The Art School Restaurant
Paul Askew's restaurant in the former Liverpool Sheltering Home
The Art School is a fine-dining restaurant at 1 Sugnall Street in Liverpool's Georgian Quarter, led by chef patron Paul Askew and opened on 2 September 2014. It occupies the lantern room of the Grade II listed former Liverpool Sheltering Home, built in 1888–89, from which thousands of children were sent to Canada.
- Address
- 1 Sugnall Street, Liverpool, L7 7EB
- Cuisine
- Modern British fine dining
- Established
- 2014
- Building
- Former Liverpool Sheltering Home, 1 Sugnall Street and 2A Myrtle Street
- Built
- c.1840 and 1888–89 (Victorian)
The Liverpool Sheltering Home
The Liverpool Sheltering Home was founded in 1872 by Liverpool shipowners, inspired by Annie Macpherson's child-emigration work, and led by her sister Louisa Birt. It opened first on Byrom Street in 1873 and moved in 1883 to 1 Sugnall Street, a c.1840 house used as a girls' home.
The adjoining building at 2A Myrtle Street was designed by C.O. Ellison in a Queen Anne style of pressed red brick with sandstone dressings. Its foundation stone was laid in 1888 and it opened on 16 November 1889. Children trained here were sent to new lives in Canada; the home was used as an auxiliary hospital in the First World War, amalgamated with Dr Barnardo's in 1925 and closed as a home in 1935.
Historic England listed the buildings at Grade II in 2010 as an unusual building type linked to this child-emigration scheme, noting surviving tiling depicting English monarchs. The restaurant opened in the building's lantern room in 2014.
Signature dishes
Paul Askew's menus change with the seasons and champion regional suppliers; dishes recorded in an August 2026 review included:
- 01
Loch Etive trout
With sorrel sauce, compressed cucumber, keta caviar and lovage oil
- 02
Soufflé Suissesse
Gruyère and Mrs Kirkham's Lancashire cheese with a Dijon sauce
- 03
Rump of lamb
Served pink with jus, carrot cooked in lamb fat and a piece of shoulder
- 04
Bread and butter
Served with Cheshire cultured butter
- Tuesday–Saturday lunch
- 12:00–14:15
- Tuesday–Saturday dinner
- 17:00–21:15
- Cellars Bar, Tuesday–Saturday
- 12:00–00:00
- Sunday–Monday
- Closed
Good to know
When did The Art School Restaurant open?
On 2 September 2014, led by chef patron Paul Askew.
What was the building originally?
The Liverpool Sheltering Home for destitute children; the Myrtle Street building by C.O. Ellison opened in 1889.
Is The Art School in the Michelin Guide?
Yes, it is listed in the 2026 MICHELIN Guide UK, which describes the cuisine as Modern English.
When is The Art School open?
Tuesday to Saturday for lunch (12:00–14:15) and dinner (17:00–21:15); closed Sunday and Monday.
