Bacchus Greek Taverna: Review

How far do you have to go for a great neighbourhood bistro? For Neil Moran, it's just over the road...

I’ve always been slow on the uptake. I’m on record as saying the Nintendo Wii wouldn’t work. Six months I’ve been living in Liverpool and during that time I’ve vowed at least once a week to visit the Bacchus Taverna across the road from me. I took the plunge on Friday. and now I’m annoyed I didn’t do it much sooner.

Standing in the shadow of Toys R Us on Waterloo road, Bacchus gives the lie to all those who say, when it comes to restaurants, it’s all about location. At seven on a miserable Friday evening, the place was heaving.

Unlike most new restaurants in town, the inside of Bacchus refuses to let style win out over substance, This is a family-run neighbourhood taverna, and it has no pretensions to be otherwise, with Greek murals on the walls, closely packed tables, and a warm - and genuine - welcome.

The choice of starters on offer is huge and varied. Our table opted for stuffed vine leaves – which were exceptional, octopus – which was cooked to perfection, delicate and delicious Spanakopita (spinach and cheese filo parcels) – and a superb taramosalata.

When it comes to the mains, though, lamb is king. The house speciality, Kleftiko Psito has that falling off the bone succulence that shows it’s been slow cooked since last Saturday (well, maybe not quite). Other musts are Keftedakia (lamb and pork meatballs in a wine sauce) and the Skordo-Stoumbi (dice lamb cooked in wine, herbs and vinegar). Alas, as everyone around the table were carnivores, no one opted for the vegetarian options, but those we spotted looked equally mouthwatering. Maybe next time.

Bacchus offers a wide range of wines, and a few traditional Greek and Cypriot beers if you’re after a night of complete Aegean authenticity.

Given the number of drinks consumed and the high quality of food and service, the bill for a table of four was very reasonable. We’ve paid twice as much in town, for half the fun.

As we left, not only where we thanked for our custom by the staff who had served us all evening, but the chefs even went out of their way to do the same and wave us off from their open plan kitchen. You have to go a long way for service this good.

Fortunately, for me, it’s just over the road. And Bacchus can consider me their very latest regular customer.

Neil Moran

Bacchus Greek Taverna
14 Waterloo Rd
Liverpool,
0151 255 1661

27 February 2011

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Bacchus Greek Taverna: Review

How far do you have to go for a great neighbourhood bistro? For Neil Moran, it's just over the road...