Green Fork

Green Fork is a welcome addition to Liverpool’s culinary scene. As more people adopt vegetarian or vegan lifestyles, the options when dining out have moved from after-thought on a menu (usually something involving mushrooms) to a genre in its own right.

And far from being temples to tofu or a Quorn Hub of disappointment, the dishes on offer are often innovative and carefully created. Vegan restaurants are not just for vegans, they’re for anyone who enjoys eating. So, everyone then.

In the suburbs of Liverpool, more specifically 52 Rose Lane Bistro, Mossley Hill, you’ll find Green Fork, a vegan inspired residency from Sean Paul (no, not that Sean Paul), a chef who hails from Texas and during his career has cooked for celebrities such as Kate Moss, Liv Tyler, and Liverpool’s most famous son, Paul McCartney.

Armed with my vegan friend (the only accessory you need this season), we headed down to Green Fork to see what the ‘burbs had on offer. With a wide-ranging menu that offers Mediterranean and Moroccan dishes, with some Indian, some American, and an intriguing sounding vegan pie, it’s a real mix of cuisines.

So, in order to give a true account on what is on offer, we ordered… pretty much everything. It’s only right and proper isn’t it, and there’s nothing worse than FOMO where your dinner is concerned.

So, let’s go. Fried stuffed pimento olives while we waited were gorgeous, crispy and spicy, what more can you ask for. The first course to arrive was sprouting broccoli, green beans, sugar snaps and sweet tahini dressing, the kind of dish that you can pretend is healthy but probably definitely isn’t.

Cauliflower and kale pakora with coriander coconut chutney – wow. I make no secret of my love for cauliflower and my continued joy at seeing it on every menu but this was absolutely spot on. And the chutney was not overwhelmingly coconutty – a definite plus given how easily it can take over.

Moroccan mock lamb parcels,with red onion and sumac, came next. Meat alternatives can be hit and miss so this was ordered out of curiosity and while it didn’t resemble lamb it was delicious, with the sumac giving it a zesty kick. Honestly, I’d give it the respect it deserves to stand alone without the meat comparison – let the flavours take centre stage.

The spicy bean burger sliders and vegan pie delivered a carb heavy duo but in a comforting and more-ish way rather than “oh god I’ve got to undo my top button before my jeans garrotte me” way. I don’t know what was in the vegan pie but I do know that I would eat it again and surely that’s all that really matters.

And to skip forward a couple of dishes (told you we ordered the lot), let’s get to the dessert. Oh my days the dessert. Sharing a cheese-less chocolate cheesecake (a faux-mage if you will) which was embarrassingly good, thick, creamy chocolate filling that you couldn’t pick out of a taste test. We just repeated “oh my god” between forkfuls, like a really low budget version of when Harry met Sally. Loved it, would name my first child after it.

We rolled out of there fully stuffed and determined to return. Perhaps we’ll order slightly less next time to make sure there’s room for a slice of cheesecake each.