The restaurant is set to open next month
Barnacle moves into the Royal School for the Blind building on Harman Street(Image: Barnacle)
Nationally acclaimed chef Paul Askew is set to bring Barnacle back to Liverpool with the opening of a new restaurant. This will be the seafood business’s first stand-alone restaurant after it debuted in Duke Street Market in 2021, followed by the street food pop up located on the Royal Albert Dock.
Occupying the Royal School for the Blind building on Harman Street, the bar and lobby soft launched this weekend. The grand opening of the restaurant space and ground-floor is set for the October 4 weekend.
Barnacle will be led by head chef Kieran Gill, Paul Askew, his son, Harry, and the Art School team, who will “bring fresh gastronomic life to the site” by working with Merseyside’s finest local artisans, farmers and producers including Wards Fish, Almonds Fruit and Vegetables.
The restaurant and bar will reflect Liverpool’s history as a port city and the culinary inspirations which have found their way here over time.
The terrace overlooking Hardman Street will be available for cocktails while the entrance to Barnacle will be split with the bar to the left and restaurant to the right.
Harry Askew, restaurant director for Barnacle Restaurant & Bar, said: “We really feel Barnacle has now found its true home in a unique building which offers several spaces to dine, drink and socialise in.”
Paul Askew said: “It’s a historic place, part neo-classical and part art-deco, imbued by Victorian grandeur and with the Philharmonic Hall and Everyman Theatre as our neighbours.
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“My dad was Captain Barnacle Bill Askew and he sailed the world on the Blue Star lines. His travels inspired me when I was young and along with my mother, they set me on my culinary path decades ago.
“I always think of barnacles on the hulls of the great ships which once sailed to and from Liverpool and how so much culinary knowledge and experience ended up here and helped shape the dynamic range of flavours, styles and secrets from countless far-flung locations.
“And we will proudly tell the story of the city’s food and cultural odyssey through its maritime history at Barnacle, this time from our very own restaurant.”
Harry added: “We can finally realise our true vision for Barnacle, opening in a beautiful city-centre setting, which is completely our own space, where we’re curating our version of modern gastronomy.
“It’s the right time for us to open up this next chapter and bring Barnacle back to Liverpool, in true form, to be part of its thriving culinary scene.”