What: Located in the new GPO food hall in Liverpool, Nama is one of 11 independent kitchens at the venue and is described as a ‘contemporary izakaya-inspired dining and drinking concept’.
Who: It’s the latest venture from Sheffield-based husband and wife Luke French and Stacey Sherwood-French best known for their acclaimed flagship restaurant JÖRO in Sheffield, which is currently ranked at number 32 in the list of the UK’s top 100 restaurants. As chef, French oversees the menu at the new project with Sherwood-French the company’s business director.
The food: Nama means raw in Japan so there’s a hint to what you can expect from the menu. The restaurant’s focus is on Japanese inspired small plates from the land and ocean with sashimi and nigiri key items. The menu changes regularly to keep coming back for more, with launch dishes including yellowfin tuna tartare; ‘unrolled spicy yellowfin tun with nori, koshihikari rice, Japanese mayo, roasted golden sesame, negi onion and Bird Eye togarashi; Sweet Sicilian red shrimp sashimi with lime and ginger ponzu, jalapeño chilli, and makrut lime oil; and Cornish stone bass sashimi with truffle, lemongrass and yuzu ponzo, English wasabi, and nori.
The vibe: GPO is Liverpool’s largest food hall and has a light, bright and very modern feel to it with white flooring and white painted industrial ceiling and different styles of seating throughout, including smart leather booths, counter stools and marble-topped tables and wooden chairs. Like all food halls, the buzz is very dependent on the number of people that are there at any one time, and so far the signs are good.
And another thing: Nama is not the first project the couple operate in GPO Liverpool. They also run street food concept Konjö, the first of which launched near their JÖRO restaurant in Sheffield but a second opened recently in GPO.
Metquarter, 35 Whitechapel, Liverpool, L1 6DA
