Recently we were invited to stay at the Pullman Hotel Liverpool,  for a complimentary stay. The hotel is absolutely beautiful and definitely worth a visit if you are planning a trip to Liverpool anytime soon. As well as being in a central location in Liverpool it also boasts one of the best restaurants in town too. Home to Marco Pierre White’s Liverpool restaurant, Wheeler’s of St James Oyster Bar and Grill.

With a focus on quality and style, the interior of the restaurant screamed elegance with a feeling of calm sophistication as you take your seat. We opted for a booth and a bottle of wine for myself and soft drinks for my sister (who doesn’t drink) as we perused the menu.

Despite being more accustomed to the local family-orientated chains of pub restaurants, we were pleased to see that there were dishes from all three courses that appealed to both of our tastes. As the name of Marco Pierre White’s Liverpool base suggests, the meals were centred around oysters, seafood and grills, namely steaks. We were pleased to see some classic meals on the menu with a slight twist that were definitely dishes we could really enjoy. After ordering we were kindly offered an oyster each. However, we did decline as despite never actually having tried one before, we didn’t really want to try it on the night. A shame I know especially as it is an oyster bar and it would have been the perfect opportunity to try it out.

The Menu at Marco Pierre White’s Liverpool Wheeler’s of St James Oyster Bar and Grill.

As it was Valentine’s weekend when we visited, we also had the option to order, should we wish from the special Valentine menu but we decided to try out the main menu and enjoy our favourite meals in a new way.

Starters

My sister went with the warm baked sourdough (£3.95) whilst I opted for one of my favourite salads – goat’s cheese and beetroot with walnut dressing (£7.50). The sourdough was beautiful, we could have eaten it all night and the goat’s cheese and beetroot salad was absolutely perfect. A nice light choice for a starter so I could enjoy my main course.

Mains

Mr Lamb’s Shepherd’s Pie served with buttered garden peas (£14.95) was my main meal and my sister went for the Roasted Yorkshire Herb Fed chicken with wild mushrooms which was served with buttered spinach and Madiera roasting juices (£15.95). The chicken was our server’s suggestion too for our mains! We also ordered triple cooked chips (£4) as a side dish. Mostly for a just in case we (by we I mean my sister) didn’t like our mains.

Both meals were beautifully presented but the chicken looked like a work of art and it seemed such a shame to have to disassemble it to eat. But I am pleased to say both meals tasted as good as they looked. Is it odd to say the peas were perfect? I could have eaten them all night! The shepherd’s pie had the right ratio of topping to filling but I couldn’t manage to quite finish it off. Partly as the sauce was a little bit too rich for my tastebuds and partly because I knew what I wanted to order from the dessert menu too!

The chicken… there were absolutely no complaints and my sister said it was absolutely perfect. She isn’t a fan of the mushrooms so she didn’t eat them but she really enjoyed everything else including the spinach. She did note that the gravy was a little on the rich side for her too but again, this is down to personal taste I think. I couldn’t get over the potato, as I mentioned before work of art!

Desserts

Another one of our server’s recommendations was the Wheeler’s Bitter Chocolate Mousse (£6) which again, my sister ordered. I decided to try something different. I find that chocolate doesn’t always pair well with white wine so I went for the Wheeler’s Poached Pear.  The pear came with set vanilla cream with passion fruit sauce. Amazing! The perfect end to our meal and the right choice to enjoy with my wine.

The chocolate mousse came served in a small cocktail glass and was just the right size to finish off what was already a generously portioned 3-course meal.

Our Thoughts on Marco Pierre White’s Liverpool Wheeler’s of James Oyster Bar and Grill Room

I was pleasantly surprised to see the restaurant wasn’t as busy as I thought it would be for a Saturday night. I can honestly say this made our experience all the more enjoyable as we didn’t feel rushed through our meal and we were given plenty of time to eat and chat before heading back to our room.

We really enjoyed all of our meals and our experience dining at Marco Pierre White’s Liverpool Wheeler’s of St James Oyster Bar and Grill. We had a lovely night and despite my initial reservations over the menu, I was totally won over.

*Disclaimer: I was gifted the meal at Marco Pierre White’s Liverpool Wheeler’s of St James Oyster Bar and Grill as a complimentary gift for my personal use. I was in no way asked or obligated to share my thoughts on the blog. I have chosen to do so because I wanted to*