Liverpool restaurant named as one of the top new restaurants in the UK

Liverpool restaurant Nord has been named as one of the best new restaurants in the UK in a prestigious national award

Opened in March last year in the business district, Nord was one of just 23 restaurants from across the country – stretching from Scotland to Cornwall – to be chosen as a winner in Condé Nast Traveller’s first ever The UK’s Top New Restaurant Awards.

Condé Nast Traveller magazine set out to find the newcomers that had something special to set them apart in what’s been a tough time for the hospitality industry.

Alongside the outstanding quality of their dishes, a judging team of food writers and chefs looked at everything from which restaurant served the perfect pint to who had the buzziest most welcoming dining room.

The awards brought together some of the country’s top foodies including TV regulars Angela Harnett, Andi Oliver, Gizzi Erskine and Tom Parker Bowles to scour the country for the best openings of 2023 from a shortlist of thousands.

CN Traveller explained:

“Opening the doors of a new restaurant is hard enough – keeping them open requires grit, talent and a little magic,”

“To be named on this list of the UK’s Top New Restaurants is about more than Michelin stars (although you’ll find a few here) and big-name chefs; it’s about experiencing exceptional service, an atmosphere you can truly unwind in, storytelling you wouldn’t find anywhere else and food that opens up a little slice of the world for you.”

Nord, which is inside the Plaza building in St Paul’s Square off Old Hall Street, was the only restaurant in the North West to make the final cut and be listed among the winners.

It was launched by Liverpool chef Daniel Heffy and the owners of award-winning independent hospitality group GSG (Graffiti Spirits Group), who are already behind some of Liverpool’s most popular venues including Duke Street Market, Salt Dog Slims and Bold Street Coffee.

Although Liverpool doesn’t have a Michelin-starred restaurant yet, Daniel previously worked at the three-Michelin star Frantzén , in Stockholm before joining another Michelin-starred restaurant, Adam/Albin, in the Swedish capital.

By combining his Scandi influences with top quality Northern produce and hospitality, Daniel said with Nord they were aiming to create a destination restaurant which would bring a new high quality food experience to the city.

The UK’s Top New Restaurants critics were impressed with what they found, praising everything from the retro décor and ‘Scandi chic’ cocktail menu to hyper-local produce suppliers.

“If a Scouse-Scandi mash-up wasn’t on your bingo card for openings of the year, take comfort in the fact that it wasn’t on ours, either. But here, Heffy is giving what he terms ‘travelled British food’ its time in the spotlight,” they said.

They went on to single out the beer-battered cod Kiev as the number one must-try dish on the Nord menu.