Ellesmere Port Restaurant Guide

“If only all local areas had one of these!” – this small, neighbourhood bistro in the slightly obscure backstreets of Hoole (an easily missed, gentrified suburb beyond Chester’s train station) rose to fame when it was founded in 2011 as the launchpad of social media celeb Gary Usher’s Elite Bistros group. Neither the group nor this small site generate as much attention as once they did, but all feedback remains positive for its professional, friendly style and very affordable, focused modern bistro dishes (your meal might run Miso-glazed belly bacon, followed by Confit duck leg, with warm ginger parkin to send you on your way).

“Excellent Spanish tapas that’s reasonably priced” – the winning formula at local lads Joe & Ben Wright’s walk-in restaurant, which expanded to take over the site of Joseph Benjamin, the neighbouring bistro which made their name, a few years back. The first link (est. 2012) in a now four-strong chain – there are branches in Altrincham, Salford, and a new outpost in West Didsbury.

Another characterful pub in the Brunning & Price chain (a red-brick former warehouse with plenty of reclaimed décor including a bar made of old mahogany doors) in an appealing canal-side location between the train station and city centre. It’s a “noisy” and sociable sort of spot and the food is of “good dependable quality”.

2024 Review: Feedback is more limited than we would like, but is enthusiastic over this grey-hued boutique hotel dining room, run from afar by game expert Mike Robinson. Chef Dan Regan oversees the preparation of a menu that majors in 40-60 day, dry-aged beef steaks from a selection of sirloin or ribeye cuts.

“An ex Michelin Star dining room with its eye on repeating the award for the new chef” – this “very traditional” dining room deep within the Duke of Westminster’s old dowager hotel next to the city’s ancient medieval walls (built in 1865) has a serene (its windowless) and “romantic” aura that’s either timeless or old-fashioned, depending on your tastes. “Service is personal, slightly relaxed in a good way, but still has some formality”. And when it comes to the food, chef Elliot Hill (who replaced Simon Radley in 2022, who had been in post over 20 years) seems to be hitting his stride better now, with many positive reports here this year. There’s either a five-course menu for £90 per person, or longer tasting menu for £115 per person. The wine list here is heavyweight too, although “with limited cheaper options reflecting the nature of the restaurant”. Top Tips – there’s a three course ‘choice’ menu for £75 per person (excludes Saturdays). Top Menu Tip – “The venison dish is a particular highlight with ‘hedgerow’ components (my partner who doesn’t usually eat venison absolutely loved it!)”

Next to Chester’s iconic Eastgate clock and at the front of the city’s poshest hotel (owned, like much of the city, by the Duke of Westminster), this posh pavement brasserie “has the hustle and bustle of a busy, big city destination” and even fans may concede that “the real reason to visit is the ambience (especially at Christmas time)”. It’s sometimes recommended in reports for a grand afternoon tea. On the downside, its brasserie fare can seem “overpriced” and service can take its time.

A “light and bright room with an intimate feel” is the backdrop to this “great version of a steakhouse”, where February 2025 visitor, The Daily Mail’s Tom Parker Bowles, found some “eminently respectable” cooking, not least the bone-in sirloin with “depth and heft and grunt”. The “interesting, eclectic collection of steaks” ranges from British and Irish beef to guest favourites dry-aged in their fancy maturation chamber, with “confident staff explaining each cut and course”, and also ferrying over “on-point” sauces, plus “plenty of sides to get stuck into” alongside the protein.

With “outside dining in a great location overlooking the racecourse”, this “elegant Georgian building” by the city walls also benefits from a “cosy pub atmosphere inside”. There’s a “varied menu, ranging from fish ’n’ chips, beef bourguignon and burgers to more interesting fare like gnocchi or veggie Malaysian curry”, and the “staff are pleasant and efficient”, in typical Brunning & Price style.

“A lovely find in Chester” – in 2025 Liam McKay celebrated his 10th year as chef-patron of this well-liked destination, which moved in 2023 to a more prominent new address, at the side of the Grosvenor Shopping Centre (next to its sibling ‘Twenty Eight’, see also). There is an à la carte menu, but it’s known for its longer six-course tasting menu at £75 per person. “The set price selection of small plates is superb value”; (“we saw some diners finish the set meal then repeat their order!”). “Many ingredients are grown at the restaurant’s own smallholding”.

2022 Review: Liverpool’s first vegan chippy – a plant-based Chinese venture on Lark Lane – opened in November 2019 serving noodles, rice dishes, spring rolls, etc, alongside more traditional dishes like battered sausages and chip butties. For grab-and-go it’s going down a storm in The Pool!

“Very lucky to have this fabulous restaurant in our neighbourhood” says a very local supporter of this well-regarded, small venue in Wavertree. A visiting Londoner agrees, finding “very well-executed and very reasonably-priced Modern European fare in a cosy neighbourhood setting”. Last word goes to the local: “It’s first class – I’ve been many times and never had a bad meal”.