Vetch, the Hope Street restaurant helmed by chef-owner Dan McGeorge, is ripping up its tasting menu this September in favour of something far louder, looser and more instinctive.
Inspired by the hedonistic, ingredient-first spirit of some of Europe’s leading bistros, Vetch is shedding the choreography of fine dining altogether: no set courses, no script, no polite restraint.
In its place: a menu built for grazing, sharing and staying late…’‘Tasting menus ask you to sit still and follow instructions,” said McGeorge. ”We wanted the opposite, a room where the food hits the table fast, the wine keeps coming, and nobody’s checking the clock. This is international cooking Liverpool style but with the volume cranked up.”
From this week, guests will order the way they actually want to eat, starting with punchy snacks and small plates, building into bigger dishes built for the table, and finishing however they like. Locally sourced ingredients remain the backbone of the kitchen, but they’re now filtered through a broader, more international lens, with dishes moving fluidly between British produce and flavours drawn from Japan, the Mediterranean and beyond.
Early highlights from the new menu include:
- Oysters with green strawberry and yuzu hot sauce, a snack-sized jolt to start
- Raw trout tostada with finger lime and togarashi
- Buffalo wing with ranch and caviar, indulgence with a wink
- Salt-aged duck with blackberry kosho
- A 600g T-bone for the table, served with chimichurri or sauce au poivre
- Sticky toffee pudding with miso caramel sauce to finish, alongside a dessert pour list running from Macallan 12yr to Douro Valley ruby port
Snacks, small plates, larger sharing dishes and sides sit side by side on the same menu; there’s no prescribed order, and no expectation that guests will follow one.
The transformation goes beyond the plate. Vetch’s dining room is being recalibrated for energy rather than reverence: an upbeat new soundtrack, a reworked drinks list, and a more relaxed, informal service style designed to strip away unnecessary ceremony. Wine pours will be generous rather than measured, and the pacing of service will follow the room, not a script.
“We’re not trying to be the neighbourhood restaurant that behaves like it’s somewhere else,” McGeorge added. “This is local hedonism, proper flavour, proper ingredients, and none of the stiffness you find in fine dining spots.”
Vetch is located on Hope Street, Liverpool, under chef-owner Dan McGeorge. Dan, winner of TV’s Great British Menu 2021, opened the doors of his debut restaurant in the spring of 2024 and was quickly awarded two AA rosettes for culinary excellence, has subsequently been listed in the Good Food Guide with a rating of Very Good, and has also achieved a listing in the Michelin Guide 2025 and 2026 and ranked at number 36 in SquareMeal’s list of top 100 UK restaurants. The new menu and format are now live.
Book your table via vetchrestaurant.com.
