When you’re sitting at your desk in work on a (reasonably) sunny Friday afternoon, watching the clock tick mercilessly slowly down to 5pm, you start imagining all of the awesome things you’re going to do with your weekend. Maybe it’s dinner with your pals, a night sinking diabetes-inducing cocktails or just some quality time with your good friend, Netflix. Pretty standard, right?
What you probably don’t imagine is sipping Vermouth & Tonic in a sherbet-yellow security hut in the grounds of a newly-renovated brewery-stroke-warehouse while 101 hipsters chomp their way through halloumi fries and Jammie Dodger blondies in the not-so-distant distance. That’s the beauty of the Liverpool food and drink scene though, you never quite know which rabbit hole you’re gonna end up tumbling down.
Let’s rewind a second though ’cause that sherbet-yellow security hut scenario is more than just the waffling of a wordsmith for last Friday, I was Alice and Kiosk was my wonderland.
Aptly named after rising from the ashes of a scabby old security kiosk, even co-owner Conor described this place to me as the weird one while he simultaneously walked me around the kitsch interior decor and makeshift terrace seating. As the little sister of Dockleaf which is just a stone throw up the way, the brand new Kiosk bar is perhaps one of the most avant garde additions to the Liverpool lifestyle scene to date.
Conor told me that the method behind the Kiosk madness is that it will serve as a sort of revolving pop up that will change regularly with the seasons. The intimate watering hole, which seats a max of 20 people inside (I mean, I’d say more like 10 unless you want a side order of claustrophobia with your Limoncello chaser) is all about a traditional Italian summer right now but the team have already got the cogs ticking in time for Christmas.
To fit with the theme, Kiosk have teamed up with New Bird (formerly Ta’amiya) to serve up traditional Italian snacks alongside an equally European drinks menu. Both food and beverage offerings are minimal by design – stripped down to simplicity in order to let the theme of the moment shine. Expect sandwiches and charcuterie meats that bring a little bit of the Amalfi Coast to a gravelly, urban hot spot in the centre of Liverpool.
To be brutally unabashed, Kiosk is a little bit… clunky and not the kind of bar you could prop up for hours and talk loudly about the shapes your latest one night stand had you in all Sunday long over a Grey Goose on the rocks but it’s definitely charming and definitely worth a drop in. So if you’re going to check out the Baltic Market in the old Cain’s Brewery then do swing by for a swift one on your way because let’s be honest, aren’t we all sick to the back teeth of neon signs and overpriced craft beer anyway?
I’m looking forward to seeing what these guys pull out the bag over the coming months.
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