Oktopus has finally opened its doors on Hardman Yard; an unassuming location and a fairly unassuming launch given it has had a bit of a run as a pop-up on the premises of the Baltic Triangle's Black Lodge Brewery and also hosted the kitchen for two Meet the Brewer events at The Clove Hitch. Hardman Yard, for those not familiar, is the location of Buyer's Club and Wild Loaf, formerly playing host to live music venue, The Picket. Stand by the Old Blind School or opposite the Flute pub on Hardman Street and you're about there. This is a venture put together by the minds behind the Black Lodge and showcases Head Chef Chris Ineson's skills in the kitchen; the preview along with previous Meet the Brewer food hints at that being quite considerable. The premise is quite simple; 'Sea and Shore' is the motto, with ingredients and inspiration being taken from quality produce taken from the environs of the motto. The focus on small plates for sharing, snacking and especially pairing with the Black Lodge beers (amusingly dispensed from a bespoke and garish Welsh-dresser) were all lovingly prepared to please the eye and tastebuds. Elementary but complimentary combinations are presented in a contemporary fashion and the flavours do indeed point to an additional caring on the source of the individual parts of each dish. The popcorn mussels are dangerously addictive; crisp, meaty, savoury and sweet and a I firmly believe a gateway for those who usually shun shellfish to partake in good way to showcase mussels. The carrot was a spin on the dish tried at the Hawkshead Brewery Meet the Brewer event [http://electrokemistcuisine.weebly.com/blogs/meet-the-brewer-hawkshead-brewery-the-clove-hitch-liverpool] and was every bit as good as it was then - an exercise in how to make the simplest of ingredients sing by sourcing good produce and providing complimentary plate-mates. The cabbage dish was a bit too drenched in caper berries, any brassic character was drowned out a bit, although this made for a good palate refresher. The lemon sole and beef onglet with purple broccoli dishes were both splendid too; cooked perfectly and prepared in an unfussy manner and will pair very well with quite a few of Black Lodge's beers. The final salvo for the preview was the chocolate nemesis, which was incredibly rich and screaming to be paired with an equally robust and characterful stout. There will be some follow up visits to look into the rest of the menu (shown on the Oktopus website) and some scrutiny from other media outlets to come, but this is a very, very welcome addition to Liverpool; finally a restaurant which provides a fairly diverse menu which is simplistic, well thought-out, well prepared and much to many people's pleasure; puts pairings with beers at front and centre.
Until next time! Pedro --------------------------- OktopusHardman Yard, 24 Hardman Street, Liverpool. L1 9AX Web: https://www.oktopus-restaurant.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/hello_oktopus Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Oktopus-1101343593327705/
1 Comment
Angela
5/11/2017 05:45:34 am
Best meal I've had in a while, everything was absolutely delicious... still gutted I didn't get to try any dessert on my birthday though, ah well I'll just have to go back again!
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