Review of 'Bobo'

During our recent visit to Merseyside we ended our walk to Hilbre Island by looking around West Kirby for somewhere to sit down for a few minutes for something light to eat. The high street had the normal fish & chip shop (jammed, no where to sit), Subway and pubs but past all of that we came across the brightly painted and rather fun looking “Bobo” restaurant with promises of various Spanish and Mediterranean delights. Late afternoon on a Saturday and it was not terribly busy and we were offered to pick our own table so we sat perched on rather high bar stools in the corner with a view over the pavement onto the high street.

The interior is quite fun and light. Our friendly server told us that the staff were responsible for the wonderful tile decoration when the restaurant first opened and is periodically touched up with a Sharpie. Other pictures have evidently been provided by the owner's children which are wonderfully done and really add a fun feeling to the place.

When our placemat was placed before us it was the full menu simply divided into “Snacks” across the top, “Starters”, “Mains”, “Side Plates” and “Sweets” with “Sangria” options along the bottom. There is also a bound menu which has more drink options but, notably, does not include any non-alcoholic choices though our server verbally provided those which included the normal soft drinks but also, surprisingly, the Jamaican grapefruit soft drink “Ting” (which I ordered while my companion went for a lemonade, £3 each). The menu is quite simple with few options but a good variety with plenty of interesting options for vegetarians.

The “Sharing Board” (“Cold cuts from Spain & Euro cheeses served with pickles, warm bread, olives and kikones”; £15) was quiet generously portioned. There were two harder cheeses as well as a rather potent blue, four different types of meats including salami, chorizo, and ibérico ham as well as a small bowl of “kikones” (dried broad beans with piri-piri seasoning) and another of olives, pickled onions, tiny gherkins, and hot peppers. The only complaint was that there were only two small pieces of toast which was hardly sufficient though this in no way stopped us from devouring the lot. Of particular note were the delicious, quality olives which were in no way the salty atrocities often found in England restaurants.

Despite the menu describing “Batatas Fritas” (£5) as “Traditional skinny fries” they were nothing of the sort - Just chips with a light sprinkling of (good quality) salt flakes. Though crunchy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, as they should be, and delicious I would hardly have described them as “skinny”. They were a bit of a let down after all of our wonderful other dishes.

My companion had the “Squash Salad” (“Spiced squash, chickpeas, red onion, oranges & pomegranates”; £5.50) which was packed full of flavour thanks to a lovely vinigrette dressing that brought all of the flavours together including the notoriously bland chickpeas. The pomegranate pips added slight notes of crunchy sweet notes as well. Quite delicious.

For dessert we could not help but opt for the (not Spanish) “Pastel de Nata” (“Traditional Portuguese custard tart made famous by the nuns and monks of Belém”; £3.50 each) which we had to wait quite some time for. Delivered piping hot to the table, the tart pastry was quite tough to eat with only the provided tea spoon so we had to resort to using a knife but the custard was lovely and light though they were a bit heavy on a syrupy-topping which made the whole thing a bit too sweet. We still demolished the whole thing in a few short minutes.

For the two of us, the bill came to a reasonable £34.50, NOT including a tip/service charge but DID include a £1.50 charity donation. The service was wonderful, very friendly despite being quite busy by the time we left.

Wonderful, simple food presented nicely in a friendly atmosphere with good prices.

Rating: “Nearly perfect, but not quite”

Review Date: 2024-05-18

Cuisine: Spanish

Address: 34 Banks Rd, West Kirby, Wirral, Merseyside CH48 0RD ENGLAND

Public Transport: West Kirby

Location: Merseyside (England) - West Kirby

Map:

Telephone: +44 (0) 1516400375

URL: https://www.bobogroup.co.uk/