It was only in the city for a short period of time - but Miss Kitty's was at one time dubbed "the coolest Chinese restaurant" in Liverpool.
Opening on Fleet Street in early 2015, the bar and restaurant boasted a Shanghai tea house inspired décor and was conjured from the imagination of Rob Gutmann, then-owner of the Motel bar downstairs. Heading down the street, customers could spot the peach pink fluorescent backlit sign for Miss Kitty’s, before stepping in to follow the candle and neon lights up the stairs.
Pink in every corner and extremely Instagrammable, Miss Kitty’s image was projected on to a bare brick wall and also had bird cages hanging from the ceiling, steam baskets stacked on every wall and large timber crate like booths to sit down. The menu was Chinese, but also gave a nod to Thailand, Japan and even India.
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Chopsticks were encouraged and there were also a number of cocktails on offer. Open from 5pm until late daily and from midday at the weekends, after 11pm, plates would be cleared and many will remember enjoying a DJ and karaoke late on into the night.
Liverpool is home to many fantastic Chinese restaurants and takeaways today - but there are some traditional venues from years gone by that people would love to see come back, from The Golden Phoenix to Kong-Nam and The Shanghai Palace on the Pier Head. And whilst Miss Kitty's was part of our more recent history and a different concept, for a time, it was something new and "cool" for customers in the city.
In July 2015, the ECHO visited and reviewed the newly opened business. Reporter Alistair Houghton said: "Up those stairs, past a neon silhouette of a reclining young lady, there’s a surprisingly big but still pleasingly intimate dining space.
"It’s dark, sparingly lit. Wood sleepers, bird cages, and occasional big filament-packed bulbs hang from the ceiling, wood carvings and Chinese characters adding to the atmosphere.
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"In this week’s muggy air, it really felt like a bar in the tropical heat of Hong Kong in the 50s, or maybe a bar from London’s Limehouse Chinatown in the 30s – foreign yet somehow familiar."
At the restaurant, the salt n peppa Korean town chicken breast fingers and steamed vegetable gyozas were both £6, the chicken katsu and pork dish were both £11, the sticky cranberry & soy sauce fried tofu steaks were £7 and for dessert, customers could enjoy strawberry & chocolate fondue w/ sliced sweet ginger for £4 or M’s banana and toffee spring rolls for £5. At the time, Alistair said: "An unpromising location it may be, but the Miss Kitty’s team has done a great job with it."
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The following year, the ECHO returned to Miss Kitty's, which at that point was a little over a year old. In August 2016, reporter Dawn Collinson wrote: "Is Miss Kitty’s the coolest Chinese restaurant in Liverpool? The simple answer is yes. Almost certainly. Why? Because it was born that way."
The bare brick and wooden benches, pink neon signage and wall projection of the mistress of the house still "worked a charm" and was still worth the visit.
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Only open for around 18 months, some may have forgotten this hidden gem or have fond memories of nights spent there and the food they enjoyed. Despite early success, due to seasonal interest and overheads, the decision was made to close Miss Kitty's around September 2016.
The site is now home to restaurant Spice Thai. Rob Gutmann said: "It was one of the things I was most proud of and I'm sad that it didn't work in the long term.
"We put a lot of heart and soul into it and in the early stages it was trading well, it felt like a really special concept and people were really complimentary about it. It's just sad that it couldn't go the distance."
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