Whatever the Weather Girls try Panoramic 34, Liverpool

After 2 days of sun, inevitably it rained on our day out, so umbrellas were our main accessories – well, we did say whatever the weather! We made our way through the rain to the West Tower and travelled up to the famous Panoramic 34.

As we emerged from the lift and into the restaurant we were immediately struck by the amazing views of the Liverpool waterfront, stretching over to the Wirral and beyond to Wales.

Dina and I arrived at Panoramic 34 first, where we were promptly greeted and offered water. When Anne’s arrived, so did the warm bread rolls and butter, (with a vegan option for Dina; warm bread and olive oil.)

I had forgotten my phone and Dina was having trouble with her’s and we had a momentary panic that we couldn’t contact Anne before she arrived at the table.

What we chatted about

The chatter started as soon as the menus arrived, and continued as we got down to the very important business of making our selections.

Health, as usual was the first topic, in response to our ‘well how are yous?’  (‘yous’ being the plural of the sentence not the Scouse ‘yous’.) Not forgetting our doggy family members, who have suffered traumatic visits to groomers, injuries and operations. All well now thank goodness; so the chat turned to Trump and Phillip Green and the entertainment provided by the women’s football. A special mention to Dina who is the worthy winner of Sefton’s volunteer of the year after years of devotion and service to Freshfield Animal Rescue Centre.  We are bursting with pride for her.

We interrupted chat to take advice from our well informed waiter, Tom Ledson, who recommended the Bacchus Gin which you can only get from the Panoramic 34! and Dina and Anne opted for this with tonic, and I went for the well-recommended Liverpool gin.

Our attention was seized by the Dazzle boat on the river and Anne regaled us with the story of how in the first world war, the boats painted in these black and white patterns would dazzle the enemy boats and prevent an assault on them. Today the dazzle boat is a mixture of dazzle and Sgt Pepper.

Other conversation included how well Dina and Anne’s gardens are doing and the wealth of Summer berries for the birds to eat, family and bereavement and what we might do if we only had a few weeks to live with our initial  ‘devil may care’ thoughts tempered by the reality of what it actually means to have only weeks to live. 

Of course other family members and grandchildren (suitably doted upon) came into the mix, whilst unobtrusive background music allowed our conversation to flow naturally in the relaxed atmosphere of Panoramic. 

Selections made, the menus were collected by Tom who asked if any of us had any food allergies. This is a laudable approach to food allergies by the Panoramic is one which I am particularly interested in; having a son and a granddaughter with dairy allergies. Explaining this at many restaurants can be tortuous so it was nice to see that they take allegens seriously.

Back to the food at Panoramic 34

Starters: Dina had Summer soy veg broth whilst Anne and I chose prawn katsu curry. Dina was impressed by her vegan broth and Anne and I oohed and mmmed our way through ours. There’s no denying that the presentation was also beautiful.

For our mains, Anne enjoyed smoked haddock with confit egg yolk, jersey royal potatoes and a dill and garlic mayo and saffron sauce. Dina had the sauteed wild mushroom (another win for the vegans and the Panoramic!) and I had barley glazed beef pichana steak with carrot puree, new season leek and salsa verde. I do hate to be the complainer but I had to send my steak back as it was a little tough. It wasn’t long before it was replaced and beautifully cooked, fresh veg offered and new cutlery provided as well as sincere apologies and coffee on the house. I do not believe this was the fault of the chef but one of those cuts that look beautiful but just refuses to tenderise. 

We declined dessert but received complimentary candied jellies and chocs to die for. More drinks were offered on the house and to our surprise the steak was taken off the bill. 

Tom (I’m just a waiter) answered our questions on the provenance of the West tower. We were aware that the building was built by the Beetham company but learned that  the restaurant is run by Hugh and Cathy Frost (Entrepeneur of the year  2019). Tom described the menu as British with Asian influences.

Later Peter (I’m just a barman) Wagner came over to chat and told us ‘off the record’ of some exciting plans for the restaurant and the bar. We were delighted to offer our thoughts on this and make some suggestions inspired by our surroundings and Liverpool’s rich history. Anne, a real Liverpoolphile was happy to offer her knowledge on the subject. Peter also told us a bit about the ethos of the restaurant which in short was to look after the staff and they in turn will look after their guests.

Now for the ratings:

Drinks 10/10 – excellent knowledge and recommendations by Tom (more than just a waiter!) as well as information and chat from Peter Wagner (more than just a barman!) Thank you also for the complimentary Liverpool cookbook.

Service 10/10 – Again, Tom and colleagues well done!

Ambiance – 10/10  – relaxed, comfortable,  unobtrusive music and great views!

Food – 10/10  – All delicious, beautifully presented and my replaced steak worthy of a 10! The vegan food, especially the broth was well received by Dina. Well done to chef Dominic Grundy.

A special 10 out of 10 for the restaurant’s proactive approach to food allergies.

The sun didn’t shine on our morning but the Panoramic fare and staff shone through and we will be returning! 

We emerged from the 140m Panoramic 34 to a brighter day. Anne made her way back to the Wirral and Dina and I went for another drink before making our way to Moorfields. We boarded the train and I got off at Sandhills. Once home, I was reunited with my phone which was ringing and showing a number of missed calls and messages.

I answered to a worried daughter who had been phoned by Dina’s worried daughter to say her Mum had ‘gone awol’. I assured my daughter that Dina was safely on the train and she said she would let Dina’s daughter know. I sent a message to Dina to smile about the fact that we become children again at a certain age when we are not trusted enough by our loved ones to get ourselves home safely.

They were right, I later received a call from Dina to say that whilst distracted by her phone problems she had travelled as far as Maghull before she realised she was not on the Southport train! Neither of us had bothered to check which train we were boarding, reinforcing the views of our daughters (and one frantic husband) that we are muddled old women who cannot take care of ourselves!  What was in that lovely gin?!