In the past 18 months, Castle Street in Liverpool has been enjoying a new lease of life. Whilst the commercial district may have migrated towards Old Hall Street, a plethora of new and exciting bars, restaurants and hotels have moved in and the area now has a feel of the continent – its sidewalks steeped with people enjoying the streets’ new food and drink offering.
Last month, Castle Street Townhouse threw open its doors and it has fast become a favourite watering hole for the city’s professional crowd.
The Grade II listed building, which has undergone a full refurb, is bustling with breakfast and brunch diners through the day and transforms to become a stylish and sophisticated space for socialising in the evening.
The restaurant is the first to offer breakfast afternoon tea and also serves bottomless brunch from 11am. YBnews director Jennie Lewis was among the first to sample the delights.
The interior provides a real wow when you walk through the door and Townhouse have appointed a top team, we were well tended to from the moment we entered. The staff were friendly and attentive, talked us through the menu and filled our glasses swiftly – brownie points.
The menu is a mix of breakfast and brunch classics (with a fancy twist, of course) served all day until late – which may sound confusing to some, but as a breakfast aficionado (it’s my favourite meal of the day, I often eat breakfast for dinner), this was music to my ears.
The bottomless brunch includes two courses – one brunch classic and one selection from the meat & fish or salad & superfood menu – served with bottomless mimosas, brunch punch or prosecco.
I opted for the sourdough with chorizo jam, mushroom and poached egg from the brunch classics menu and I can honestly say I enjoyed every mouthful.
Perfectly poached eggs never disappoint me, particularly when served atop of fresh, crisp, buttery sourdough toast, earthy mushrooms and sweet, slightly salty chorizo jam. And the portion was just right – for breakfast, this would have been just fine, but by brunch time, when my appetite demanded a little more, it worked well as a first course.
I chose the hake fillet with spinach hash, avocado, chilli and chorizo as my second course. The hake was the star of the show and was perfectly cooked – crisp salty skin and soft, flaky, white fish underneath.
The spinach and potato hash was in fact steamed spinach and a potato cake, all perfectly seasoned and well paired with the fish. But it was the delicious accompaniments that really brought this dish to life – sweet and mildly spicy chilli and chorizo chutney and smooth, buttery avocado cream – just delicious. Every mouthful was a pleasure and stirred an ‘mmmmm’.
The ambience at Castle Street Townhouse is pretty special too. The plush interior makes it a real treat, but without the pretentiousness of some fine dining establishments. I took my sister along as my guest as a pre-curser to a long planned shopping trip and it really was the perfect start to our day – we left feeling completely satisfied and totally relaxed. Our glasses weren’t empty once during the whole 2 hours we were there – which may have helped!
The ethos behind the Townhouse is to reflect how our personality can change during different times of the day, with the website explaining ‘because you’re a different person at breakfast compared to lunch and after work’ – and I guess that much is true.
I’ve been back to Castle Street Townhouse a number of times since my first visit last month, with different groups of people, at different times of the day and for different reasons. From business meetings, to cocktails with friends and even stopping for coffee and a comfortable place to work for an hour or 2 – and it always delivers. It has fast become one of my favourite spots and judging by the crowd there last Friday, there are many who agree.
The bottomless brunch is priced at £35 and is served from 11am. Breakfast is served from 8am to midday on weekdays and 9am – 12pm at weekends.
To book (and we recommend that you do and soon) call 0151 363 7509.