Restaurant Review

Pilgrim

Duke Street Market, Liverpool, L1 0NA

By Lawrence Saunders | Small plates | £££ |

Located on the mezzanine level of Liverpool’s newest and most talked about food and drink venue, Pilgrim comes with a serious reputation.

The concept relocated to the city after securing investment on BBC Two’s ‘My Million Pound Menu’ from Matt Farrell of Liverpool-based Graffiti Spirits Group (Santa Chupitos, Salt Dog Slims, Santa Maluco).

Taking inspiration from the age-old Camino de Santiago, or Way of Saint James pilgrimage, Pilgrim‘s menu challenges diners’ typical idea of tapas.

James Duffield (Pilgrim’s managing director). Dave Bone (chef director) and Anthony Power (brand and marketing director), have pulled flavours and ingredients from the towns and cities found along the northernmost route of the Camino.

As early as the 9th Century, believers and non-believers alike have traversed the Camino on a pilgrimage to the shrine of Saint James in Santiago de Compostela, northwestern Spain.

All of this spiel might sound a tad highfalutin to some, but to its massive credit, Pilgrim masterfully avoids being ‘too cool for school’ and delivers a magical dining experience unlike anything I’ve sampled in Liverpool before.

Seated on a long breakfast-bar-like table overlooking the centre of the market, I’m not ashamed to admit my wife and I were slightly daunted by the menu at first glance.

Fortunately our waiter was wonderful. Attentive and knowledgeable – he knew the score – which with a concept like Pilgrim is very important. He talked us through the options and highlighted some of the restaurant‘s most popular dishes.

First to arrive were broad beans blackened on the live-fire grill, served with smoked garlic salt (£5.50), alongside sourdough bread with smoked butter and charcoal salt (£3.50).

Both dishes were simple yet captivating. Teasing the broad beans out of their charred pods was an oddly gratifying task which resulted in 21 delightful little veggie pay-off. The sourdough bread meanwhile, laden with butter and salt, was soft, tender and boasted a fantastic crust.

After receiving some more advice from our expert server. I decided to pair the remaining courses with a large glass of intensely fruity Arca de Noe (£9.30) white Rioja.

Next up food-wise was mackerel with piquiilo pepper and olives (£7.50). Wonderfully moreish, the only problem was I should have ordered us one each.

Thankfully the final savoury plate of the evening, goat fabada with chickpeas and padron peppers (£18.50), was made to share.

Excuse the slang, but this dish really was the G.O.A.T (ask some kids) Simply delicious, the meat had just the right amount of chew and was deftly complemented by a scrumptious breadcrumb topping.

To finish, my wife and I shared Pilgrim’s signature desert – a Saint James tart (£7) with pickled cherry, sweet cherry sauce, Cerveza Negra ice cream and wild fennel. Like every dish which had preceded it, the pudding was a culinary and visual triumph.

Believe the hype. This enchanting eatery has taken Liverpool’s food offering to another level.

Come On Pilgrim.

Visit our Instagram profile (@ym_liverpool) for more food photos.

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