Five restaurants where you can raise a glass to the great Scottish poet
IT started as a simple toast among the friends of a famous Scottish poet to mark the anniversary of his death (which was actually in July). Now, more than 200 years later, Burns Night is celebrated pretty much everywhere, on or around 25 January, to mark the birthday of Scotland’s best known bard, Robbie Burns.
Burns referred to haggis as a "great chieftain o' the puddin-race" in his poem Address to a Haggis. The traditional format of the Burns Night celebration involves a supper starting with one of Scotland’s famous soups, followed by haggis, neeps and tatties, along with a dram or three of Scotch whisky, with the occasional bagpipe and poem thrown into the mix.
We love any excuse for a feed and a shot of good whisky. Here are some places in Liverpool (and beyond) where you can celebrate Burns Night.
The Philharmonic Dining Rooms
The Phil are offering the chance to experience a lively evening filled with Scottish tradition this Burns Night. Enjoy a traditionally Scottish two or three-course set menu with a curated whisky flight including Laphroaig 10-Year-Old, Highland Park 12-Year-Old and Johnnie Walker Black, for £30.50pp.
For starters enjoy smoked Scottish salmon served with oatcakes and chive sour cream. Then for the main event, what else but haggis, neeps and tatties served with mashed swede, potatoes, and gravy. End Burns Night supper with a bowl of cranachan made with whipped cream, honey, a dash of whisky, raspberries, and toasted oats. Keep a hold of your kilt.
36 Hope Street, Liverpool L1 9BX
Delifonseca
Don your best tartan for what is guaranteed to be an exceptional evening of eating and drinking at one of our favourite independent eateries. Delifonseca Dockside will be raising a wee dram to Mr Burns (no, not that one) on Tuesday 25 January with a unique take on Highland classics.
The three-course menu is created using the finest quality Scottish produce, with mouthwatering starters that include cullen skink, cock-a-leekie terrine, and - of course - traditional haggis, neeps and tatties. For the main course there’s a choice of venison, beef and ale stew; Darne of Scottish salmon; and yet more traditional haggis, neeps and tatties.
Desserts include cranachan, bitter chocolate tart with Drambuie fudge, Ecclefechan border tart, and deep-fried Mars Bar with Cheshire ice cream. It doesn’t get more Scottish than that. The three-course menu costs £35 per head.
Don’t want to leave your caber home alone? Then order the Burns Night “Dine at Home” box for delivery or collection, priced £25 for one or £50 for two. Don’t have the stomach for haggis? Vegetarian options are available for both eat-in and dine at home, including Martin’s classic vegetarian haggis.
Brunswick Way, Liverpool L3 4BN
Browns Liverpool
For the annual celebration of Bard Burns, Browns has created three courses of traditional Scottish specials to mark the occasion. Enjoy a hearty Burns Night supper with Scottish mussels, haggis, neeps and tatties and an irresistible cranachan, each paired with a Glenfiddich serve. Three courses for £30, three whisky pairings £15. Menu available from 22 to 25 January.
Queens
Queens is a wine bar boasting amongst other things a market menu, seasonal cooking and handmade wine. It’s a simple but beautiful looking place on the inside and perfectly suited to its picturesque home. Queens usually goes to town with Burns Night and this year is no exception. Expect a Scottish inspired feast on Tuesday 25 January by head chef Livia Alarcon.
The menu includes cullen skink for start; lamb loin with haggis and venison faggot, smoked neeps and creme fraiche tatties; and cranachan. The three-course menu is £55pp (vegan option £30) which includes a drink flight (one whisky and two paired wines).
8-10 Queen Avenue, Liverpool, L2 4TX
The Borrowdale Hotel
Fancy a break in The Lakes? The Borrowdale Hotel, near Keswick, is serving the traditional haggis on a historic silver carving trolley worth £25,000 at the hotel's Burns Night Supper on Friday 21 January. The silver-plated trolley, which has been a feature of the hotel’s dining room for more than 40 years and is believed to date back to the 1930s, will take centre stage during the evening.
Award-winning piper Craig Irving will pipe the haggis into the room before the “address to a haggis” is given by Scotsman Tony Belli, who works as a maintenance assistant at the hotel. The Borrowdale Hotel’s Burns Night supper costs £49.95 per person and includes a four-course dinner with canapes, traditional entertainment plus a whisky nightcap in its AA Rosette restaurant.
Borrowdale Valley, Keswick, Cumbria CA12 5UY
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