67 Greenland Street, Liverpool (0151 708 2990). Meal for two, with drinks and service, £65
Camp and Furnace sounds like the name of a sweaty gay bar in Helsinki; the sort a Lib Dem front-bench spokesman might visit during their downtime on a "fact-finding" mission. In truth, it is a collection of warehouses in Liverpool, a few blocks up from the old docks and the banks of the Mersey beyond. The rest of the description cannot so quickly be dismissed. Not because it really is a sweaty gay bar, but because it has the potential to be almost anything you (and it) might want it to be. It is one of the more intriguing venues I have eaten at in a very long while; an encouraging example of what can happen when an industrial but cared-for past meets a vibrant cosmopolitan present. Is Camp and Furnace a restaurant? In the sense that you can eat there, yes. Beyond that, it all gets very complicated.
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