GARY MANNING set out to breathe fire into Liverpool’s damp and dreary culinary reputation when he opened 60 Hope Street on St George’s Day a decade ago.

A few dragons have been slain since then, some of them in the form of London-based critics, as the city has progressed from being an eating out backwater to an attractive gastronomic destination.

Ten years ago, up-market dining was a bit thin on the ground, with Becher’s Brook and Ziba flying the flag. In those days, the idea of a London food critic even visiting town was unheard of.

Not so these days, although Manning still smarts over a visit from The Guardian’s reviewer, who felt he had to mention in his report being propositioned by a working girl.

He said: “If he had gone to a restaurant in Soho and had a similar experience, do you think it would have been mentioned? I doubt it.

“Still, the city has a very different dynamic to the place it was when we opened 10 years ago. I had been scouting around for the right sort of location and felt that it was the right place to be with the theatres, the Philharmonic Hall and cathedrals.

“For those reasons, I think Hope Street offers something a bit different to other parts of the city.”

In fact, the proud Liverpudlian is adamant that the street’s atmosphere and reputation must be maintained.

And he put his money where his mouth is last year when he battled with a pizza chain over some premises that became vacant across from 60.

Now the building is HoSt, a venue offering pan-Asian food and a further addition to the trio of eateries that includes The Quarter nearby.