Emma Johnson finds fabulous food to match the famous views down on Liverpool’s new-look waterfront
THE ferry terminal? What do you mean you are going out for dinner at the ferry terminal? What restaurant?” And so it went every time I told a colleague that my husband and I had booked a table at Matou.
Matou is one of the newest additions to Liverpool’s growing restaurant scene. And it is in the new Mersey ferry Terminal Building.
Which means two things: One – it has one of the best views in the city and, two – because it is considerably off the eating track, not many people know that it is there.
Or so we had assumed. Given my colleagues’ reactions I had half expected to find the place deserted but when we wandered in there late on Bank Holiday Monday it was bustling.
Matou opened back in March and bills itself as a Pan-Asian restaurant, a cuisine which I love having eaten so much of the stuff once on holiday in Australia. To be honest though we had chosen to eat at Matou largely because of how stunning the restaurant looked – oh and that fabulous location.
The restaurant is a sizeable space featuring lots of dark wood, white walls, fabulous flower arrangements in bright bursts of colour.
The river side of the venue is one big wall of glass allowing you to gaze out to Wirral as you enjoy your pad thai.
The other side of the restaurant – which looks out onto the Liver Building is home to Matou’s cocktail bar and features the sort of terrace you regularly find in Mediterranean restaurants but rarely see in the UK.
Apparently it can host 300 people and I can’t think I know of another al fresco dining area in the city that comes close.
Back inside the restaurant I was so impressed with the interior design that I had started to fear the menu could not possibly measure up.
I really need not have worried. The menu was so packed with tasty dishes that I can’t remember the last time I had such difficulty deciding what to order.
I was so overwhelmed that I actually considered closing my eyes and just stabbing at the menu to choose luckily our waitress was patience personified as I kept asking for another couple of minutes every time she tried to take our order.
Eventually, from the two dozen or so appetisers on offer, I picked something relatively safe – crispy fragrant duck (£7.95, starters range from £5.95-£9.95).
My husband also played it relatively safe ordering a longstanding favourite of his salt and pepper ribs (£6.95).
They arrived about 10 minutes later which gave us time to enjoy the river.
A quick glance at my starter revealed I had not been quite so boring as I thought in my choice.
