Food review: Barbacoa, Crosby

The Barboacoa is two floored entertainment venue in the Crosby and Waterloo area of North Liverpool, and has recently added to its growing list of qualities a new way of eating which involves cooking your own grub at your table.

The appeal of Black Rock Grill lies in its ‘food as an event’ concept. All hot dishes are prepared on volcanic rocks which, as well as being an innovative and interesting way of eating your food (it certainly ramps up the immediate wow factor), it is also an extremely healthy way of cooking with no oils or fats added.

The family run restaurant is well established in the area and this year celebrates its 35th birthday so it came as no surprise that on a Friday evening when we tried it out, the restaurant was full of people and the food became our theatre. Your writer opted for the Trio of Fish (Fillets of Tuna steak, Mahi-mahi and Salmon, displayed in full glory on the main image and below) while my friend went for a classic 10 oz sirloin steak.

We had fun playing chef; searing and sizzling our own food and it was great that we could eat at our own pace, an oft forgot luxury at a restaurant particularly at such a busy time. It was also helpful that we were provided with some bibs - otherwise a trip to the dry cleaners would have been on the cards following our visit!

There’s also a range of side dishes to accompany your mains from onion rings to baked potatoes, and a well presented fresh salad served with every meal. It may also be worth noting that the restaurant also offers customers a range of hot sauces from Dr Burnorium which we weren’t brave enough, on this occasion, to try.

The restaurant is also well-known for its wine tastings and the list was one of the best we’ve seen and shows knowledge and attention has been paid to ensure it doesn’t include the usual suspects, we enjoyed a delightful bottle of Sancerre to help wash down the food, as well as two delicious frozen Margaritas.

The service was impeccably friendly and helpful and we had a thoroughly enjoyable night. We can say with confidence that the Black Rock Grill at Barbacoa is worthy of its lofty status as part of Merseyside’s growing restaurant scene; here's to the next 35 years.