The venue will close to honour a milestone for one key staff member working in the kitchen
Kin Liu, co-owner of Chamber 36 on Berry Street.(Image: Andrew Teebay/Liverpool Echo)
A south Liverpool restaurant will be closing its doors with ‘no regrets’ for a number of weeks for a special reason. Chamber 36 is a Chinese small plates restaurant and bar with two sites in Liverpool – one on Berry Street and one on Smithdown Road. The latter site will be closed for more than two weeks while the staff celebrate a major milestone for one member of their team.
A social media post shared by the venue last night confirmed the temporary closure and explained they had taken the decision due to a staff member’s upcoming wedding and honeymoon, with several team members joining in the celebrations meaning the choice was made to close their doors for an extended period.
Staff from the restaurant confirmed the Smithdown Road venue would be closed “for a few weeks”, adding that they had “no regrets”.
A message shared on the restaurant’s Instagram page said: “An important update from your team at Smithdown Road.
Kin Liu runs Chamber 36 on Berry Street with his business partner Shaun Quek(Image: Liverpool ECHO)
“Our lovely Chef Don is tying the knot and heading off on his well-deserved honeymoon – congrats chef! To celebrate with him, we’ll be closing our Smithdown Road site for a short holiday.
“We’ll be closed from Sunday, July 27, and will reopen, refreshed and ready, on Wednesday, August 13!
“But don’t worry, there’s still time to get your fix! We’re open this week, Tuesday to Saturday. Just a heads-up, we have a private hire this Saturday from 7pm, so space will be limited for our regulars. Come early and enjoy!
“We can’t wait to welcome you back after our break and thank you for your continued support.”
Chamber 36 is owned by Kin Liu and Shaun Quek, who met at Kung Fu practice and decided to launch their modern restaurant venture together, with a vision to breath new life into Chinatown with their original Berry Street site.
Kin’s family formerly ran The Arch restaurant before he took over the family business and transformed it into Chamber 36, giving up a successful career as a lawyer to pursue his passion for authentic Chinese food.
The Liu family also ran Chinatown mainstay Chilli Chilli, but Kin said he felt “something needed to change” in the area to reflect the changing preferences of Liverpool’s foodies.
Chamber 36 offers a modern pan-Asian menu serving incredible “Oriental tapas”, with traditional Chinese staples Kin grew up with alongside more contemporary twists on classic dishes.
With chefs from Hong Kong and Thailand having worked for the business over the years, and Kin and Shaun’s own heritage in China and Singapore, the menu offers a varied taste of their favourite Asian dishes.
Kin said he wanted the restaurant to reflect his Chinese roots, but also that he was born and brought up in Liverpool.
Chamber 36 also runs an impressively stocked bar for customers hoping to come in and enjoy a drink rather than a full sit-down meal.
The Berry Street venue has stood in the shadow of Chinatown since 2016. Last year, Chamber 36’s vibrant cocktail list caught the eye of industry experts and the venue is celebrating being awarded the best in the country.
The Golden Chopsticks Awards is an awards ceremony which recognises East and South East Asian cuisine across the UK, celebrating the contribution of restaurateurs and food businesses to the UK catering industry and championing the food heroes working within it.
Chamber 36 won the title of ‘Best Golden Cocktail Award’. The venue’s menu includes a colourful take on classics such as a ‘Dragon Ball zombie’ and ‘Bruce Lee-chini’ while bespoke items include ‘Sichuan sip’ and ‘Beijing bellini’.