The story
The Art School in Liverpool serves modern British cooking at 1 Sugnall Street, L7 7EB, and holds 2 AA Rosettes for 2026. The restaurant sits beside the Philharmonic Hall, and its menus draw on a broad Contemporary and Modern European repertoire, with a Polish note in the cuisine list.
Paul Askew leads the kitchen, and the Good Food Guide (2026, rated Good) notes plates that are busy without being crowded. Salt-marsh lamb appears three ways: loin, confit shoulder and hay-roasted rump, served with samphire, golden beetroot and Wirral ricotta. A vegetarian main might be tempura-battered courgette with herbed bulgur wheat and chickpeas.
The main dining room is a dramatic space, and a courtyard off the cellar bar opens for summer drinks and snacks. Dessert options include mirabelle plum compôte with white chocolate mousse, or a steamed blackberry pudding with pomegranate ice cream. The wine list leans toward central and south-east Europe, and small glasses of Abruzzo wine start at £6.50.
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Ambience
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History
Paul Askew's restaurant in an august building next to the Philharmonic Hall now has a courtyard area off the cellar bar for summer drinking and snacking. In the main room, still one of the most dramatic dining spaces in Liverpool, the cooking is full of ambitious flair, the plates busy but not overcrowded with elements that all fit together as snugly as jigsaw pieces. A trio of cuts of salt-marsh lamb – loin, confit shoulder and hay-roasted rump – comes adorned with samphire, golden beetroot and Wirral ricotta, while the vegetable main course could be tempura-battered courgette with herbed bulgur wheat, chickpeas and courgette/pistachio purée. Proceedings might open in distinctly Mediterranean manner, with a serving of marine-fresh red mullet on saffron potatoes, brown shrimps and red pepper purée, sauced with pastis. Finish with mirabelle plum compôte and white chocolate mousse or, for something more substantial, a steamed blackberry pudding with pomegranate ice cream and honey. A plethora of speciality menus supplements the basic prix-fixe, and wine is handled comprehensively too, with a distinguished global list that homes in on central and south-east Europe. Small glasses start at £6.50 for Abruzzo wines in all three colours.
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