This restaurant is attached to the Novotel on Hanover Street, but effort has been made to give it its own identity, which, on the whole it succeeds in doing. The Rope imagery is continued in the décor, as it provides a decorative barrier between eating sections, whilst the waiting staff sport natty Breton t-shirts, which continue the nautical feel.
My dining partner – The G – was having difficulty parking the car, so I had plenty of time to peruse the menu, with the aid of an ice-cold glass of Birra Moretti. Our Slovakian waitress Lenke informed me that tonight they were giving everyone a sample of each starter, so that their clients could report back their favourites. An interesting exercise in market research – and a good one. So, we would get a sharing platter of pulled ham bon bons, chicken wings, melted cheese nachos and a smoked haddock scotch egg. And with the G safely parallel parked, and with a cocktail in hand a “Scouse Bird” (my turn to drive later on), we tucked in with gusto. All offerings hit the mark, but for us the pulled ham and the smoked haddock scotch eggs were truly exceptional.
Our mains of Liverpool Scouse (well I had to) and the Cajun Caesar kept up the high standard. The Scouse was very well presented, and consisted of beef stew, side of red cabbage, and very tasty sourdough bread. In fact I have never come across such generous portions of beef….The G reported the Cajun Caesar hit the mark also.
For our culinary encore we ordered the vanilla bourbon Crème Brule, a true palate cleanser, and the double chocolate tart with Chantilly cream and raspberries, with a cheeky dry Rose to accompany. All again very nice, the only drawback being that the raspberries were actually…… strawberries….perhaps they ran out? Two cups of slightly lack-lustre coffee brought the performance to a close, the only slight blemish to the dining experience.
In short, Ropewalks is well worth checking out. It has a nice friendly feel to it, with a nice warm greeting from the front of house which is followed on by the excellent waiting staff. To continue the nautical imagery, Ropewalks is like the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie – fun and relaxing. Keep up this standard please; we wouldn’t want Ropewalks becoming the gastronomic experience of walking the plank.
For more information and to book a table visit the official Facebook page here.
Steve Kinrade
