Belzan
{{Short description|Restaurant in Liverpool, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox restaurant
|mapframe=yes
|coordinates={{Coord|53|23|30.5|N|2|55|56.0|W|type:landmark_region:GB-LIV|display=inline,title}}
|city=Liverpool, England
|established={{start date and age|2017}}
|current-owner=Chris Edwards
Owain Williams
Sam Grainger
|head-chef=Mark Dickey
|food-type=Casual fine dining
|website={{URL|https://belzan.co.uk}}
}}
Belzan is a casual fine dining bistro on Smithdown Road in Liverpool, England. Opened in 2017, it has been named one of the best restaurants in the UK by The Good Food Guide and featured in the Michelin Guide.
History
File:Guinness rarebit potato at Belzan, Liverpool.png rarebit potato]]
Belzan was opened in 2017 by friends Chris Edwards, Owain Williams, and Sam Grainger. Williams had previously worked at Liverpool's Hope Street Hotel.{{Cite web |last=Megrath |first=Christopher |date=7 October 2023 |title=Friends 'trying to do something different' created a top UK venue |url=https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/whats-on/food-drink-news/friends-trying-something-different-ended-27797992 |access-date=6 April 2024 |website=Liverpool Echo |language=en |archive-date=6 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240406055821/https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/whats-on/food-drink-news/friends-trying-something-different-ended-27797992 |url-status=live }} Grainger is also executive chef and has been a contestant on Great British Menu.{{Cite web |title=BBC Two - Great British Menu, Series 18 - Sam Grainger |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/vKq8qkcND5jd2qngY7H8Y6/sam-grainger |access-date=6 April 2024 |website=BBC |language=en-GB |archive-date=6 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240406152203/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/vKq8qkcND5jd2qngY7H8Y6/sam-grainger |url-status=live }}
Description
Belzan is a modern bistro.{{Cite web |title=Belzan – Liverpool - a MICHELIN Guide Restaurant |url=https://guide.michelin.com/gb/en/merseyside/liverpool/restaurant/belzan |access-date=6 April 2024 |website=MICHELIN Guide |language=en-GB |archive-date=6 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240406055820/https://guide.michelin.com/gb/en/merseyside/liverpool/restaurant/belzan |url-status=live }} The Michelin Guide commented on its "cosy" interior and "unassuming location", while both The Guardian and Lonely Planet described its style as relaxed but sometimes challenging.{{Cite news |last=Dent |first=Grace |date=20 April 2018 |title=Belzan, Liverpool: 'A rare feat – relaxed as hell, but a bit challenging, too' – restaurant review |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/apr/20/belzan-liverpool-restaurant-review-grace-dent |access-date=6 April 2024 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=6 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240406055819/https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/apr/20/belzan-liverpool-restaurant-review-grace-dent |url-status=live }}{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BI2cEAAAQBAJ&dq=belzan+liverpool&pg=PT956 |title=Lonely Planet Great Britain |isbn=9781787015715 |last1=Albiston |first1=Isabel |last2=Davenport |first2=Fionn |last3=Duca |first3=Marc Di |last4=Dixon |first4=Belinda |last5=Harper |first5=Damian |last6=Nevez |first6=Catherine Le |last7=McNaughtan |first7=Hugh |last8=Parkes |first8=Lorna |last9=Symington |first9=Andy |last10=Ward |first10=Greg |last11=Wilson |first11=Neil |date=15 February 2022 |publisher=Lonely Planet }}
Talking to BBC Radio Merseyside, Grainger described the restaurant's cuisine as fine dining with seasonal British produce. He tries to cook with ingredients from within 30 miles of the restaurant as much as possible, such as using pumpkins from a customer's local allotment and wild garlic from Sefton Park.{{Cite web |date=19 August 2023 |title=BBC Radio Merseyside - David North, 19/08/2023, 'Belzan' named as one of 'Britain's 100 Best Local Restaurants' by The Good Food Guide |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0g7n1ng |access-date=6 April 2024 |website=BBC |language=en-GB |archive-date=6 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240406072341/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0g7n1ng |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last=Naylor |first=Tony |date=12 November 2021 |title=The Mersey eat: Liverpool's 10 best restaurants and food halls |url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2021/nov/12/liverpool-10-best-restaurants-and-food-halls |access-date=6 April 2024 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=6 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240406072341/https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2021/nov/12/liverpool-10-best-restaurants-and-food-halls |url-status=live }}
The restaurant's signature dish is a serving of Anna potatoes baked with a Guinness rarebit top and served with a Bois Boudran-style sauce of tomato, tarragon, and vinegar. The Guardian writer Grace Dent notably said that the highlight of her visit was being served rice pudding flavoured with tonka beans, which are banned in the United States due to being fatal in large doses.
Reception
Belzan has been named as one of 100 best local restaurants in the UK by The Good Food Guide. In 2023, it was featured in the Michelin Guide.{{Cite web |title=The best restaurants to eat in Liverpool |url=https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/travel/uk/best-places-eat-liverpool |access-date=6 April 2024 |website=Good Food |language=en |archive-date=6 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240406160519/https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/travel/uk/best-places-eat-liverpool |url-status=live }} It has also been noted as one of Liverpool's best restaurants by The Guardian, Conde Nast Traveller, Time Out, and BBC Good Food.{{Cite web |date=22 April 2022 |title=These are the best restaurants in Liverpool right now |url=https://www.cntraveller.com/gallery/best-restaurants-liverpool |access-date=6 April 2024 |website=CN Traveller |language=en-GB |archive-date=6 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240406055819/https://www.cntraveller.com/gallery/best-restaurants-liverpool |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |date=14 December 2023 |title=The best restaurants in Liverpool right now |url=https://www.timeout.com/liverpool/restaurants/best-restaurants-in-liverpool |access-date=6 April 2024 |website=Time Out Liverpool |language=en-GB |archive-date=6 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240406055819/https://www.timeout.com/liverpool/restaurants/best-restaurants-in-liverpool |url-status=live }} Delicious magazine listed it as one of the best restaurants in the country for solo dining.{{Cite web |last=Finney |first=Clare |date=26 April 2022 |title=Would you eat out alone? Plus the UK's best restaurants for solo dining |url=https://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/the-best-restaurants-for-solo-dining/ |access-date=6 April 2024 |website=delicious. magazine |language=en-GB |archive-date=6 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240406161258/https://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/the-best-restaurants-for-solo-dining/ |url-status=live }}
In popular culture
In May 2023, American actor and comedian Will Ferrell made headlines when he dined at Belzan whilst in Liverpool to attend the Eurovision Song Contest. In May 2024, Lord of the Rings actors Billy Boyd, Orlando Bloom, Dominic Monaghan, and Elijah Wood ate at the restaurant during a stay in Liverpool for Comic Con, with Grainger calling them "really great, nice guys who had an amazing laugh [and] nearly ate the whole menu".{{Cite web |date=2024-05-04 |title='Three hobbits and an elf' leave Liverpool diners gobsmacked |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cxr3lw3elk4o |access-date=2024-12-07 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}