Silk Rd will serve food from the Pacific to the Med

The Marie Celeste of the Liverpool restaurant world is to get a new captain, crew and direction when it once again comes to life next moth.

Heswall restaurant Silk Rd is to take over the site last known as Hudson House on Beetham Plaza. 

Opening on 1st January, owners Chris Williams and Javier Mellado will be hoping for buckets of good fortune to rain down on their cross-continental Silk Road concept. In this case that means cuisine sourced from the Pacific all the way to the Mediterranean. So whether that's east to west or the other way round, there's going to be plenty of scope when ordering.

Silk Rd got going on the Wirral earlier this year and has invested a five-figure sum crossing the water to the glass-fronted venue which first housed Simply Heathcote’s and then the ill-fated Home Canteen.  The first owner, Michelin starred chef Paul Heathcote blamed the demise of his hit restaurant, which closed in 2008, on the demolition of the pedestrian bridge linking Brunswick Street with the Pier Head.


Restaurant review: Hudson House


But perhaps a decade later times have changed and as that area of the downtown district of Liverpool continues to flourish with bars and restaurants anew, the pulling power of a destination dinner could - and should - be plenty enough to keep the ship steaming ahead.

Williams said: “The location in Beetham Plaza is one of the city’s many hidden gems and as soon as we saw the site, we instinctively knew that this would be the ideal venue for our expansion into the city centre.”

Doing The Strand: Owners Javier Mellado and Chris Williams


Silk Rd’s menu highlights are said to include the likes of Persian lamb, Malaysian steak and kebabs.

Mellado added: “The restaurant décor is influenced by our own travels and the menu is full of dishes that we have tried and fallen in love with along the way.

“We always wanted to launch Silk Rd in the suburbs initially but with our close connections to Liverpool, it was inevitable that our move to the city would soon follow. We have enjoyed great success in Heswall which has enabled us to expand the business after just six months. It has been incredibly exciting for the entire team and we look forward to sharing our concept with the people of the Liverpool in the new year.”

The 4,000 sq ft, 140 cover site, which has views directly over The Strand to the Three Graces, has stood empty since May when it was briefly revived as Hudson House and from there, the only possible way can be up.

The best of luck to all who sail in her.