructed them in the flatbread provided to fashion a couple of mini kebabs. It was a fun way to eat and it definitely made me feel up until that last bite like I was back in Greece again, depriving fellow holiday­makers and locals of a chance to tuck into their favourite street food. We both agreed that the chips at Hopskotch ­ perfectly seasoned with the skin still on ­ were a definite highlight of the meal.

Following the meal we had a chance to speak to Andy Lester, Hopskotch’s new manager for just over a month, who gave us a guided tour of the place including the function room in the basement (The Hatch), next door to see the building’s wider purpose as a backpacking hostel (Hoax), as well as an interesting insight into his vision for the future of the restaurant. Upon going downstairs to The Hatch we discovered a function room complete with its own bar, a DJ/Stage area, dance floor, table football machine and pool table – all with the same modern décor as Hopskotch.

With the restaurant just upstairs (and the information that the football is regularly shown downstairs), it would seem they had ticked near enough every box on the list labelled ‘things I like to do’…now if only they had somewhere you could get your head down. Thankfully they do, and the hostel part of the business was equally impressive, with each backpacking room neat and clean in appearance, and coming complete with secure lockers, bunk­beds, seperate showering and toilet facilities and plenty of handy plug sockets for all your travelling needs. Other rooms we saw were equipped with double beds, and each one had its own unique feel and décor distinct from one another.

The place as a whole has a great deal on offer, and is situated in a great location between the Cavern Quarter and Stanley Street Quarter, as well as being close to both the shopping and business districts of the city centre. This fact was not lost on Hopskotch’s manager Andy, and he was quick to acknowledge the relatively untapped potential the place possessed. In the short time he has been in the job so far he has set about devising ways to boost the draw of the restaurant from the surrounding streets, and working closely with the kitchen staff to come up with new and exciting ideas for the menu. With the Liverpool Food and Drink Festival just on the horizon and firmly in his sights, Andy forsees a big presence for the restaurant at this year’s event ­ hinting at one dish in particular which he promised visitors to Sefton Park in late September to be something they won’t ever have experienced in Liverpool before. Despite already offering an impressive and enjoyable dining experience, it will be exciting to see what the future holds for Hopskotch and I, for one, will be keeping close tabs on the place in the coming months.

To check out the Hopskotch’s Menus visit: http://hopskotchliverpool.com/

Sean Ferguson

Originally published on Liverpool Noise 5/9/2014

Button Street Smokehouse; Review

It is a building best known for its time as the home of Probe Records during the mid 70’s to early 90’s, when Liverpool’s music scene centred around Eric’s on Mathew Street just around the corner, and together they served as a base for the rise of some of the city’s biggest musical names like Echo and the Bunnymen, The Teardrop Explodes and Frankie Goes to Hollywood. However, for the last two months it has been known as the Button Street Smokehouse, and is now offering visitors to the Cavern Quarter an urban take on the American Deep South.

It was pleasantly spacious with its smart but rustic interior of brick walls and wooden tables, and the place was nice and cool with the air conditioning – refreshing to come in to from what was a very hot day outside. We were taken to our seats on the far side of the restaurant and were left to contemplate the drinks menu. It has to be said that the leather seats we had were a little awkward to sit on as the metal frame the leather was bound to somewhat digs into the back of your legs. I was, however, drawn to the charming musical décor on the shelves next to our table, and noticed the couple on the table behind us similarly intrigued by it as well. There are trumpets, oboes and violins on the shelves and attached to the walls, which pays a nice tribute to the Blues music that originated from the Deep South.

We were given a jug of water before the waiter took our drinks order, and had a chance to peruse the menu feeling immediately refreshed from the heat outside. There was a good selection of wine, cocktails and spirits, but our eyes were directed towards the plentiful bottled beers section which contained a few favourites like Brooklyn, Pacifico and good old Sam Adams. I opted for a Buddy’s Bourbon though, with one of my companions opting for the Pacifico, and we were both pleased to see our beers arrive with a frosty chilled glass placed next to it.

By this time we had reached a decision when it came to the food – starters were skipped with two of us opting to share some of the various small plates and sharing deals, whilst my other companion tackled the 8oz Sirloin with his choice of their five sauces. The first deal we took advantage of was the Sliders which was 5 for £17 (alternatively 3 for £11 or 8 for £26) and we tried the BBQ Pulled Pork, Smoked Chicken with Celeriac and Apple and Mustard Seed House-Slaw, Spicy Bourbon BBQ Beef, Beef with Monteray Jack, Jalapenos and Chipotle Mayonnaise, and Popcorn Shrimp.  To accompany this we went for the 3 for £12 small plates deal (alternatively 5 for £19 or 8 for £29) and ordered Smoked Baby Back Ribs, Chicken Wings marinated in Hot BBQ sauce, and some more Popcorn Shrimp. To complete the feast we added the Smokehouse Seasoned Skinny Fries and the House Salad.

The steak arrived with plenty of onion rings and a charred cob and, having asked for medium rare, my companion was pleased to see it was perfectly pink and glistening when he carved a piece off. We got involved in his onion rings in exchange for a taster of our small plates and side dishes which all arrived in good time along with the Sliders – displayed on a long wooden board with little American flags in each one.

Food like this, particularly when shared, should also be fun to eat. And it was. We all ate with a smile on our face and talked about little else other than how good everything was and things from the menu we wished perhaps we’d ordered. We opted to try a couple of desserts just to round everything off, going with the cinnamon Churros with chocolate sauce and a Chocolate Brownie with Raspberries and Ice Cream – the latter looking particularly spectacular upon its arrival. Both were extremely tasty and, normally one to indulge in starters and mains, I might have to dabble in the desserts a bit more often. Greg Wallace would have happily taken a running leap into either of them.

Our waiter was extremely friendly and gave us a pretty good service. He was also more than happy and knowledgeable enough to engage in a bit of chat about how the place was going and the history of the building. The music was also excellent throughout playing a mixture of old school blues, rock ‘n’ roll and, to my absolute delight, “Baby Blue” by Badfinger which people may recognise as the last song from a certain TV show about a chemistry teacher and his ex-pupil who indulged in a few extra curricular cooking classes. Extra points awarded for that. All in all we had a great time and would definitely come back to conquer some more of the menu. Next time I might even leave the way clear for the 24oz Club Steak which they claim is ‘for 2 to share or 1 to dare’. Well, Button Street Smokehouse, I am the one who dares.

Sean Ferguson

Originally published on Liverpool Noise 17/7/2014