Fusion

103-105 Allerton Road, Liverpool, L18.
Tel: 0151 724 3707

June 2003

I welcomed news that Fusion had reopened with pleasure that matched my disappointment when I heard of its closure last year. In almost Pavlovian fashion I booked a midweek table. The restaurant seems popular, thanks I suspect to the good value menu (see prices below), and I think I took the last table in the house.

A few things have changed at Fusion. Not the layout, or decor, and some of the staff have stayed on, but the chef is new, and the last time I saw the head waiter he was working front of house at The Patio. The menu has expanded somewhat, whilst the wine list seems to have contracted a little, and is fairly dull. It's no secret that I enjoy savouring a good Amarone, so I might have plumped for the Speri (no vintage specified - pitiful), which was the most interesting bottle on the list, but in view of the balmy weather and my chosen dishes I plumped for the house wine:

Canaletto Pinot Grigio Garganega (Veneto) 2001: A pale, green tinged hue. It offers little on the nose, other than hints of white fruits vaguely reminiscent of an Alsatian example of Pinot Gris. A similar impression on the palate, which has unbalanced acidity and a clumsy, slightly oily mouthfeel. Cheap but not so cheerful. 12/20 (June 2003)

The starters I tried were remarkably different. Roasted tomato in red capsicum with chives was very poor. My main criticism was that the dish had not spent long enough in the oven to produce the beautiful, sweet flavours that roasting should bring out. The tomato had been blanched and peeled, but the pepper had received no similar treatment - broiling it first would have helped enormously with flavour. And the dish was smothered in ground black pepper, which I had to scrape off into a small mound (I do not exaggerate) before eating the dish. Does this chef have any taste buds? The accompanying chives, balanced daintily on top of it all, were a welcome, cooling note on the palate. In complete contrast to this failure, however, was the duck pate, which was extremely good, full of flavour, and had a firm meaty texture. This was a delight!

For the main course I opted for the tuna with black olives and balsamic reduction, and was surprised therefore when a chicken dish arrived. This was the result of an error on the part of the head waiter, who had misheard my order, but to add to the difficulty the restaurant was out of tuna. My second choice was red mullet and asparagus rolls in a dry vermouth sauce. The mullet was pretty good, although the asparagus would have benefited from further cooking - perhaps the result of a hurriedly prepared dish. I also sampled the fillet steak with stilton, which was very good, although the meat had perhaps suffered from languishing in the kitchen whilst the mullet had been prepared.

The evening drew to a fairly rapid close, without pudding or coffee, because of one further problem with Fusion. The relief we experienced as a nearby smoker finished their meal and departed was less than the disappointment when he was replaced by two more. With the tables crammed into what is a very small dining area this is something that should be addressed. There is, after all, a dining area upstairs that could be utilised.

Prices: Choose from the set menu Monday-Thursday, which offers two courses plus house wine for £12 - £15 depending on sitting, which seems like good value, or alternatively eat à la carte for not much more, although wine is then extra. There is a small range of bottles ranging from about £12 up to about £30. (24/6/03)

February 2002

Fusion is a relatively newcomer to the Liverpool dining scene, and is located on the increasingly fashionable Allerton Road, along with a clutch of other new wine bars, restaurants and tapas bars. I decided we had to make a midweek visit to try this one out.

Extremely modern in design and decor, Fusion is notable for its expanse of glass frontage, pale, almost featureless walls and deep blue linen. Inside it is small but nicely spaced out, a little cramped perhaps, but the tables were an acceptable distance from one another. At the top end of the restaurant another expanse of glass affords you a good view of the kitchens, which I enjoyed. There is also a small upstairs dining area, although I didn't see this on the night in question.

The menu is nicely laid out, with the option to eat à la carte, or to go for a set meal. With Fusion for a name I was, of course, expecting some novel combinations of flavours and cooking styles. This is the case with some dishes, there being some flavour combinations which I hadn't experienced before, although some other dishes seem more classic. Avoiding the set menu, we began with Smoked Salmon accompanied by Fruits of the Forest and a Roasted Pepper and Mushroom Bruschetta with Melted Mozzarella. The former was not a combination that worked well, although the salmon itself was of good quality, with pleasing, moderate flavour and great texture. The bruschetta dish, though, worked very well indeed. Unsurprisingly it had a wholesome, almost comfort-food feel to it.

We followed up this very promising start with Moroccan Lamb Cutlets served in Jus with Apricot Scented Cous Cous, and Roasted Fillet of Chicken stuffed with Honey Ham and Herb Goats Cheese, served on Red Cabbage. The former was superbly executed, with three finely cooked, moist and flavoursome lamb cutlets in a light jus, accompanied by the delicately flavoured cous cous which was presented in a filo basket. As a combination these flavours worked very well together. The latter dish seemed fairly classic, and had a much richer feel to it when compared to the lamb dish. It too was very good.

To round off the meal a Classic Crème Brûlée, again with forest fruits, was extremely well done. The sugar coating was perfectly crisped, and I enjoyed it immensely. A Chocolate Pot was revealed as a very well made, simple but richly textured chocolate mousse. Again both very good indeed.

The wine list is quite well chosen. There are the usual suspects at the top end of the list from the Old World names, such as Père Caboche Châteauneuf du Pape and the like. There are some good value choices lower down the list, however, starting with the house wines. Of these I sampled the white on offer, and found it fresh, unoaked, with crisp fruit on the nose. Similarly fresh with great acidity on the palate. A well chosen house white - what a pleasant change. I have no qualms in recommending this. Elsewhere on the list the New World offerings seem most reliable, with bottles from Peter Lehmann, Villa Maria and Wolf Blass on offer.

The wine list provides my only true gripe of the evening. It is hopelessly out of date, with wines being at least four vintages behind in some cases. The management get round their obligation to keep the list up to date with a disclaimer, stating something to the effect of "the management reserve the right to replace wines with a substitute vintage or supplier in the event of one being unavailable". This is ludicrous. Why do some members of the restaurant trade treat wines with such lack of respect? Would they substitute chicken for my lamb should the former become unavailable? Or would they change the menu? I think the latter.

Looking for something reliable to match our food, I chose something from Peter Lehmann. The wine list declared the vintage as 1997, but I was quite prepared for a different vintage to arrive at the table (I was tasting the 2000 at the Oddbins Wine Fair only last year). What appeared was the 2001. Fortunately it came to the table unopened (once we had prompted the staff to bring it, a minor glitch in what was otherwise excellent service) so we would have had the option to refuse it should we have wished to. We did notice, however, bottles taken to other tables already opened. What happens then? Would the management attempt to use their "right to substitute"?

Peter Lehmann Semillon (Barossa, South Australia) 2001: Crisp and fresh on the nose, with aeration developing classic, pleasing aromas of buttered toast, honey and lemon meringue pie. The palate has flavour to match, with medium body, backed up by fresh acidity. 16/20 (February 2002)

Despite this niggle, I must make clear that Fusion made quite a positive impression on me. The dishes were well put together and the preparation and presentation was clearly done with care. This is an impressive establishment that deserves to do well, and I don't give such praise lightly (see some of my other restaurant reviews). It's also great value. They could just do with honing their attitude to wine a little.

Prices: great value, at about £20-25 per head for three courses, not including drinks. The wine list starts at about £10 per bottle with the house wines (of which I can recommend the white). (14/2/02)