8 by Andrew Sheridan, Liverpool, UK

Went to “8” by Andrew Sheridan for the first time on Friday.

Great restaurant hidden behind a small black door in Liverpool city centre, the restaurant itself seats 16 on two chefs tables, 8 diners on each. There are only two servings a day, lunch and evening.

You start upstairs in the lounge with 3 courses of bars snacks. We had:

• A burrata, Isle of Wight tomato and balsamic mini meringue.
• Tuna, avocado creme, salsa negra and coriander in a nori case.
• Roscoff onion cone with aged Gruyère, liquorice and almond.

We accompanied these with two glasses of English sparkling. The lounge itself was very comfortable, with low couches and tables.

We were then invited by the staff to head down to the restaurant for the rest of the meal and for our wine pairing to begin.

The courses that followed were:

• A Parker roll with garlic cultured butter and wild flower honey
• Scottish Cod with orange beure blanc, saffron and pistachio. Paired with a sparkling rose from the same winemaker as the aforementioned English sparkling
• Aged pork belly with a pork vinaigrette, ikyoi hibiscus miso and kale. This was paired with an Alsatian Pinot Gris which was my wine of the evening.
• Orkney scallop in coconut, peanut butter and coriander. Paired with a Gewurztraminer
• Creedy Carver Duck with a morello cherry reduction plus a celeriac and vanilla sauce. This was paired with a nebbiolo d'alba
• Sticky Toffee Pudding with balsamic butterscotch and Stilton ice cream. Paired with a Monchof Mosel Riesling.
• Mandarin and lime jelly with biscuit, jersey milk creme and evoo
• Valhrona 70% Mole with corn and cajeta paired with a NZ Riesling.

When we finished the Mole we were taken back upstairs to the lounge for our sweets and to order from the cocktail menu. The sale and miso cocktail was exquisite.

The staff were friendly and it really felt like you were being served in a friend’s kitchen. The chefs were happy to talk through their ingredients and the restaurants creative process.

If you are ever on Merseyside I can’t recommend “8” enough.