Ziba at Racquet Club

Ziba was established in 1997 but moved in 2003 to the ground floor of the Racquet Club Hotel on Chapel Street, opposite the Liver Building. The building is a magnificent Victorian gem built in the form of a Venetian Palazzo by a Liverpool merchant in 1857. The restaurant benefits from large arched windows in a big airy space with an adjacent cosy bar. James Morgan a young, talented and very enthusiastic chef, has recently been put in charge of the kitchen, aiming to boost quality and add extra flair to the traditional food served.

A typical meal could begin with rabbit, broad bean pancetta and grain mustard fricassee; Claremont farm asparagus with pan fired duck egg and smoked Cecina de Leon beef; pan fried Goosnargh corn fed chicken livers with spiced pancetta and baby leaf salad; goats cheese and red pepper wrapped in leek with pickled beetroot and balsamic reduction.

With a choice of mains like roast Goosnargh corn-fed chicken breast tandoori with curried potato and spinach with daal jus; roast lamb rump and sauté potatoes with beetroot and spring cabbage and red wine jus; grilled sea bass fillet and smoked haddock with petit pois a la francais and poached egg and roast Claremont farm parsnips and butternut squash gnocchi with Lancashire blue cheese cream.

Desserts include iced Claremont farm strawberry parfait with clotted cream and Anne Forshaw's yoghurt; elderflower poached pear with lemon and orange posset; selection of British cheeses with chutney and sticky toffee pudding with vanilla ice cream.