Reviews in Liverpool and Merseyside

After reading the previous reader recommendations of Sheldrakes I was taken there for an anniversary lunch. The location is really something to write home about but I was disappointed with the restaurant and the food itself. Call me picky but i don't like napkins that seem to have been used by at least one previous diner and the table was gouged like an old school desk. When you look around it needed a darn good clean and all the dead flowers and plants in broken containers on the patio did little to lift the spirits. The food was only ok - why advertise rustic chips when the were frozen rustic chips? The smelt like they had been dunked in very old oil. Couldnt fault the steak but a too liberal helping of mustard on the bread underneath almost killed the flavour. My partner fared a little better - still frozen chips but the fish was fresh and sweet. We opted not to have a sweet or coffee and found a little coffee house in Heswall instead - how disappointing.

Terrific. Visited with my wife for lunch and very very impressed. Decor very comfortable, food and service first class, and the views were spectacular. Must try evening visit, because the menu looked full of good stuff. First visit, but certainly not the last

We have been to many restaurants, and would have to say that the Retsina is one of the best, the service is impeccable, and the food is perfection, would recommend this restaurant to everyone, and will most definitely be back.

My favourite restaurant in Liverpool! The food is always gorgeous and the staff are lovely. Love the pink decor and intimate atmosphere. Perfect for a romantic evening.

Terrific. Visited with my wife for lunch and very very impressed. Decor very comfortable, food and service first class, and the views were spectacular. Must try evening visit, because the menu looked full of good stuff. First visit, but certainly not the last

This is possibly the cutest place I’ve been to in a while, the staff are all soooooooooooooo friendly & cute & they cant do enough for you, I have been several times now, although I don’t live near Lark lane, but I must say I could really do with this being near me on a Friday morning when I have a hang-over, the staff took so much care of me and for the 1st time ever I was NOT told it was self inflicted!!! I had a famous home-made cheeseburger which I nearly fell off the edge of it and a traditional sarsaparilla soft drink did the trick! Thanks to Gill and all the staff well done girls.

Views were amazing (we went around twilight and saw the city change from day to dark), the food was equally memorable - exactly as delicious as I imagined 'haute cuisine' to be! The service was a bit formal but made great efforts. Worth the high price !

Views were amazing (we went around twilight and saw the city change from day to dark), the food was equally memorable - exactly as delicious as I imagined 'haute cuisine' to be! The service was a bit formal but made great efforts. Worth the high price !

Ordered the most expensive steak on the specials menu, asked for it to be well done and it arrived in a suspiciously fast 5 minutes together with our other meals. Not surprisingly the steak was rare, so rare that it was almost mooing!! Pointed this out to the waitress who, without asking what we wanted or explaining what she was going to do, whisked the plate away. 5 minutes later the plate was returned with the same piece of partially eaten steak having been thrown back on the grill and cremated! When we told the waitress that we weren't happy with this she told us that it would take 20 minutes to cook a fresh one! We asked to speak to the manager and when he eventually appeared we voiced our complaint to him about the standard of food and waitressing. He immediately became angry and defensive, raised his voice and tried to accuse us of being rude, stating that it is normal practice in every restaurant to reheat food and again tried to deflect attention away from himself by accusing us, his customers of being rude for raising the complaint. He eventually walked away, calling over his shoulder with as little grace as he could muster that he would refund the cost of the steak! AVOID AT ALL COSTS UNLESS YOU APPRECIATE BADLY COOKED FOOD, UNHELPFUL STAFF AND LICENCEES WITH A CHIP ON THEIR SHOULDER.

Been here on 3 or 4 occasions and have had a bad experience each time. Only tried so many times because its so close to home. Examples of problems are tough lamb, forgotten orders, food taking over an hour, delivering french onion soup when ordered carrot & coriander. Soup & a sandwich consisiting of the wrong soup as described plus a tiny baguette with a sprinkle of grated cheese. A real pity as would be there weekly if they got it right

We have eaten here several times, the staff are always attentive and the food is always superb. I would recommend it to anyone without having to worry that they might find the place having a bad night. I have eaten there both at, Christmas menu time, lunch time and in the evening and the quality is always the same, excellent!!!!!.

was told by many Liverpool friends this is the place to eat,and i can see why,food,wine and service superb,up here for the golf will definitely be back here next year.

Spire in my opinion is far better than the supposed top restaurants, London Carriage Works & 60 Hope Street. Top notch food & service, without the over priced bill.

I have never been so let down by a restaurant in my entire life. The promise of this place was spectacular. It promised something different, something innovative and some fresh, modern interior and culinary ideas. This however is exactly the reason we should never judge a book by its cover. We chose to eat there on a busy Saturday afternoon and we were sat in the dark so the menu was barely visible. It took 15 minutes for somebody to come over and take our drinks order and then another 15 minutes before we got them. Then we ordered our food (really basic food salads, burgers etc) and that took 45 minutes to arrive. The food at best was average. Nothing special at all. My fiancee ordered a beef salad and it was appalling. The beef was raw!! She was expecting it nice and pink but this was still still mooing in a field somewhere. It was cold, rubbery and smelled like a butchers mincer. However, when we complained we were told by a very grumpy, unfriendly member of staff that they accept no returns and that was how the salad was meant to be. Now call me old fashioned but in another restaurant had the dish not been cooked to my liking they would have taken it back, done something about it and apologised. Not here. We didn't even receive an apology. Afterwards we were treated like vermin. When the waitress (which I might add, was a different waiter/waitress every time. Loads of staff but what were they doing?!) came to collect our plates she was rude and scowling at us as though we'd ruined her day. I have never felt so disgusted at restaurant staff, ever! When we paid they refused to take it off the bill and never said thank-you or anything and then had the blatant cheek to ask if we would like to leave a tip!! I would never set foot in here again and I sincerely hope they take a good look at how they treat their customers in the future.

Liverpool has now caught up to the rest of the world with this fabulous little place.. Just what we needed, food is very authentic Japanese style and was very fresh.. I will be frequenting here a lot from now on.. 10/10 say no more... MP

We worth a visit, but not on a Sunday for the carvery! The Chef is loud, scouse, full inappropriate comments, and his playful banter leaves you feeling uncomfortable to go up for more food. If that's not enough to stop you going on a Sunday, he doesn't use instruments to move the food around your plate, instead he pushes it around with his old hairy hands, most likely after just popping the loo to change his colostomy bag. Every other night of the week is very good though! View is unbelievable.

Gusto in Heswall, is over priced twaddle. I remember when it took over from Est Est Est the hype among the locals, as we had a restaurant to cater for the elite Heswall and Caldy. Sadly it doesn't live up to its expectations. The staff are wonderful, and the setting memorable, but the food is very poor indeed, not even as good as the burger bar a few doors down. The male greeter who has glasses, has a "Christ almighty, not another customer, i may have to do some work..." look about him the second you walk trough the door. Food is full of garlic and badly seasoned... STAY AWAY

Eaten here many times I rate MARANTOS 90%, food is fantastic, staff always polite and well presented. Food always hot and well cooked, i always enjoy the food is it worth every penny, never been disappointed in over 2 years that I have been going there.