Latest opening: NORD
What: Aiming to showcase the best quality produce from northern suppliers, NORD is fine dining restaurant located on the ground floor of the 18-storey Plaza building in Liverpool.
Who: The restaurant is a joint venture between GSG Hospitality, founded by John Ennis and Matt Farrell in 2009, and chef Daniel Heffy. Heffy, a native of Liverpool, has worked in restaurants including Buyers Club in Liverpool, three Michelin-starred Frantzén in Stockholm and Nordic Michelin-starred restaurant Adam/Albin as head chef. The floor is run by general manager Kristie Palmer.
The food: NORD’s menu has been influenced greatly by Heffy’s time in Scandinavia with dishes on the generously sized menu made using locally-sourced ingredients as well as those from further afield. Snacks and starters include gougères; wood-fired flatbreads such as those with anchovy and confit tomato, and pork lardo, hazelnut and thyme; Liverpool Bay sea bass crudo with a potato taco and ginger emulsion; black pudding scotch egg with apple ketchup and pickled celeriac; and burrata with roasted butternut, kale salad and sage and hazelnut dressing. Larger dishes include cod ‘kiev’ with tartar sauce; Texel lamb chop with salsa verde; and a porterhouse Cumbrian steak served with hasselback portobello mushrooms and shiitake emulsion, while desserts include 80s dinner party favourite baked Alaska, made using a chocolate from Denmark called Xoco, one of the only companies in the world growing single bean chocolate. A vegan menu is also available featuring dishes such as grilled chewy beetroots with verjus and almond tahini; roasted squash, zucchini salad, mint and hazelnut; and fig and roscoff onion tart tatin, with chive emulsion, walnut and chive.
To drink: NORD has kept things tight on the drinks front with a 10-strong cocktail list and a globe-trotting yet short selection of red, white and orange wines from Spain, Bulgaria, Chile, Germany, Georgia, New Zealand, South Africa, California, and Argentina. Prices are very approachable, with bottles starting at £27 and seven each of reds and white coming in under £40.
The vibe: Circles and semi circles dominate the interior space with huge semicircles revealing the pass at one end of the room and large dome-shaped booths and a line of round feature mirrors flanking another wall of the dining room. Diners can sit on high-baked green stool at raised round marble-topped tables or on more basic wooden chairs at two and four top tables. All this creates a 70s vibe not dissimilar to that at Decimo at The Standard, albeit with a more brighter, all-day dining feel.
And another thing: GSG Hospitality owns a number of restaurant and hospitality brands in Liverpool and Manchester including food hall Duke Street Market, Bold Street Coffee, speakeasy 81 Ltd, mezcal and tequila bar El Bandito, and cocktail and US-style chilli dogs venue Salt Dog Slims
The Plaza, 100 Old Hall Street, Liverpool, L3 9QJ
www.nordrestaurant.co.uk
