Harley Young delights in a lovely midweek lunch off Smithdown Road

Smithdown Road has plenty going on for just a single street. From classy-French-bistro-style spots like Belzan, to gather-the-family-for-a-catch-up-style restaurants like Chamber 36, you know that when you go to this part of Wavertree, you won't leave hungry afterwards.  

But, if you veer off Smithdown and head across to Church Street, you'll find the unassuming Spire Restaurant, nestled right between grab-and-go style fried chicken favourites Beak and boozer, footy bar and grill Twenty First Amendment. 

From the outside, Spire's white façade doesn't suggest an awful lot, but pop your head in and, if there's a table free, you'll be staying for the long haul - trust me.

2025 01 28 Spire Restaurant Outside
Outside Spire Restaurant Image: Confidentials

Dave and I arrived just after the restaurant opened at a few minutes past twelve, bellies rumbling and eager to see how Spire fares on a midweek early afternoon. Tables were neatly laid ready with sparkling wine glasses and fresh flowers in vases. The room itself is very understated, it has enough room for about 30 covers, but you can tell a lot of care and consideration has been put into things with how spotless the tables and drinking glasses were.

2025 01 28 Spire Inside
Inside Spire restaurant Image: Confidentials

Apart from us, there was one other table in the restaurant at the time of taking our drinks order (two glass bottles of diet coke for the modest price of £6.20), but that quickly changed and by half past twelve the restaurant was bustling with life. 

Locals and regulars were catching up with each other across tables and Adam the bartender, server, and all-round legend it seems, was chiming in with bits of banter in between taking orders and delivering drinks. The atmosphere was infectiously welcoming and enough to brighten up a bitter January afternoon. 

We decided to go for the two course lunch menu priced at a reasonable £25 each - Dave opted for a starter and a main - potted brie with a pistachio crust, cranberry jam and brioche croutes, and the 7oz fillet of beef, chips and pepper sauce (£6 supplement) - whereas I gave into my sweet tooth, ordering a main and dessert instead: Goosnargh chicken, leek puree, crispy BBQ chicken and bacon croquette and chicken sauce; and sticky toffee pudding with butterscotch sauce and vanilla ice cream. 

Whilst we waited, I browsed the many accolades on the wall, spanning all the way back from 2006 to 2024, covering every publication from The Metro to Cheshire Life, The Good Food Guide and Harden's - some of which had awarded Spire year on year. 

2025 01 28 Spire Awards
Spire Restaurant's many awards over the years Image: Confidentials

Dave's starter swiftly arrived, well-presented on a piece of slate and branded greaseproof with a side salad and ribbons of fresh carrot - the potted brie oozing and bubbling in its casing underneath a bed of pistachio crumbles and a hearty dollop of cranberry jam. The brioche croutes shaved into a triangular shape yet still of varying sizes and imperfections showing that they've been lovingly made in-house, not store-bought. 

Dave thoroughly enjoyed this, polishing it off in mere moments before using the ingeniously-designed corner of his last croute triangle to scoop and pry the remnants of molten brie goodness from the ramekin. 

I was jealous. I should've been greedy and gone for three courses instead. 

2025 01 28 Spire Potted Brie
Potted brie with a pistachio crust, cranberry jam and brioche croutes Image: Confidentials

Within 10 minutes after, our mains arrived looking picturesque. Dave's fillet of beef had a nicely sealed top and the juices had began to pool beneath it, perfect for mopping up with a few of the fat cooked chips later. A portion of salad, single button mushroom and lightly roasted tomato adds a splash of colour to the plate and the peppercorn sauce is served in a generous jug for pouring lashings over. All of which gelled together beautifully.

2025 01 28 Spire Beef Fillet
7oz fillet of beef, chips and pepper sauce Image: Confidentials

My Goorsnargh chicken was delicately tender and moist, having soaked up plenty of the leek puree and chicken sauce that made up its bed. The crispy BBQ chicken and bacon croquette on the side sat beneath a slab of crackling that made a satisfying crunch when bitten into. Delectable.

Both the croquette and the chicken breast were of a stocky size and didn't need much in the way of additions, but came with a side plate of steamed and buttered vegetables which was a nice touch. 

2025 01 29 Spire Goosnargh Chicken
Goosnargh chicken, leek puree, crispy BBQ chicken and bacon croquette and chicken sauce Image: Confidentials

Concluding the meal with an absolute winning dish was the delightful sticky toffee pudding with butterscotch sauce and vanilla ice cream, served as a hearty square slab of pudding, absolutely drenched in butterscotch sauce with a perfectly round scoop of vanilla sat atop a generous sprinkle of crystallised sugar shards. 

The butterscotch sauce was rich, but not even slightly sickly like some sticky toffee puds can be, and had seeped into every crevice of the cake's fluffy layers. Utterly fantastic. I can still taste it now writing this. 

2025 01 28 Spire Sticky Toffee Pudding
Sticky toffee pudding with butterscotch sauce and vanilla ice cream Image: Confidentials

Affordable, great quality and oh so friendly, Spire Restaurant is a welcoming spot that deserves the same praise that locals give it to be noticed far and wide. If you're ever around Wavertree and feel your tummy rumble, pop your head in Spire like I did. You won't be disappointed.

Spire Restaurant, 1 Church Rd, Liverpool L15 9EA


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The Scores

All scored reviews are unannounced, impartial, and ALWAYS paid for by Confidentials.com and completely independent of any commercial relationship. They are a first-person account of one visit by one, knowledgeable restaurant reviewer and don't represent the company as a whole.

If you want to see the receipt as proof this magazine paid for the meal then a copy will be available upon request. Or maybe ask the restaurant.

15.5/20
  • Food 7.5/10

    Potted brie 7.5, Fillet of beef 8, Goosnargh chicken 8, sticky toffee pudding 8.5 Ambience - 4/5

  • Ambience 4/5

  • Service 4/5