Livebait

Live Bait skirt the country with two venues in London, one in Leeds and one in Manchester. If a little utilitarian in their crisp approach of booths and checkered tiles, this restaurant easily compensates via their sensational menu.

The descriptions of shellfish and grills, pies and specials make for good reading material. There’s a satisfactory range of wines, spirits and soft drinks to sip while perusing the evening’s schedule of tastes, and although the house wines cruise the middle of the road, there are some more startling choices higher up the list.

The light ‘taster’ menu slips in as the perfect companion to a pre-meal glass. The mackerel pate and fresh bread in particular sits as a highly pleasant appetizer.

The starters range from salmon, to moules, to a mouth-watering bowl of deep fried whitebait and tzatziki sauce and very delicately flavored scallops served with basil. There is also stunning freshly baked bread, if you want to hit the carbs early.

The mains include a shellfish list that positively oozes with temptation. There is a Carroll-esque oyster option and several shellfish platters; the classic, and the ‘Live Bait Platter’ – which includes Devonshire crab, shell-on prawns and a Nova Scotia lobster. The lobster can also be sampled on its own, and while it assumes a rather surrealist stance beneath its feelers, you don’t actually see it swimming around prior to consumption, which I was pleased about. On the plate, lobster is delicious, and has a perfect consistency. The set of instruments make eating it an engrossing ritual, particularly where the legs and claw are concerned.

Beyond shellfish, there is a broad list of grills, including sea bass, sardine and sea bream. There are slightly weightier options too, such as fish pie, scallop risotto, beef and oyster pie and, of course, the classic fish, chips and mushy peas (Icelandic hand caught haddock or cod). The specials option for the night – moules in a deep and musty red wine and bacon sauce – is hedonistically rich.

Just when you think you’ve served your time, the deserts menu comes out and offers everything from ice cream, to a sticky chocolate fondant to huge crème brulees done to absolute perfection. All that’s left now is mint tea and port.