Tried, tested and paid for by our team
Tenderstem broccoli, green olive harissa, apple and pistachio,(£7.30) Maray
The only sort of laurels that the people of Maray seem to rest on are the sort to be found in the kitchen herb jar. Always innovative and always one step ahead.
And so with the star of the new spring menu, this wonderful jumble of colour and goodness which, we are told, is flying out.
*Maray, Bold Street, L1, and Allerton Road, L18.
Shankly Pie (£3), Homebaked
Named after the legendary Reds manager it’s no wonder this delicious beast won gold in the British Pie Awards last month. Melting steak, mushrooms, bacon, leeks and celery, Mr Klopp could do worse than grab a coupl’a dozen for what may well be a bracing coach ride into the Etihad next week.
*Homebaked Anfield, 197 Oakfield Rd, L4 0UF.
Read: Shankly brings gold to Anfield - in British pie oscars
Garstang blue cheesecake, L20 restaurant
With its "velvety filling" this elegant dish produced by the young catering students of Hugh Baird College was described as "quietly accomplished" by our food critic Gerry. Part of a £13.50 three course set menu, it's not so grim up the north end, as we knew.
*L20 Restaurant, Exeter Road, Bootle L20 7BL.
Read: 'One look at the starters tells us these kids can cook' - L20 Restaurant, Bootle, reviewed
Pan-fried seabass with chilli, greens, ginger and noodles (£7), The Pen Factory
Spring has sprung and with it a fresh take on food as the shafts of sunlight stream into our favourite watering hole in this neck of the woods. This lovely sparkling fish gets an Oriental twist this time in the Pen For All Seasons.
*The Pen Factory, 13 Hope Street, Liverpool L1.
Sicilian Death Pizza (£10), Little Furnace
Our food critic Damon takes it away... "A blood-red feast spattered with dollops of densely smoky ‘nduja sausage paste, though mercifully served without a side order of horse’s head. The standard Little Furnace base proved to be the perfect resting place for this fiery spread, the near-molten dough serving to damp down the flames."
*Little Furnace Wood Fired Pizzas, 178 Smithdown Road, Liverpool, L15 3JR.
Read: '15 ways to enjoy ingredients on dough' – Little Furnace, reviewed
Full English breakfast (£7.50), Cafe Tabac
The Cafe Tabac is celebrating its big 4-0 this year, and, as the oldest surviving eating place in Bold Street, it's doing something right. They were too cool to serve this sort of fry-up back in 1978, which was left to the likes of The Rank taxi drivers' cafe, but, in these modern times, lard is where it's at and if you are going to have a coronary you can tell the surgeon how you did it on some tip-top nosh.
*Cafe Tabac, 126 Bold Street, L1.
Beef kati rolls (£4.50), Yukti Indian Street Fusion
This latest Yukti claims to do the best Indian street food in the city (discuss) yet it's these Indo-Chinese lovelies that steal the show. Tender strips of beef cosy up to caramelised onion, green and red pepper, ginger, garlic and a delicate chilli sauce, in a soft, leavened wholemeal bread. On the side, a dense swamp of zesty mint and coriander to mop it in.
*Yukti Indian Street Fusion, 73 Renshaw Street, L1 2SJ.
