Last week we were invited to the official launch of Duke Street Market Liverpool, to try a few choice selections from the many food stalls on offer. Brainchild of the Graffiti Spirits group – you know, the ones who own Santa Chupitos and Salt Dog Slims, to name a few – the Duke Street market offer something a little different to their usual style of eatery.
As soon as you enter Duke Street Market Liverpool you’re struck by the design of the place. A renovated warehouse with industrial style décor and hanging lamps. An open, inviting layout that seems perfectly suited to the purpose of the place. It’s a chilled hangout where you can go grab a bite with whoever you want – from a date to your dog, and yes, they are indeed dog-friendly.
If you’ve got food market fatigue and are sick to death of staring at a tray of halloumi fries, you won’t have to worry here. The food is less paper trays with plastic forks, and more actual plates with… real cutlery. The primary aim is fine dining without the snobbery.
The restaurants featured in the already-famous Duke Street Market had to fight tooth and nail to get in, with cook-offs in abundance and meetings to discuss the general ‘ethos’ of the place – some of the traders included have at least 30 years’ experience in the industry. All the businesses are tied into long-term contracts so they can build a little more cohesiveness with the community at large.
Two warehouse space is separated into two floors, with the downstairs featuring six food stalls, each more different than the last. For the launch, each of the stalls were offering samples from their menu in the form of teeny-tiny entrees.
Cinder is the first to greet you as you walk through the door, they specialize in open wood fire cooking. We had a little try of their Strawberries stuffed with elderflower Chantilly cream. Wimbledon could learn a lot from them, inject the cream straight in the strawberries and you cut out a lot of the faff. Delicious too.
Bone and Block is a meat-lovers dream. Utilizing nothing but free-range meats, locally sourced from Edge & Sons Butchers in the Wirral.
Finca brings a taste of Cuba to the streets of Merseyside. Having watched Chef a countless amount of times I was eager to give this one a try, and after sampling their Pulled Garlic Mushroom Cubano, Jon Favreau can eat his heart out.
Ginger was the ubiquitous far-east option, they were plating up a sample of their salt and pepper squid. Liverpool’s love affair with salt and pepper anything is well documented, and this delicate squid dish definitely didn’t disappoint.
The surprise of the group, as I seriously wasn’t expecting it to be my favourite, was Indigo Greens. A vegetarian only affair, this restaurant offers up some truly novel inclusions on its menu. We got to have a go of their vegan fish and chips (or, vish and chips, if you hate wasting precious syllables) and I can honestly say it was a life-changing experience. The fake fish was made from the banana blossom and was one of the most moreish things I’ve ever tasted. This coupled with their fruity curry dip and I’m already planning my return journey to try a full portion and have a half-assed conversation with myself about turning veggie.
Last on the Duke Street Market Liverpool downstairs selection was Cucina di Vincenzo, a typically Italian selection. Offering up pasta and pinsa (that’s pizza, to the likes of us) made with the freshest ingredients. This family operated restaurant is sure to tick a few boxes for the Italian lovers out there and their pinsa is definitely worth a shot.
Upstairs, Duke Street Market offers something a little different to the standard food market vibe, a 50-cover restaurant, Pilgrim. Featured on the BBC show My Million Pound Menu, the restaurant’s menu features exquisitely simple small plates with a contemporary take on traditional tapas styles.
The Duke Street Market is a welcome addition to the Liverpool foodie scene, which seems to be growing ever expansive with the potential to hopefully rival London in a few years.
Tom is the Mens lifestyle editor here at The Daily Struggle. Interested in Mens health and fashion, theater and eats copious amounts of cheese toasties when he thinks no one is looking.
