‘Fresh, filling and of high quality’: Barnacle, Duke Street, reviewed

Barnacle, located on the mezzanine level of bustling food hall and popular weekend meet-up haunt Duke Street Market, used to reside as the venue’s ‘intimate Scouse brasserie’, championing regional food and offering more of a restaurant dining experience with its teal coloured booths, neatly set tables and stylistic homage to the city’s rich maritime history. 

But now the business, owned by Bone and Block’s Harry Marquart and Paul and Harry Askew of The Art School fame, has since decided to change its layout, swapping its sea blue facade for a rustic maroon-coloured sign and the roll back chairs, booths and wine glasses on tables have been swapped for industrial-style long tables with metal buckets holding cutlery and napkins, in fitting with the rest of the venue and its vendors.

With the change has come a shakeup of the menu too, ditching more intricate and complicated dishes for a simpler and more casual but lovingly crafted list of tasty-sounding options like lamb shawarma, fish and chips, and beef and stilton pie. 

I visited Barnacle on a rainy Wednesday afternoon, the weather beating down on Duke Street Market’s skylight roof making the venue’s ambience all the more cosy and appealing. Like the rest of the vendors here, you can now order Barnacle’s menu from the comfort of your table, wherever you choose to sit. I perched not too far away from the hatch so I could get a vibe of the new layout and got to ordering.

The menu consists of about 20 items, give or take. None are separated into categories, there’s no starters, chef snacks, or hors d'oeuvres. It’s not fussy, giving you the chance to order exactly what you fancy when you fancy it. 

Since ditching some of their seafood options for shawarma, I thought it was only right to get the chicken shawarma kebab (£14.95); marinated chicken breast with mixed salad, cucumber, pickled red onions and mint yoghurt served on a fluffy flatbread. 

It arrived swiftly, came well presented and smelled divine. I took a hearty bite and was punched by fresh, authentic flavour. The chicken was tender, well marinated and fell apart in the mouth while the vegetables were of great quality and the pickled onions added a nice zing which was tamed by the yoghurt - perhaps a little too much yoghurt but that would be my only criticism.

The flatbread was fluffy and nicely toasted with enough bite to it without being chewy or stale, or having those god awful soggy bits where the vegetables have been left too wet and seeped through. An enjoyable dish that I could see myself coming back for.  

The ‘Liverpool’ cheese rarebit also caught my eye so I ordered a portion of that, too. Cheddar cheese rarebit served on sourdough toast with pickled stout syrup, served as four hefty pieces for just under a tenner (£9.95), and well worth it in my eyes. 

The cheddar was evenly melted, coating every inch of the sourdough and lightly scorched on top for that umami flavour. The pickled onions and shallots sat pretty as a picture, ready to add a bit more pizazz with every bite. Screw homemade cheese on toast - this is the real deal. 

Rounding off the meal, I went with the vanilla ice cream with coffee syrup (£6.50) and decided to sit downstairs to order it for a change of scenery. Why? Because you can, and that’s the beauty of food halls.

Served in a rustic-style blue bowl came three large scoops of vanilla topped with a thick and unctuous coffee syrup, crumb base and hazelnut. 

Now I’m not someone who often orders ice cream. Unless I’m in Italy outside an award-winning gelateria in 30-degree heat, I can take it or leave it. It never particularly ‘wows’ me. But this one did a pretty good job thanks to the carefully selected toppings Barnacle chose to put with it. The biscuit crumb paired with the hazelnut shards added enough texture to keep the whole thing exciting from start to finish and the coffee syrup was pure dynamite, like a shot of espresso with every mouthful it knocked your socks off. Bloody good stuff. 

I think Barnacle has made the right move by switching to a more casual dining approach and giving punters less options but putting the same tender loving care and craftsmanship into their menu. It’s a solid dining option and a place I’ll be hurrying back to when I’m in need of another affordable meal that won’t let me down. 

Barnacle in Duke Street Market, 46 Duke St, L1 5AS

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