Marco Pierre White Steakhouse Bar and Grill

The food is excellent! the service is ok (I felt they where in a little rush to get the tables), but the place is very nice and I really like their interior, I would definitely go back there, the wine is also really good — chadornay.

Marco Pierre White at the Swan Inn, Aughton, was a glorious confusion. It was a country pub acting all posh, elegant dining pretention with a robust menu of hot-​pots and fish ‘n’ chips. If it had been a drink, it would have been a bottle of Marco’s «The Governor» ale served in a champagne flute.
Don’t misunderstand me: I liked the Swan Inn very much and attended regularly from the opening night to the closing. It was abandoned, apparently, as part of a business plan to open Marco branded restaurants in city centre locations. That is an undoubtedly stark commercial decision because Marco would readily concede his heart lies in the countryside.
Which brings me to MPW at Hotel Indigo, Liverpool City Centre. This venture opened under a steakhouse brand, but with the same menu as the Swan Inn. Indeed both co-​existed for a good while. It was an interesting, probably accidental, experiment in determining the effect of venue, on menu. Is a steakhouse a steakhouse because that’s what you call it? Even if its menu comes direct and unchanged from a restaurant not branded as such?
The dining room in Liverpool is a little bit soulless. I sense no character there, no history, no story. It is dominated on one side by a wall-​width black and white picture of a glum looking Marco, but otherwise is predominantly yellow, like thin custard. His picture and his name are there but not his spirit.
Against that backdrop, the food just isn’t spectacular enough to be winning any prizes, but arguably it isn’t intended to be. Take the lunch-​time staple bangers ‘n’ mash with roasting jus. It is, quite simply, 3 sausages sitting on a bed of mash, with a jus. No frills, no flourishes. The fish ‘n’ chips is quite simply… well, you get the point.
The a la carte menu changes rarely — only once I can recall since opening — with seasonal variety secured through the Table D’hôte fixed price menu, which does indeed change daily. Local favourites including scouse feature from time to time which, coupled with seasonal variety, demonstrates that the restaurant has a sense of its location in time and space.
The Table D’hôte is very good value indeed and a three course meal with a drink will come in under £20 a head. You can just about squeeze three courses into an hour-​long lunch-​time, but best if you let them know at the outset that you are working to a tight schedule. If you catch them on a day with pork-​belly on the menu, it’s going to be a good day for you.
Going a la carte has potential to put a serious dent in your wallet with the bigger steaks coming in at almost £30 alone. That having been said, for a purported steakhouse, there isn’t a great deal of steak on the menu; no Château-​Briand, no Porterhouse, no New-​York Strip. Truth be told, the branding is pretty hollow.
If you go, I insist you end your meal with the Eton Mess; a very pleasant confusion of meringue, berries, cream and strawberry compote. It isn’t particularly fancy and you could whip it up at home if you had half a mind to. That is probably a fair reflection of the place overall. But unlike your home, there is a big picture of Marco on the wall…

During a recent work conference in Liverpool, I had planned a lunch out with my work colleagues at MPW’s Steakhouse. However, come lunch time all of the boys decided to drop out — «I’ve got a cold», «I don’t want to miss the next lecture»…Urgh, boys, they are bloody useless!
Anyway, my choice was either to stay at the hotel and partake in the lunch buffet or go to the restaurant on my own. Yes, there really was only one choice, the lovely Marco was going to win every time.
The staff at the restaurant were really friendly when I arrived and explained the situation and they let me choose which table I wanted to sit on (unlike some places who will squeeze the lone diner into the deepest, darkest corner!). The restaurant itself is situated in the Hotel Indigo and the dining room has a smart and contemporary feel about it.
I had already pretty much decided what I was going to eat before I arrived. It being a steakhouse I really had to go for steak, and seeing as I had a 25% discount Internet voucher, it had to be the fillet. For starter I went for the foie gras parfait with raisin sec and Madeira gelee, this was served with brioche. The foie gras was deliciously rich and the quantity far exceeded what could be spread on to bun.
The fillet steak came on the rarer side of medium rare, but this was fine by me. Although it was a lovely piece of meat, and was cooked well, I did find that it was lacking a certain something in terms of flavour. I also had to add seasoning which I don’t expect to have to do to a £27 steak in MPWs. The onion rings and tomato were good but again, the beef dripping chips lacked flavour and seasoning.
I had a beautiful glass of Merlot to accompany my meal, and alas I had no room left for dessert.
Overall, it was a good, although not perfect meal. However, the service and kindness of the staff towards this lone dinner made me feel glad I came. Thanks MPW, if I’m back in Liverpool, I’ll be sure to come say hi!