Oh Ja! Albert's Shenke, the hotly anticipated younger brother to popular Manchester hang out Albert's Shloss, have finally arrived, bringing with them their own unique brand of Bavarian chaos, stein-sized pints and Alpine-themed snacks to Liverpool.
Occupying the former HUB on the corner of Hanover and Duke Street, the restaurant is decked out in signature Albert's style. It's cool chalet-chic complete with enormous beer tanks, ski shots and live music throughout the week.
I'd say buckle-in for the food but ideally you'll come sans-buckles, buttons or anything tight around your midriff since the food here is not light, in fact its much more of a 'super-size me' situation. Make sure you come hungry lads, or forever hold your peace.
As you may know I've never met at croquette that I didn't like and at Albert's they'll happily let you combine all three of their options into the appropriately named 'Croquette Fest'. In the interests of good reviewing I'd like to give you the verdict on which was the best but I liked 'em all equally and I'd feel as unfair choosing a favourite as I would if they were my own kids.
The Alpine ham and cheese was the most traditional of the three, oozing with creamy béchamel and chunks of salty ham. The brisket option was packed with tender, pulled meat (and a spicy dip I ate with all three) and the veggie-friendly pea and mint ones reminded me of my favourite mushy pea fritters from George's. The nails say it all on this one.
If balls of deep-fried cheese and meat has peaked your interest then hang tight for the mains. We one-upped a regular chicken schnitzel with the Schnitzel Royale. Deep-fried chicken with (more) ham and (more cheese)...oh and what's that on the side? More cheese baby.
The Sformato, a melty cheese and truffle mash, has long been a favourite of mine at the Manchester restaurant and I'm pretty chuffed it's managed to wing it's way over to Liverpool.
The Berliner Kebab caught my eye maybe because it's the only thing on the menu that comes ft.salad, and if you can go out for dinner and get a kebab then why wouldn't you? Despite it's enormous size, this one was pretty fresh and packed with spiced tandoori chicken, hot sauce and cooling yoghurt and cucumber.
Unsurprisingly, I loved the food, the beer and the atmosphere at Albert's Schenke, and I reckon you'd be hard pressed to find anybody who wouldn't. It's not an every-day dinner... I'm still recovering from it now, but wear your big pants and you'll be just fine.
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My meal at Albert's was kindly gifted in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts, opinions and photographs are completely my own!