Last weekend Tim and I headed out on our usual Saturday trip to Liverpool for a bit of shopping, but this time we were pretty excited because we had been invited to dine at Liverpool's newest Brooklyn-style bar and eatery, Frederiks, on Hope Street in the eclectic and vibrant Georgian quarter! Trust me, the discreet exterior betrays the treat that awaits inside!
The welcome was really friendly and I was immediately taken with how spacious and light the place was. The bar was a beauty so it would've been rude not to try one of their amazing cocktails while we waited for our food!
I ventured outside my comfort zone and ordered a ConeyIsland Lemonade (£6.50) - a tall combination of whiskey, toffee-apple, lemon and popcorn. Yep, popcorn! I now consider myself a whiskey drinker. Grandad will be proud ;)
The lovely girls explained how the menu worked. The 'Plates' are larger main meals and the other dishes are small plates designed for sharing. I was really surprised at how reasonable everything was, for some reason you expect these cool places with exciting menus like this to have inflated prices! We considered trying the famous signature dish, Oysters Rockefeller, but chickened out because neither of us had sampled oysters before!
See anything you fancy? They recommended ordering 4-6 dishes between us, so we went with :
Pulled Pork Waffle Stack and Maple Bourbon Syrup £7
Pretzel Crusted Spiced Chicken £5.50
Salt n' Pepper King Prawns £7
Sweet Potato Fries £3
Zucchini, Rocket & Parmesan Salad £5
Choosing from the menu :)
While we waited for our food I took the opportunity to have a nose round. It was around 3pm and the atmosphere was really relaxed with just a handful of couples like us, small groups of twenty somethings, a family of four and a few guys enjoying a drink at the bar before the locals, theatregoers and students hit it for the night. I've heard it's super popular after dark too and I can totally see why. Designed by the team behind Camp and Furnace, the interior of Frederiks is contemporary with it's original yellow brick Victorian wall, slick teak panelling and concrete plinth, but manages to stay warm and inviting with a cosy sofa area complete with fireplace.
A piece of art donated by North West artist Tony Bishop.
Then the food came and errr, WOW. Where to start?! Absolutely delicious! The Pretzel Crusted Spiced Chicken just fell off the bone and the crust had just the right amount of kick. The Salt n' Pepper King Prawns were HUGE. I generally recoil from de-shelling my own seafood but they were totally worth wrestling with. The Zucchini, Rocket & Parmesan Salad (which was recommended by our server based on our other chosen meat based plates) and the Sweet Potato Fries were the perfect accompaniments to everything. However, we both agreed that the Pulled Pork Waffle Stack and Maple Bourbon Syrup was the best thing either of us had tasted in ages, so we totally plan to order one each next time we go because that thing is too good to share!
After the main meal was so good I just had to try dessert, so we ordered the New York Baked Cheesecake (£3). Now I'm not normally a big fan of what I call 'plain cheesecake' but this was far from plain! There was a touch of lemon to it and I'm sure I spotted a pistachio in there. The base was buttery and crusty, total homemade goodness. Again, there will be no sharing on our next visit!
So that's about £30 for a meal for two (excluding my extravagant cocktail!), which I think is good value to be honest, but the whole experience was just that little bit more special. The totally chilled out atmosphere meant the food and company could just be enjoyed without any distractions. Frederiks serves up the perfect combination of a speakeasy bar with plates of transatlantic food served up to 10pm, I can't think of a better way to start a night in Liverpool than with a tall cocktail or two over a shared mac n' cheese!
In addition to the restaurant/bar area, Frederiks houses the Pillbox, a soundproof events, performance and party space to the rear. It was being prepped for a 30th on Saturday (I spied the balloons!) so I didn't get a chance to check it out but I imagine it's hella popular. I know I was wondering if I have a future reason to party coming up . . .
For more info or bookings go to www.frederikshopestreet.com, email info@frederikshopest.com or call 0151 708 9574, or pop in at 32 Hope St, Liverpool L1 9BX :)
P.S. I took a snap of my outfit on the way back into town, OBVIO! You didn't think I'd document the day without finding a suitable location and getting my pose on did you?! ;)
Outfit: Jacket c/o Uniqlo, Tshirts - Wildfox and F21, Scarf - Becksondergaard, Jeans - Bank, Boots - Steve Madden, Bag - Grafea, Wrist scarf - Vivienne Westwood.
Can you tell I was sat-is-fied? Look at that happy kitty look on my face!
Huge thanks to Frederiks, I'll be back for more!
J - GIMME DAT PULLED PORK NOW!
