Our punter says
Tucked away in a side street in Liverpool’s fiercely independent Baltic Triangle area is newly opened Manifest. We were warmly welcomed into the intimate dining area and seated at the kitchen counter which overlooks a completely open kitchen – nowhere for the chefs to hide here.
The drinks menu offers a great selection of lesser-known and more popular favourites; we both started with amaretto sours, which were boozy and delicious. My husband then moved on to an orange assyrtiko which was beautifully chilled, rich and fruity.
To accompany our cocktails, we decided on double carbs and we were really impressed with both the ‘still warm’ salt and vinegar crisps, cooked fresh in front of us, and salty sourdough with locally sourced butter.
Next arrived starters of a rarebit and ham hock crumpet, and a sweet onion tart – this was the stand-out dish for me with velvety ricotta and sweet onion married together with black garlic, it was absolutely stunning.
We moved onto an aged pork chop with pressed potato terrine, and pan-roasted cod with a crispy courgette flower accompaniment. The pork was sweet and juicy, and perfectly complemented by a split cider cream sauce and tangy pickled girolles. The cod was beautifully cooked, however I found the pepper sauce slightly too bitter for my preference.
Desserts rounded the evening off excellently – a bitter chocolate delice with fiery gingerbread ice cream, and a tart blackberry and elderflower cake were both divine.
We hadn’t heard of Manifest before, but weren’t surprised to learn that it had been included in the Michelin Guide after only being open for 19 weeks. My husband went so far as to say that the food was some of the best he’d ever eaten and I’d struggle to disagree. Manifest – we can’t wait to come back.
Bill for two, including service: £73.13
Atmosphere: 9
Service: 10
Food: 9
Total: 28/30