Spice City

Spice City, in the Stanley Street Quarter, is one of the most upmarket and sophisticated restaurants in Liverpool city centre, and it’s easy to see why. With understated and tasteful decor, considered presentation and a menu that does new and interesting things with Indian cuisine, it creates an atmosphere that stands apart from the usual curry house fare available in the city. Visitors to Stanley Street expect a certain refined air to proceedings, and Spice City does not disappoint.

Stanley Street – and the entire Stanley Street Quarter of surrounding streets – is known as an upmarket area of Liverpool city centre with regards to dining, and Spice City fits in perfectly. Their white walls are sparsely filled, their chefs fully suited and booted, and their selection of dishes that little bit more unusual and refined. They aim for a somewhat classier and more refined approach to Indian cuisine than the standard curry house and they succeed. The proof is not so much as the pudding, however, but in the whole menu.

Indian food in Liverpool can fall into the trap of turning out the same few dishes over and over, with little variety between establishments. At Spice City on Stanley Street, however, they add to the repertoire considerably. Starters include Goan crab puri and rasqi hansh, a duck dish, definitively a step beyond the kebabs and pakora staples. Mains such as fish matchli ragni and Sylheti jalfrezi, from Bangladesh, show a wider variety as well. That isn’t to say that all your favourites aren’t there – they are, and as good as anywhere else’s – but the ambition shown at Spice City is admirable. They represent an interesting addition to the Stanley Street Quarter and Liverpool city centre, and the Scouse public agree, so make sure you book your table in advance.