An award-winning Hoole restaurant has been given further acclaim by a national newspaper.
The Sticky Walnut, Charles Street, has been named as one of Guardian food critic Marina O’Loughlin’s 50 favourite UK restaurants.
Owner and chef Gary Usher said: “We were all shocked when we found out.
“We already knew she liked us after seeing the full review last year.
“But it was just really nice to be thought of like that, we are just a humble bistro.”
The Sticky Walnut has developed a great local reputation and was named Restaurant of the Year at the 2014 AA Hospitality Awards.
Marina O’Loughlin said: “Usher is typically self-deprecating about the food that comes out of his kitchen, insisting that it’s simple stuff.
“But good simplicity is notoriously difficult to achieve, there’s no hiding place, and his team carry it off every time.”
She added her favourites were more about ‘where staff look genuinely pleased to see you, where there’s a buzz of contented customers and where the menu gives you a little thrill because there are so many things on it you’d like to eat’.
Signature dishes on The Sticky Walnut’s European-inspired menu include the namesake starter which comes with oven-roasted beets, spicy pumpkin seeds and goat’s curd.
Mr Usher said: “This is the best thing we can get for the team.
“It’s a real morale for everyone and says we should be proud of what we do.
“To get recognition like this is humbling, it’s something which says we should feel good about our work and what we are aiming for.”
A second restaurant under the banner, Burnt Truffle, has opened in the Wirral after a crowd funding campaign.
Is the Sticky Walnut one of your favourite restaurants too? Let us know in the comments below.
