One of Manchester's "busiest" brunch spots has now opened a branch in Liverpool city centre At the start of August, a new city centre coffee shop and restaurant opened on Castle Street. Despite only being open two weeks, I'd already heard such good things about Ezra and Gil, because it already has two very successful venues in Manchester. Ezra and Gil, opened in the former former Bouchon in Liverpool city centre , after already solidifying itself as a "go to" breakfast and lunch spot on Hilton Street and Peter Street in Manchester.
The first venue opened in 2015 and it was known for being constantly busy, with queues regularly forming before it even opens. Six years later, a second venue was opened in Manchester (seemingly to cope with demand?), and now Liverpool has its very own. Given it has clearly won over many customers already, I decided to give the Castle Street brunch spot a go.
I decided to visit on a weekday to minimise my chances of running into a queue. Thankfully, I was seated straight away by a very friendly server, who asked if I'd be happy in a window seat, or if I preferred another seating option. I'm not fussy, so the window seat was OK with me and my friend, who I'd decided to treat to a mid-week brunch date.
Despite being in the middle of a work week, it was surprisingly busy inside with a mixture of people enjoying a catch-up with friends and family, or taking a working lunch on their laptops. When I left, at around 12.45, it seemed to be even busier, with only one or two small tables left.
The menu is extensive, so if you're the type of person who will get overwhelmed by plenty of options, I'd recommend having a look before you arrive. We arrived just before midday, so went for the breakfast menu which runs from 7.30am to 5pm.
But we could have held off ordering and opted for the lunch menu instead, which runs from 12pm and includes different options such as toasted sourdough melts (£11.50), pasta and salad bowls (around £11). It's worth noting that pancakes are served all day and include simple butter and maple syrup (£8) or stacked options with fruit and yogurt (£11) and savoury options such as halloumi and chorizo (£12.
50). My friend ordered the house-baked granola (£7.50) which was made up of Greek yoghurt, topped with granola, dried cranberries, almond flakes, raspberries and pistachio sauce.
While I didn't taste the granola, it looked like a masterpiece and was a big serving. I went for the 'nduja scrambled eggs (£10.50) which was made up with free-range scrambled eggs with 'nduja (spicy pork sausage) topped with crumbled feta, spring onions, parsley and fresh chillies on sourdough toast.
It was huge! The portion was easily enough to be split between two people, I made sure to finish it all, because it was so tasty, but didn't need to eat for the rest of the day afterwards. The eggs were spicy but it still worked as a breakfast treat in my opinion. The spring onion and feta wouldn't have been necessary to make this a delicious dish, but they certainly added an almost luxurious, moreish touch.
Dipping between a forkful of feta, egg, chilis and toast, allowed me to mix it up. This was a dish I would 100% order again, it would never get boring. Ezra and Gil is also known for it's cake counter and sweet options such as French toast.
When checking out what people thought of the other venues, reviewers often mention how busy the venue can be but that doesn't seem to put them off. One five star reviewer on Google said: "WOW just wow, there was a little queue because it was a lovely Saturday morning so everyone had the same idea on going out for breakfast, however the queue went fast and it was 1000% worth the wait. The service was great the food was unreal- I got the smashed pumpkin on toast with a poached egg and my friend got the chorizo and ham mash benedict.
" While another added: "Lovely place to drink and eat! Great food, decent value for money and the food is always bang on. It can get a little busy so queuing might be necessary on weekends. You also have the option to get a table where you can work with a laptop too.
Overall, excellent!" While a third said: "Good overall place, always busy.".
