Restaurant in Liverpool, United Kingdom
Liverpool's most complete occasion-dining room.
The most formally composed dining room in Liverpool, The Art School holds a Michelin Plate for 2024 and 2025 and delivers ambitious Modern British cooking at a £££ price point well below equivalent ambition in London. The dramatic room next to the Philharmonic Hall works hard for special occasions, and the wine list, with its strong focus on central and south-east European producers, is one of the city's best. Book one to two weeks out for most evenings.
Getting a table at The Art School requires some forward planning, but this is not a venue that books out weeks in advance the way tighter-capacity tasting-menu restaurants do. A moderate booking window of one to two weeks should cover most evenings, with weekend dinners requiring more lead time. The effort is worth it: this is the most formally composed dining room in Liverpool, and it delivers a level of ambition that few restaurants in the city match at this price point.
The visual impression here matters. The Art School occupies an august building next to the Philharmonic Hall, and the main dining room is one of the most dramatic spaces in Liverpool: high ceilings, bright red chairs against crisp white tablecloths, and a formality that signals this is a special-occasion destination rather than a casual neighbourhood restaurant. The service team matches the room, which means you can bring a client, a partner, or a group marking something significant and expect the occasion to be handled properly.
In summer, a courtyard area off the cellar bar extends the venue beyond the main dining room, offering a more relaxed setting for drinking and snacking. That courtyard is worth knowing about if you want to experience the building without committing to a full dinner, and it positions The Art School as a partial late-evening option: the cellar bar with its courtyard access gives you somewhere to continue after dinner or arrive early without the full formality of the dining room.
Paul Askew's kitchen runs ambitious, colour-forward plates that carry a lot of elements without tipping into overcrowding. The sourcing is regionally anchored: salt-marsh lamb appears as a trio of cuts including loin, confit shoulder, and hay-roasted rump, accompanied by samphire, golden beetroot, and Wirral ricotta. A Mediterranean instinct surfaces in starters such as red mullet on saffron potatoes with brown shrimps, red pepper purée, and a pastis sauce. Vegetable mains are taken seriously rather than treated as an afterthought, with tempura-battered courgette alongside herbed bulgur wheat, chickpeas, and a courgette and pistachio purée appearing as a representative example. Desserts run toward composed combinations: mirabelle plum compôte with white chocolate mousse, or a steamed blackberry pudding with pomegranate ice cream and honey for something more substantial.
The kitchen operates a prix-fixe format as the primary structure, supplemented by a range of speciality menus that includes guest chef dinners and themed evenings. This variety matters for repeat visitors: if you have been once for a standard dinner, there is a programmatic reason to return. Live music nights add a further layer of occasion, and these events are worth checking before you book if atmosphere on a specific evening matters to you.
The wine programme is a genuine strength. The global list concentrates on central and south-east Europe, which is an interesting editorial choice that rewards curious drinkers rather than defaulting to the usual French and New World backbone most comparable restaurants lean on. Small glasses start at £6.50 for Abruzzo wines across all three colours, which is a fair entry point for a restaurant operating at this tier. The selection of reds is particularly strong, according to Michelin's assessors, who have awarded the restaurant a Michelin Plate in both 2024 and 2025.
Art School holds a Michelin Plate for 2024 and 2025, which places it in the recommended tier of Michelin's annual assessment without a star. Google reviewers rate it 4.7 from 852 reviews, a notably high volume of feedback for a formal restaurant at this price point. Combined, these signals suggest consistent delivery rather than occasional brilliance: the kitchen performs reliably, which matters when you are booking for a significant occasion.
For context within the broader Modern British category across the UK, the Michelin Plate positions The Art School in the same recognised tier as venues like hide and fox in Saltwood and The Hand and Flowers in Marlow, while restaurants like CORE by Clare Smyth in London, L'Enclume in Cartmel, and Moor Hall in Aughton operate at the starred level above it. At £££ in Liverpool rather than London, the value calculation is direct: you are getting serious, award-recognised cooking at a price point considerably below what comparable ambition costs in the capital. The Ritz Restaurant in London or The Fat Duck in Bray occupy a different price tier entirely.
The Art School is the right choice if you want the most formally composed, occasion-ready dining room in Liverpool with a wine list that rewards attention. It works for anniversaries, business dinners, and any celebration where the room itself needs to do some of the work. The live music and guest chef events make it worth following the schedule if you are a repeat visitor. If you want something less formal at a lower price point, Manifest or Belzan are the logical alternatives. For the full Liverpool picture, see our full Liverpool restaurants guide, and if you are planning a broader trip, our Liverpool hotels guide, bars guide, and experiences guide cover the rest.
Quick reference: £££ Modern British, Michelin Plate 2024/2025, Google 4.7 (852 reviews), 1 Sugnall St, Liverpool L7 7EB. Courtyard bar available in summer. Special events programme including guest chef dinners and live music. Book one to two weeks ahead for weekday dinner; more lead time recommended for weekends.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Art School | Modern British | £££ | Having celebrated 10 years in business, Paul Askew's restaurant continues to nourish the good diners of Liverpool. The spacious, elegant dining room has a stylish streak with its bright red chairs and crisp white tablecloths, while the formality of the décor is matched by the service team. The cooking is ambitious and full of colour, while a serious wine list adds to the appeal, with a particularly strong selection of reds. Do check out the array of special events they run, including guest chef dinners and live music nights.; Paul Askew's restaurant in an august building next to the Philharmonic Hall now has a courtyard area off the cellar bar for summer drinking and snacking. In the main room, still one of the most dramatic dining spaces in Liverpool, the cooking is full of ambitious flair, the plates busy but not overcrowded with elements that all fit together as snugly as jigsaw pieces. A trio of cuts of salt-marsh lamb – loin, confit shoulder and hay-roasted rump – comes adorned with samphire, golden beetroot and Wirral ricotta, while the vegetable main course could be tempura-battered courgette with herbed bulgur wheat, chickpeas and courgette/pistachio purée. Proceedings might open in distinctly Mediterranean manner, with a serving of marine-fresh red mullet on saffron potatoes, brown shrimps and red pepper purée, sauced with pastis. Finish with mirabelle plum compôte and white chocolate mousse or, for something more substantial, a steamed blackberry pudding with pomegranate ice cream and honey. A plethora of speciality menus supplements the basic prix-fixe, and wine is handled comprehensively too, with a distinguished global list that homes in on central and south-east Europe. Small glasses start at £6.50 for Abruzzo wines in all three colours.; Michelin Plate (2025); Michelin Plate (2024) | Moderate | — |
| “8” By Andrew Sheridan | Modern Cuisine | ££££ | Unknown | — | |
| Belzan | Modern Cuisine | ££ | Unknown | — | |
| Bistrot Vérité | Classic French | ££ | Unknown | — | |
| Manifest | Modern British | £££ | Unknown | — | |
| Mowgli Water Street | Indian | Unknown | — |
Comparing your options in Liverpool for this tier.
For occasion dining at the £££ price point, yes — the kitchen delivers ambitious, colour-forward plates with strong regional sourcing, and the wine list is good enough to pair properly. The prix-fixe format is supplemented by a range of speciality menus, so there is flexibility in how you structure the meal. If you want a more relaxed, lower-commitment format, Bistrot Vérité offers solid French cooking at a lower price. The Art School earns the spend when the occasion justifies a formal setting.
There is a cellar bar with a courtyard area available for summer drinking and snacking, which is a more casual entry point than the main dining room. That option suits a drink and a light bite rather than a full dinner. For a full meal, the main room is the right setting — the cellar bar is not a like-for-like substitute for the dining experience.
The formal dining room and service-led format work for solo diners who are comfortable in that environment, but the space is built around occasion dining for groups or couples rather than casual solo drop-ins. The cellar bar is a lower-pressure option if you want to eat alone without the full formal setting. Solo diners looking for counter seating or a more casual solo experience would find Manifest or Belzan a better fit.
The room has crisp white tablecloths, a formal service team, and the feel of a destination restaurant rather than a neighbourhood bistro — so dress accordingly. Smart dress is the appropriate read from the décor and service style. Turning up in casual clothing will feel out of step with the room, even if there is no stated dress code in the available information.
It is the most occasion-ready dining room in Liverpool by format: a dramatic main room, formal service, ambitious cooking, and a wine list with genuine depth. The restaurant also runs guest chef dinners and live music nights, which adds options beyond a standard dinner booking. For birthdays, anniversaries, or any event where the room itself needs to signal occasion, this is the right call in Liverpool.
"8" By Andrew Sheridan is the main peer for serious tasting-menu ambition in Liverpool and sits in a similar price bracket. Bistrot Vérité is a better option if you want accomplished cooking in a less formal setting at a lower price. Belzan suits neighbourhood dinner rather than occasion dining, and Manifest is the right choice if you want natural wine and a more casual format. Mowgli Water Street is not a direct comparison — different cuisine, different format, much lower price.
At £££, the value case rests on three things: ambitious Modern British cooking with strong regional sourcing, one of the most dramatic dining rooms in the city, and a wine list that covers central and south-east Europe with real editorial purpose. Two consecutive Michelin Plate awards (2024 and 2025) confirm it sits in the recommended tier. If you are benchmarking against a starred restaurant, it does not quite reach that level — but for Liverpool, it delivers a credible return on the spend.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
