New restaurants and bars we can’t wait to welcome and enjoy in 2026

There’s no place quite like Liverpool when it comes to a great night out whether you’re looking for fabulous food in places like Barnacle and The Ivy, or a drink with your mates at Ma Boyles or the Municipal.

You’re always spoilt for choice in Liverpool – especially this year when the city will be home to a host of new venues we can’t wait to welcome and enjoy …

Dishoom

Top tier Indian restaurant chain Dishoom is set to open its first Liverpool venue in March, introducing Permit Room at Exchange Court. Offering an all-day café and bar which will serve up sharing dishes, curries and bar snacks while guests listen to great music, it’s a salute to the permit rooms, beer bars and drinking holes of Bombay – and it sounds amazing. 

Flat Iron

Liverpool loves a steak, so it’s great to see specialists Flat Iron joining Castle Street’s already thriving food scene, and complementing the likes of Hawskmoor and Gaucho in the city. Flat Iron’s well known for serving quality steak at an affordable price but while the menu will focus on its signature dish you can also expect changing specials, wagyu dishes and its famous green chilli cheeseburger when it opens this summer.

Burger & Sauce at Central Station

Already open, you can enjoy fresh handmade burgers with one of three special sauces: Classic Homemade, a spicy Signature Sauce and, if you want to turn up the heat, a Smokin’ Hot BBQ Sauce. Its concept is that a burger should be simple, great tasting and a good price whether it’s beef, chicken, cod or veggie!

Jerk Junction in Liverpool ONE

Another one already there and just begging to be sampled is Jerk Junction which has moved into the old Gourmet Burger Kitchen location in Liverpool ONE’s Terrace. Promising the best Caribbean food outside of the island, the menu includes rice and peas, its famous jerk chicken, and traditional curry goat – ‘and it’s always big portions and big love’.

Parliament Square Coffee on Cook Street

Husband and wife team Chris and Hayley opened Parliament Square Coffee on Crump Street in the Baltic Triangle in 2023, serving up speciality coffee alongside a fresh seasonal brunch menu. They expanded with a second site on Clarence Street in the Georgian Quarter and a third Cook Street venue is ‘coming soon’. What makes it special is not just its exceptional food and drink but that it goes the extra mile, creating opportunities for young people with additional needs and workplaces where neurodiversity is not just accepted but celebrated. Its academy offers specialist barista training for 15 to 18 year olds.

Hotel Indigo has launched Barrel & Chapel

Barrel & Chapel in Liverpool is a relaxed and stylish new city hangout you’ll find on the on the ground floor of Hotel Indigo. The vibe is chilled and the menu is filled with delicious pizzas, burgers, bowls and bar bites perfect for a quick lunch or a fun, no-fuss evening. In the place of what was the Marco Pierre White Steakhouse Bar & Grill, it’s focusing on laid-back vibes, killer cocktails and comfort food done right.

Bold Street Coffee will open at Duke Street Market

Fifteen years after it opened its first branch in Liverpool, Bold Street Coffee has gone from strength to strength and it’s planning further expansion this year including a new venue in Duke Street Market from this month. Look forward to amazing coffee, breakfasts and bagels, and its boss buoys, toasted brioche buns filled with scrambled eggs, melted cheese and tasty toppings like bacon, sausage, aubergine and smashed avocado.

The Shandon Bells, Hope Street

From the team that brought The Vines back to life, conserved St Peter’s Tavern and restored The Monro, this month sees the opening of The Shandon Bells, ” a tiny corner of Cork, right here in Liverpool “. It’ll be serving up perfectly poured pints of Guinness, Murphy’s and Beamish and, to go with them, Tayto and toasties. The Shandon Bells is also going to have five local casks that will rotate regularly, and traditional Irish music with live performances that’ll guarantee a top atmosphere.

Mersey Ferries will welcome a new food operator

Whether you’re enjoying a river cruise and seeing the world-famous waterfront sites or letting your hair down on one of the music-led ‘dance-the-night-away’ evening excursions, you’ll soon be able to add beautiful food to the magical menu. Mersey Ferries is set to announce a new food partner who’ll deliver high quality food and drink on board, at terminals and more.

Find the best food & drink deals around the city this January here.

Keep up to date with all the latest foodie news in Liverpool here.

Find out what’s good up North on our new platform, The Northern Guide. 

From the best hotels, beauty spots, days out, food and more up North – visit thenorthernguide.com and follow The Northern Guide on Instagram HERE.