Review: The Lansdowne Bistro, Anchor Street, Southport
There are not many restaurants where the best dishes on the menu are created from winning recipes which have been passed down through the generations.
The Lansdowne Bistro in Southport continues to thrive because of its very rich culinary heritage – while also continuing to reinvent itself and embrace what’s new.
Owners Paddy and Jamie and their team have been working hard in the background to refurbish this cosy, stylish and elegant venue in Southport town centre.
The investment marks 20 years of the Lansdowne Bistro and the 5th anniversary since their takeover.
We were invited to visit on a midweek Wednesday night. There were a few people in early ahead of taking in shows at the nearby Southport Little Theatre and The Atkinson; tables of couples; friends catching up.
It’s very popular with the golfing crowd, both locally, and those who fly in to play on Southport’s world famous courses.
The Lansdowne is a real hidden gem with a superb location. It’s at 22 Anchor Street, tucked away between Lord Street and Hoghton Street, so very central and easily accessible, while also quiet and off the beaten track.
The interior has been fully redecorated with an ‘old meets new’ decor, a clean modern finish keeping all their quirky history and fishing and shooting memorabilia.
There is new mood table lighting throughout to match the new music, light acoustic jazz versions of modern classics.
We went with our two daughters and while there is no children’s menu, the team is flexible and happy to cook smaller versions of what’s on the main menu, or anything to suit – ours ate chicken with a tempura batter with chips and beans, which was very well received.
Starters include The Lansdowne Fish Soup, which has an incredible depth of flavour; it was packed with fresh mussels, fresh white fish, big fat prawns and local shrimps. A memorable dish.
Another starter was mussels in white wine and cream, lots of mussels with delicious flavours which went well with the very tasty freshly baked bread.
Main courses included one of the specials, a 14 oz bone-in sirloin steak.
If you look on TripAdvisor, Southport Food Reviews and other review sites, diners rave about the quality of the steaks at The Lansdowne.
It’s a reputation which is very much justified. Incredible steak, served with home made onion rings, grilled tomato, peppercorn sauce or wild mushroom sauce, and accompanied by a whole host of freshly cooked vegetables with carrots, green beans, mangetout, baby corn, freshly made chips, boiled potatoes, and more.
Simply sensational.
We also went for surf as well as turf, with pan fried halibut, creamed leeks and samphire just what Southport needs after the closure of The Forge in 2020 – a restaurant in our seaside town which can cook really top quality seafood dishes.
Their puddings were fantastic. There is fabulous choice on the dessert menu, with our youngest daughter declaring that the vanilla ice cream with fresh strawberries and home-made hot chocolate sauce her dish of the day.
The hot chocolate sauce is the best I’ve ever tasted – one recipe which has been passed down from Mark Tyndall to Paddy Tyndall from Francisca’s to Tyndall’s to Brambles and now the Lansdowne.
Creme brulee was another perfect way to end a perfect night, while brandy snap curls with summer berries, ice cream and raspberry coulis was excellent too.
The Lansdowne has a fresh new look with the star of the show a top notch kitchen which uses the very best local ingredients to create fantastic bistro cooking at its best.
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