Liverpool ONE’s glass-fronted restaurants, chain coffee shops and street vendors provide a plethora of lunch options for shoppers and workers of the city, but the best options can often get busy at peak lunch times, leaving me to search the city’s streets for a tasty lunch option away from the main eateries.
The answer to my problems can be found within the city’s most historic building. The Bluecoat Chambers was built in 1717 and has been a centre for the city’s art scene for nearly 90 years. Housing four galleries, a number of art and other independent shops and pleasant courtyards, its ground floor café does a roaring trade when the sun comes out.
Upstairs, in the appropriately named Upstairs Bistro, the fare is delivered with more of a restaurant feel. An ornate space with a clean, modern bar and tables aligned for the best views of the courtyard below, this is a quiet haven of culture and art to while away the lunchtime.
But is the food up to the high standards of the building? The menu boasts a varied selection including soups, lighter bites, sandwiches, ‘gourmet’ sandwiches served on ciabatta and a small selection of more traditional mains, along with alcoholic drinks, soft drinks, teas and coffees.
My dining partner and I both opted for the gourmet sandwich menu, although a generous portion of line-caught cod presented to a nearby diner nearly had us swayed as we were ordering. Mine was a halloumi in ciabatta with hummus and butternut squash (£6.75). The balance between the ingredients was excellent, with the chewy halloumi perfectly cooked and the sweet butternut squash used sparingly so as not to overpower the dish.
My dining partner went for the chargrilled chorizo ciabatta with baby spinach and cheddar cheese (£6.95) and was delighted to report the ciabatta itself was soft and fresh, a rare delight in your typical lunchtime venue. Although he would have preferred more chorizo, there was a generous amount of cheese and all of the ingredients were fresh, with a tasty salad with just a touch of dressing accompanying the plate.
The relaxed atmosphere and impressive views over the courtyard meant we lingered over more fresh choices – this time refreshing loose-leaf tea from the extensive drinks menu, before it was time to rejoin the hustle and bustle of the city centre.
The Bluecoat offers very little in the way of experimental flavours, and you’re unlikely to find Heston Blumenthal-inspired deconstructed desserts cluttering up the menu, but the food is better for it. The Bluecoat does filling, traditional food using fresh ingredients sourced locally where possible, ensuring the basics are done well. Coupled with a laid back atmosphere, eye-catching art exhibitions and one of the most beautiful buildings in the region, it is the ideal place to spend a summer’s afternoon.
