CHRISTMAS AT THE ACADEMY, Liverpool

Trish, Anne and Dina are the Whatever the Weather Girls; Long term friends in the early Autumn years of their lives, on a mission to explore the restaurants and vibe of Liverpool each month – whatever the weather, whatever our circumstances.

It would be lovely to have started with a sunny, bright day but alas, it rained again.

We soon found Tradewind Square, Liverpool where the Academy is secreted away just off Duke Street and once inside we were warmly welcomed by a number of fresh faced staff and led to our seats. A refreshing jug of citrus infused water was brought to our table whilst we ordered our drinks and staff took our coats.

The Academy Liverpool: Ethos.

The Academy Liverpool is a training restaurant, operating term time only with students from a variety of hospitality professions overseen by professional staff and headed up by a dedicated manager named Michael. Today our hosts were cabin crew.

Cuisine is European and Mediterranean, both contemporary and traditional.

Today we were there for the the Christmas dinner menu at just £20 a head for 3 courses as well as Mince pies and coffee.

Drinks at The Academy, Liverpool

The bar offered some cocktails and a selection of beers, wines and spirits with the gin and Bacardi being everything they should have been and our only complaint was that we should have ordered doubles!

Once our food was ordered we sat back and enjoyed the drinks and the quiet ambiance as the cosy restaurant filled up.

Our lovely host who stayed close all afternoon, happily took our signature pic (just our hands and drinks). It was remiss of us not to take her name but her cheerfulness and professionalism were commendable.

Food at The Academy

Starters :

Having made our choices from the varied menu, we tucked in to our starters.

I opted for the cream of celeriac soup, which did not disappoint and well met the expectations of my palate.

Anne had the smoked ham hock and chicken roulade which she said was tasty and well complemented by the sweetness of the beetroot and apple chutney.

With no vegan starter on this menu Dina was offered a carrot and coriander soup which she said was warm, mellow and comforting for a rainy day.

Everything came in good time and was served to perfection.

Mains :

Anne had the pan fried pave of cod which she pronounced was cooked beautifully with a nice crust and the flavour brought out by the rosemary beurre blanc sauce.

Dina had the wild mushroom and ratatoullie jalousie. She appeared very pleased by the variety and flavours of the mushrooms (I believe she used the word ‘exquisite’). The ratatouille tasting Mediterranean and spicy but not over powering.

The only blip in our gastronomic reverie was that we had a little wait for vegetables but on arrival the roast potatoes and locally sourced vegetables were delicious and filling.

Dessert:

Anne and I selected the pear and chocolate mousse torte and Dina had the Vegan Christmas plum with fresh fruit which she said was very moorish with a delicate fragrance of fruit. . I had to taste to see and I could not disagree. My torte did not disappoint, having for me the right balance of sweetness. Too often a dessert is ruined by being too sweet, this was perfect with the pears blending beautifully with the chocolate. Anne declared hers to be the best chocolate mousse she had tasted and she has certainly had a few !

We were of course too full for mince pies but coffee was welcome.

So overall a successful dining experience that could give some of the more expensive establishments a run for their money.

Ambiance. The cosy restaurant had a warm, bright and festive feel with Christmas crackers on the table. The soft background music allowed us to chat away as we enjoyed our food.

The Chat:

We talked about how we were celebrating our first anniversary of the WTWGs. Anne joked that she was becoming a ‘scouse bird’ as she had been out in her pyjamas this week even though her coat had hidden the evidence. Conversely, she had also enjoyed some culture going to see the Nutcracker on the previous Saturday ( though not in her pyjamas!). As usual, she was adorned by her latest acquisition from a charity shop as part of her effort to support them, this time a lovely bracelet.

Dina and I gave updates on our grandchildren and Anne showed us a lovely festive picture of Meg, her dog, next to the Christmas tree.

So, would we recommend The Academy, Liverpool?

Drinks: Overall 10 (maybe a cocktail menu could be introduced at some point but as it is a training establishment this may be too time consuming for them).

The food: Overall a 10. A well thought out menu with all our choices matching our appetites as well as being beautifully presented.

Vegan food: Again a 10 as everything Dina ate was described as delicious and filling. There was no vegan starter on the menu we chose from but Dina thoroughly enjoyed the soup brought to her instead, in a timely fashion.

Service was also a 10. The young woman looking after us did so with a smile and in a professional manner. Michael, who was overseeing everything did a great job. We only had the one blip with the veg being a bit slow but for a training environment, this was better than a lot of places.

For a fine dining experience that doesn’t hurt the pocket this is the place to go, on this experience you should not be disappointed.

So, well done to the Academy students and professional staff and with apologies to any mature students…. who said youth is wasted on the young?