A New York-inspired restaurant and late-night cocktail bar is set to open in Liverpool's Ropewalks next month. Seel & Slater, a new two-part dining concept from Open Restaurant Group, is taking over the former Wreck Bistro site in the city centre following the group's acquisition of the venue earlier this month.
The Grade II-listed building will be transformed into a New York-inspired destination, with a 45-cover restaurant, bar and grill opening upstairs before a low-lit cocktail bar launches on the lower ground floor later this year. The first service at Seel & Slater is scheduled for Friday, October 9, with bookings now open.
Group's second Liverpool venue
Sam Morgan, Co-Founder and CEO of Open Restaurant Group, said: “Liverpool is a city we’re proud to trade in, so we’re pleased to be adding Seel & Slater to the portfolio. Wreck was an established restaurant with a strong team and a loyal following, so it was important to us that we approached the site with real care and gave the team the opportunity to be part of what comes next.”
“Seel & Slater is a completely new direction, but it builds on what we know works across the group - strong teams, great food and restaurants with their own identity. We’re looking forward to seeing the two sides of the concept come to life and establishing Seel & Slater as a new destination in Ropewalks.”
Led by award-winning chef Andrew Sheridan alongside operators Sam and Emma Morgan, the new venue will take inspiration from New York's Italian-American restaurants, Manhattan steakhouses and late-night bars. Named after the two streets it sits between, Seel & Slater is designed around the idea of the street corners and intersections that act as meeting points across New York.
Menu highlights and opening hours
The upstairs restaurant will open seven days a week from 8am, serving everything from breakfast and brunch through to lunch, dinner and late-night drinks. The menu will focus on prime cuts from the grill, handmade pasta, generous sharing plates and New York-inspired favourites. Dishes set to feature include a pastrami doughnut, dry-aged ribeye known as 'The Don', lobster lasagne and New York cheesecake brûlée.
The menu will also change with the seasons, with the group promising to make use of produce sourced through its network of suppliers. Andrew has developed the menu following the success of Restaurant 8 on Cook Street, which holds three AA Rosettes and is listed in the Michelin Guide. Seel & Slater marks a different direction for the chef in Liverpool, moving away from the more formal style of Restaurant 8 towards a relaxed, all-day restaurant designed to become a destination in its own right.
Team retained and future plans
The lower ground floor will later become a separate cocktail bar, drawing inspiration from the jazz clubs and late-night drinking spots of 1940s New York. Further details about its drinks menu and entertainment are expected to be announced ahead of the opening. Open Restaurant Group has also confirmed that the entire Wreck Bistro team has been retained following the acquisition, with staff moving across to the new Seel & Slater concept.
The opening will be the group's second Liverpool venue and ninth site overall, adding to its growing portfolio across the North West and North Wales.
