Restaurant Review

NORD

Old Hall Street, L3 9QJ

By Robin Brown | Modern British | ££ |

Circa 1988 my mam asked my granda to borrow a hundred pounds. ‘A hundred pounds?!’ I exclaimed, in genuine astonishment. For a child who dealt with money in pennies, pound coins and the occasional fiver, mainly spent on Beanos, sweets and Doctor Who books, this sum was astonishing, unimaginable. These days? Not so much. A recent break in London threw this question into sharp relief, but so does any trip to the petrol pumps, the Big Tesco or any paid event that promises entertainment for children (shout out to National Museums Liverpool, thanks for everything, see you soon).

Life is full of situations that require you to part with a ton, particularly when you acquire a house, a car, children etc, for which your life will not improve one iota, it will simply remain the same. A bill here, a bus-lane fine there, literally any visit to a national cinema chain.

Here’s my suggestion: ensure you spend one hundred pounds on something that significantly  improves your quality of life once a month. Something that feels lavish, but costs the same amount as a week’s worth of energy bills, your monthly streaming subscriptions or the gym membership you don’t use.

NORD, then, already one of Liverpool’s best restaurants. You’ve probably heard of it: The city’s food writers have scarcely had a bad word to say about it; Jay Rayner, probably Britain’s best-known food writer, calls it “very much a win”, while it’s one of only a handful of Liverpool restaurants currently recommended in the Michelin Guide (Chicken Bazooka, once again, was overlooked).

NORD is a joint venture between GSG Hospitality, the people behind Duke Street Market, Bold Street Coffee, Salt Dog Slims et al, and chef Daniel Heffy, recently seen brandishing a pumpkin noodle starter on Great British Menu. Heffy describes the restaurant’s philosophy as “Travelled British”: Northern hospitality and produce shaped by ideas gathered during his years working in the UK and Sweden.

That hospitality is evident from the moment we arrive. There’s been a miscommunication with the booking, but we’re simply welcomed in and served a bespoke cocktail by the excellent bar manager until it’s clarified we’re not simply chancers seeking a free, succulent Chinese meal. Not that we’d be in luck – food here might be best classified as north European: some classic British food that’s just got back from a city break in Stockholm, Strasbourg or, well, Sheffield.

And what a place NORD is – I’m in awe of its interior every time I go. To me it suggests expensive London hotel restaurants in the ’80s; architecture curated by Davids Lynch and Cronenberg; a brasserie directed by Stanley Kubrick and scored by Cliff Martinez – these are all, in case there’s any doubt, Very Good Things. Food? The new prix fixe menu, available for lunch and early evening midweek (lunch only on Saturdays), which we’re here to review boasts beetroot with green curry; beef tartare with Parmesan butter and tallow; before mains of ricotta gnocchi, lamb rump or lemon sole.

Desserts include a caramelised whey tart and a ‘Snickers’ Caprice cake. Taking the advice of our excellent server, I began with buttery grilled mackerel, nicely complemented, without being overwhelmed, by dill sour cream, before an intense steak tartare whose richness was cut perfectly by sharp pickled cucumber. Across the table, burratini with courgette, sage and hazelnut arrived looking like a still life, while ricotta gnocchi with asparagus and fermented fennel sauce was bolder, looser and altogether more expressive.

With a starter, main, dessert (we had strawberries & cream and that cheeky Snickers Caprice cake) and a glass of wine, you pay £50. Take someone with you and you arrive at your magic number: £100. Remember my granda’s money? That was a fortune to me because it represented possibility. The ability to do something, go somewhere, have something you otherwise wouldn’t. Nearly 40 years later, a hundred quid has lost some of its power. But spend it in the right place, on the right evening, and it can still feel like a small fortune. NORD is one of those places.

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