Jade Wright samples the menu at Hanover Street Social in a newly thriving food quarter

TIME was, not that long ago, when Hanover Street was run-down and neglected, with parts of the street crumbling.

The famous Casartelli building, at its junction with Duke Street, was in such a state of dereliction that it had to be demolished.

But a decade on the rebuilt Casartelli is bursting with life, and Hanover Street has a number of thriving new arrivals to celebrate.

Fresh life has been breathed into the Neptune, now known as the Epstein Theatre, and the street is also home to BBC Radio Merseyside, Herbert the hairdresser’s, Tracey Bell’s beauty salon, a Tesco store, and a Novotel hotel.

Shoppers spill out of Liverpool One shopping centre into a proliferation of restaurants. Salt House Tapas opened in July, 2010, followed five months later by Bem Brasil, The Hub, and Hanover Street Social, which opened in August 2011.

The decor in Hanover Street Social is classically French – reflecting its ethos of being both a brasserie and a bar.

Mains range from £8.95-16.95, with side dishes coming in at the £2.50-3.50 mark.

It’s good value, with hearty portions and excellent quality ingredients. Like sister restaurant Salt House Tapas, the chefs pride themselves on the provenance of the food, and it shows.

As well as the a la carte there’s a good value set menu, which offers two courses for £9.95 or three for £12.50 on Monday to Saturday from 12-6pm.

On Mondays they offer two courses and a bottle of house wine each for £17.95.

“A bottle of wine between us?” asked my friend Michelle.

“No, a bottle of wine each,” replied the waitress.

Reasoning we could always take it with us, we ordered two bottles of red.

Added to that it wasn’t a set menu as such – we could choose whatever we wanted from the a la carte menu – and it started to seem like an amazingly good deal.

For my starter I chose wild mushrooms on toasted brioche with a poached egg and hollandaise sauce. Michelle went for the salad of winter beetroot, feta cheese, herb croutons, rocket and rosemary oil.