Floating Grace, Royal Albert Dock, reviewed

When looking for places to review in a city, it’s easy to fall into the trap of choosing the same restaurants every time. Before you know it, your taste buds will be begging for a change of scenery, so to speak.

And what better change of scenery than dinner on a barge serving traditional favorites as you cruise around Liverpool’s eight piers over the course of two hours? It will surely awaken something inside even the most demanding foodie.

Floating Grace, the sweetly named vessel and Liverpool’s only floating restaurant and bar (for now…), takes guests on a tour through Liverpool’s rich maritime history via the piers that make up the city’s beautiful waterfront.

In addition to weekly evening dinner cruises from Wednesday to Saturday, The Floating Grace hosts mid-morning cruises, Sunday lunches and afternoon teas. It is also available for private hire and corporate events if you want to do your next Christmas job ‘off the country’.

To reserve your spot at The Floating Grace, you must pre-pay for your meal via the website or by calling. This means that the indecisive among you better make up your mind and stick to your guns when it comes to choosing an entree and dessert. Fortunately, there are only five or six options for main course and only three for dessert, so for those who are really struggling, the old “ip-dip-doo” tactic should clear things up.

Priced at £38 per adult (£12 for under 12s), this two course dinner with bar (extra charge) and two hour round trip sailing was an absolute steal. I eagerly entered my card details and clicked to confirm the booking. Have a nice trip.

While rooting on the page, I glanced at the “info” section, which read: Our dinner cruises offer a special and atmospheric dining experience, perfect for a relaxed evening with friends and family or a romantic dinner with your significant other. Board the boat at Albert Dock. Our staff will then serve you a two-course dinner as you leisurely cruise through Liverpool’s historic docks. Vegan options available!

I opted for a “casual night out with friends” approach rather than a “romantic dinner with a significant other” and brought along my honorary Liverpudlian friend and Grace’s own Lowri Grace. Although the wording “a significant other made me laugh. One of many significant others? Who would you choose as your significant other? Maybe there are too many choices.

We arrived at Salthouse Quay at Salthouse Dock a few minutes before boarding and looked down the aisle at the guardian of The Floating Grace, a crazy golfing pirate statue staring back at us.

We familiarized ourselves with our new surroundings for the next few hours; white tablecloths, sea curtains and fairy lights – a bit on the nose, but warm and harmless. Floating Grace is a wide berth vessel (I hope she doesn’t mind me saying that) and can accommodate up to 50 guests. To-night he was half full of various guests; young families, middle-aged and older couples celebrating anniversaries, and friends who enjoy swapping to meet up on regular dates like me and Lowri.

At about 7.30pm – or maybe that should be ‘nineteen hundred hours’, I’m feeling all nautical now – we set sail and pass through the Albert Dock; an iconic part of Liverpool’s rich tapestry, opened in 1846.

Our skipper Ben took to the microphone and started the tour with a few laughs introducing the rest of the line and asking Chef Jane to greet the group. “He doesn’t need a microphone, you can hear him from the other end of the boat,” he said jokingly, adding: “He makes your jam sandwiches.”

Shortly after departure, we received our pre-ordered main stock. I chose lamb shank and Lowri chose chicken with stilton in mushroom sauce. Both were served with rough-cut potatoes, generous carrots and broccoli florets – mushy peas and gravy.

The lamb shank was perfectly cooked and the meat fell off the bone when poked gently with my fork (as all good lamb should). I was sick of the fries being slightly undercooked because they were big chunks, but no, they were fluffy all over without turning to mush when I went to get them. The sauce could have been a bit thicker, but then again, I’m a Yorkshire lass with a mantra that sauce can never be too thick.

Lowr’s dish was another hearty portion – the chicken breast was moist thanks to the sauces on top, but lacked the punch you’d expect from a plate of stilton. Still, it’s pretty decent to say it was made in the smallest kitchen you’ll ever see on a barge. Props to Jane for figuring it out.

We continued our cruise and the charming skipper Ben kept on cracking jokes during the trip telling us all about the piers and their history as well as the modern elements. He pointed out various architectural Easter eggs, hotels and Airbnbs by the water, including a rather unusual 007 “bottle”, and asked us all to say hello to one woman who waves a boat from her balcony six times a day. . Everything was very sweet and healthy.

After our food landed, dessert was served. Lowri chose the chocolate fudge cake, which looked delicious. I opted for a more traditional and warming portion of apple pie and custard – just what was needed on this cold and miserable August evening (where the hell has summer gone?).

After finishing her dinner duties, Jane came to each table and asked if there were any special parties before she went up to the front of the boat and announced them one by one. We all cheered for those celebrating birthdays and anniversaries before the music was turned up to 11 with Neil Diamond. Sweet Caroline. Now the party has begun.

At one point, Ben spoke into his microphone and shared his knowledge of the docks while Tina Turner performed Roll on the river rang out from the speakers and the fairy lights flashed in unison. It was a bit of a sensory overload, like at a family party after 11pm when everyone is well into the swing of things to be upbeat enough to make track requests to the DJ, but an enjoyable experience nonetheless.

As well as being incredible value for money, a trip on The Floating Grace is a good laugh and a great alternative to a typical night out. There really is something for everyone, whether you’re looking to learn about Liverpool’s maritime past and present, want a cheap meal, boogie or want to be cheered up by Ben and his cracking Scouse humour.

The Floating Grace, Royal Albert Dock Liverpool, 1 Salthouse Quay, L3 4AA

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