For the past week and a bit, I have been on holiday from work. On Friday night, as a bit of a date-night treat, and to celebrate my final weekend off before I head back to work on Wednesday, I booked a table at The Living Room in Liverpool. I have never been there before, but the name has always floated around in conversations with my friends. After looking at the menu online (and dribbling slightly,) I decided to go for it!
I'm one of those impressionable people who is impressed by things easily. The feel I get when I step in to a place for the first time is usually a good indicator of how I'm going to find the inside. So, when I first saw the steps up to The Living Room, and started smiling from ear to ear, I knew I was in for an amazing evening. The entrance to the restaurant was so chic that I honestly wished that I was wearing a top hat, smoking jacket and monocle. And then, to walk in and find that there was live music playing....Oooo....it was like I'd stepped into a foodie dream!
Even though we had arrived at the restaurant a bit early, we were immediately greeted by a smiley, super-friendly waiter and shown to our table. Looking around, I couldn't believe how beautiful everything was. To quote, my exact words were "I want to live here!" Everything was decorated perfectly. Sometimes, in restaurants, the presentation can be off-putting, but this was amazing, and so sophisticated, Our waiter gave us all the time we needed to sip on our prosecco and think about what we wanted to order. I think he came back at least four times before we had stopped talking enough to actually look at our menus - poor guy!
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| Crispy Duck Spring Rolls |
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| Black Pudding Donuts |
Even though I had looked at the menu before I booked the table, as per usual, I changed my mind when it came to ordering and went for the Crispy Duck Spring Rolls as a starter, which were served with pineapple and plum sauce. Boyfriend went for the Black Pudding Donuts, which were accompanied by a celeriac remoulade.
OH MY GOODNESS!!
The spring rolls were absolutely divine! Sometimes, I find duck to be a bit tough and chewy, but the duck in these were so tender it almost melted in my mouth. The portion size was perfect for a starter. The presentation was beautiful too, and I almost felt bad for eating the dish it looked so pretty (I love it when food looks like art!) The plum sauce went perfectly with the rolls, and the pineapple added a tangy, sweet finish to the meat. I just smiled all the way through eating this dish, and both me and the man went silent, which I always think is a good sign that you are enjoying your food. I know I can talk for England, so when I'm quiet, it means that I'm distracted by something too fascinating for me to think about forming words.
I thought the presentation of the black pudding was equally - if not better - than the duck. Having an almost oil paint-like tube on the dish was so innovative! I'd never had black pudding, or celeriac before, and was really impressed with the flavour combination (I snuck a cheeky forkful of both.)
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| Gressingham Chicken Breast |
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| Sliders |
Next, we were on to the mains. The Living Room tweet had recommended that I try the Sliders, because you could pick and mix what you wanted to try, so that's exactly what I did, opting for a TLR Burger, a Pulled Pork Burger, and a Devon Brown Crab Burger (which I was a little anxious about trying....I have a thing about seafood, and we had been talking about Sebastian from The Little Mermaid before we started eating....L-oooo-ng story!) I had a side order of fries with a thyme and rosemary seasoning, just in case the sliders weren't enough to fill up my belly. Boyfriend went for the Gressigham Chicken Breast, which came with garlic mash and chicken crackling (yes - I'd never heard of that either!)
I needn't have ordered the fries, because the sliders filled me up. It was really nice being able to pick the burgers I wanted to try. I usually "Um" and "Ahh" over menus for ages before deciding what to go for, and somebody has to whip the menu away from me, but with the burgers, I got a sample of different things. I think my favourite was the pulled pork. The apple chutney accompaniment complemented the dish so well and added a touch of sweetness, which I really appreciated. I'm not going to lie. I struggled with the crab. But that's only because of this weird seafood complex I have. The flavours of the burger were lovely, and anybody who is a-ok with seafood I think would really enjoy that one. I just had to have a short break and a sip of prosecco during that one before I could carry on. The TLR Burger was cooked to perfection, and incredibly tender.
The chicken breast on boyfriend's dish was beautifully tender too. I'm not usually a huge fan of chicken - unless it's a roast - but I was really impressed. The presentation of both our dishes - like our starters - was impeccable, and so inviting. I really liked the way my fries were served in a bucket, and how the sliders came with a wooden skewer to hold all the parts together. It's little things like that that really make me smile when it comes to food. Small attentions to detail are really important, and The Living Room really delivered.
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| Boyfriend's ice cream: Pistachio, Double Chocolate, and Salted Caramel |
By the time dessert came around, I was too full to order anything. Boyfriend ordered the ice cream, and went for the pistachio, double chocolate and salted caramel under the recommendation of our friendly waiter. I, of course, regained my appetite when his pudding arrived, so had a few spoonfuls of each scoop. The pistachio and the salted caramel were an absolute delight! I could have happily had more of both of those. The chocolate was lovely too, but I'm not really a chocolate ice cream person. I have nothing against chocolate - we are good friends - but there are other flavours I prefer when it comes to puddings, and I find chocolate a bit too rich.
During dessert, I did take a look through the cocktail menu, and found that The Living Room have a gorgeous selection of cocktails, and even more exciting, they serve my favourite cocktail of all time! This, I did not know, and it made me really happy to see it there, staring back up at me from the menu with "Come hither" stares. After we settled the bill, we headed over to the bar area to indulge in a few cheeky after-dinner drinks.
The live music was still going, and it really set a lovely tone in the restaurant. We spent ages standing at the bar, listening to the musicians, quietly singing along, and just having a lovely time!
To sum up. The Living Room is definitely one of my favourite restaurants that I have visited in Liverpool. The ambience is great, the staff are really friendly and accommodating, and the food is just beautiful! There's something to please everyone, and I seriously cannot wait to go there again.
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