Standing on Liverpool’s historic waterfront, The Malmaison enjoys an outstanding location. It’s their first purpose-built hotel and is an impressive eleven storey building alongside Liverpool’s Princes Dock in the stylish docklands.
Malmaison describe the hotel as being all about elegance and impact and it doesn’t disappoint. There’s a stunning view of the Mersey combined with sweeping views of the city, including the famous Liver Building right next door.
We were seated in the Brasserie which has a contemporary and airy feel with high ceilings and original brick walls… and yet it manages to remain cosy and private.
Being such a lovely and bright sunny day, we opted for the set lunch menu starting with Summer Pea and Pancetta Croquettes. Delicious and light, they were crisp polenta crumb croquettes filled with pancetta, summer peas and served with a béchamel truffle mayonnaise.
Our other choice of starter was the Mediterranean Salad with slices of serrano ham combined with fresh strawberries, watermelon, baked feta cheese and tarragon vinaigrette. The fruit combinations worked beautifully together, each element complementing one another.
For our main course, we moved onto the Layered Chicken Flatbread and the Pan fried Sea Trout with a Citrus Salad. The grilled chicken was beautifully tender having been marinated in thyme, rosemary and garlic. It was served on a flatbread brushed with melted herb butter and layers of ripe beef tomato, avocado, red onion and baby gem lettuce. Tasty and definitely filling!
The melt in the mouth Fillet of Sea Trout was served with a fresh crisp salad of sliced cucumber, fennel, pink grapefruit, caraway seeds and dill yoghurt dressing. Simply gorgeous! Well-presented and cooked to perfection with a beautifully clean flavour.
We accompanied our mains with one of our most favourite wines yet, a Riesling called Kung Fu Girl. The name itself is fabulous! It was smooth and aromatic with flavours of apricot, key lime and nectarine. Medium-bodied and medium sweet, the Kung Fu Girl has a crisp long finish… and it’s great to see a Riesling making such a comeback!
If we could squeeze any more in (yes we could!) for dessert we went with a classic baked vanilla cheesecake topped with Stewarts of Tayside Scottish strawberry compote and strawberry sorbet. This was a real pleasure seeker, gliding through those sumptuous strawberries into the soft vanilla cheesecake. And if that wasn’t enough, we also sampled the Tastes of the Season – a summer trio of strawberry Pavlova, peach and Amaretto Cream and frozen summer berry smoothie. It was gorgeous with a favourite being the peach and amaretto cream…you could really taste the amaretto coming through.
To accompany dessert we went with a glass of the Esquinas. This superb Malbec offers vibrant aromas of red cherry, ripe plum, blackberry and truffle. The Malmaison’s extensive cocktail menu is also definitely worth a try especially for a special night out!
Overall, a beautiful meal with lots of tasty flavours, in a world renowned location. Great value too at just £19.95 for two courses or £24.95 for three. Malmaison, Liverpool is ideal whether it’s for a relaxing lunch before an afternoon shopping (although don’t expect to get much shopping done after the cocktails!) or for an evening meal a deux.
To book call: 0151 363 3640
