Jade Wright and friends enjoy the delicious Taste of Summer at a bargain price

DO YOU know the old saying that, if something sounds too good, to be true, it probably is? Well, I’ve just found the exception.

The Taste of Summer menu at 60 Hope Street offers three courses for £16.95, which on the face of it – especially given the impeccable surroundings – is suspiciously good value.

Factor in a free bottle of 2006 Touraine Ros Alain Marcadet between two, and something, you’d imagine, would have to give.

Except on our visit, it didn’t.

I’d heard whisperings in the office that 60 Hope Street had the best service in town, and never one to resist a bargain, I headed over on a rare sunny evening with two friends ready to try the new menu for ourselves.

Our arrival was greeted with enthusiasm by the friendly staff, who ushered us to a large round table by the window and proffered the menu.

As the waiter placed the huge linen napkins in our laps, I realised exactly what my colleagues had been talking about – the service at 60 Hope Street made us feel like a million dollars.

As we perused the four choices of starter, mains and desserts on the menu, our waiter returned with a basket of heavenly breads, ranging from a fluffy white to a Mediterranean speciality packed with olives and sun-dried tomatoes.

Our free rosé was promptly delivered and tasted every bit as good as we’d hoped – crisp, fruity and refreshing, perfect for a warm sunny evening.

The minimalist interior of the restaurant is warm and welcoming and complements the grand Georgian entrance.

The tables were dressed with fresh flowers, linen napkins and sparkling cutlery and glasses.

As we drank our wine, we made our selections from the menu, or in my case, my individually created menu.

I always think the test of a good restaurant is to ask them for something that isn’t on the menu. And test it I did, although not entirely by choice.

Browsing the Taste of Summer menu – the offer ends tomorrow – on the restaurant’s website during the day, I realised it had no vegetarian option on the starter section.

After toying with the idea of requesting a main and two puddings (my friends threatened to disown me if I even tried) or abandoning the special menu altogether, I called in advance to ask the restaurant’s advice.

The super-friendly staff reassured me that there would be a vegetarian option, and when I arrived I wasn’t disappointed. There were, in fact, two – deep fried goat’s cheese and sweet potato soup.

I opted for the latter, with summer vegetable tortilla and Greek salad, while my friends chose paprika Goosnargh chicken with tzatziki for a starter, followed by baked escalope of salmon and julienne of vegetables with sauce verte and potted Southport shrimp, Melba toast and potato salad, and a main course of rump of Cumbrian beef with watercress salad and Lancashire cheese.

Greedy guts that we are, we also ordered side orders of chips (£2.50) and rocket and Parmesan (£4.95) to share.

The starters arrived within 20 minutes – long enough for us to catch up on all the office gossip, but not so long that we wanted to eat our own arms.

My sweet potato soup was lovely and creamy, and the chicken was succulent, tender and well-seasoned.

The shrimps and potato salad came in dinky little cylindrical mounds and were, I’m told, delicious.

The portion sizes were, as you’d expect in a three-course menu, small but perfectly formed. The quality was excellent, and left us looking forward to our mains, without being too full to move.

While we were chatting they arrived, beautifully presented and steaming hot.

My tortilla was hearty, and packed with fresh vegetables. The salad, with chunks of lovely, crumbly feta, cherry tomatoes and an entanglement of wilted rocket was very tasty – the perfect light summer dish.

The beef was more substantial, very moist and tender, and went perfectly with the chunky chips.

The salmon had an unusual twist – the vegetables were inside the fish, like a parcel. It was drizzled in a lovely light, summery sauce, which was satisfyingly creamy but not too rich.

And then it was time for my highlight of the night – pudding.

Two of us opted for lemon meringue pot and shortbread, while the other toyed with the idea of trying the imaginative choice of three pepper goats’ cheese terrines, before giving into the temptation of the white chocolate mousse with raspberries. Cheese is good, he mused, but chocolate is better.

He wasn’t disappointed. The mousse was heavenly – fluffy and light, beautifully presented with raspberries, and a spun sugar wafer.

The lemon meringue was just outstanding, a perfect confection of sweet meringue and a tangy lemon, with a soft top and a wonderfully tart gooey lemon base. It was just the right balance of sweet and sour flavours and served with shortbread which, although covered in a little too much sugar for my taste, tasted deliciously homemade.

To round off the meal, I had a cappuccino (£1.95) and my friends had two glasses of spicy, vanilla and oak- tinged 2004 Brushwood Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon (£4.85 each).

Service was faultless. From the moment we entered, we were treated exceptionally – the team have a wonderful knack of making even a simple dinner feel like a special occasion.

It was my first visit, but they made us feel like we were regulars.

The bill came to just £69.95 for the three of us – around £24 each – excellent value for the exceptional quality of the food, wine and service. We headed out into the summer night already planning our next visit.

60 Hope Street, Liverpool, 0151 707 6060

Opening times: Food served Monday to Saturday: lunch 12 -2.30pm, dinner 6-10.30pm last orders, closed all day Sunday and Bank Holidays.

Value for money: Excellent

Service: Very friendly without being intrusive.