Casual dining in Liverpool

Creative Tourist

From delicate small plates to locally-sourced laid-back dining, Liverpool has it all. We get it, sometimes you’re just not in the mood to get dressed-up and fancy, sometimes jeans, t-shirt and a belly full of hearty food is all that’s needed.

And that’s what this list is all about – Liverpool doing what it does best: fantastic food in relaxed surroundings. Designer shoes not required. If you’re after something a little more formal, check out our guide to the best restaurants in the city.

Our top picks

The Egg Café

The Egg Café, Top Floor, 16-18 Newington, Liverpool, Merseyside, L1 4ED - Visit now

For the past forty years, The Egg Cafe has been serving up homely vegan and vegetarian food to the people of Liverpool. It’s a refreshingly unstuffy place, that offers a darn sight more than just eggs. The frankly enormous salads are our top tip.

Image courtesy Egg Cafe

Rudy’s Pizza (Bold Street)

Rudy’s Pizza (Bold Street), 105-107 Bold Street, Liverpool, L1 4HL - Visit now

Rudy’s Pizza on Bold Street is the perfect casual dining experience, serving delicious Neapolitan pizza with monthly seasonal specials.

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Maray

Maray, 91 Bold Street, Liverpool, L1 4HF - Visit now

Food-lovers should make their way to Maray, tout suite. Inspired by the historic district of Le Marais, Paris, the food more than matches up to our cross-channel cousins. Largely based around small plates and prevailing food trends, the dishes are beautiful and surprisingly affordable, designed for both sharing and cooing over.

 

Maray

Nightcrawler Pizza at The Merchant

Nightcrawler Pizza at The Merchant, 38 Slater Street, Liverpool , L1 4BW - Visit now

Nightcrawler Pizza is the ultimate casual dining – tasty New York-style pizza slices served out of a small kitchen inside The Merchant bar.

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The Pen Factory

The Pen Factory, 13 Hope Street, Liverpool, Merseyside, L1 9BQ - Visit now

Off to the theatre? The nearby Pen Factory is the perfect place for a pre or post-show meal. Specialising in seasonal small plates, the food focuses on British and European cuisine, with subtle influences from around the world. The atmosphere is informal, unhurried, and self-assured – if you’re looking for a new favourite haunt, this may well be it.

Duke Street Market

Duke Street Market, 46 Duke St, Liverpool, L1 5AS - Visit now

Wide-ranging food market in Liverpool, with a vast array of independent traders and must-try food stalls.

Duke Street Market

Camp and Furnace

Camp and Furnace, 67 Greenland Street, Liverpool, Merseyside, L1 0BY - Visit now

This multi-purpose events space has hosted some of the UK’s most innovative food and drink events, earning countless plaudits along the way. It features vintage caravans, towering shrubbery, roaring fires and the biggest public screen in the city all under the roofs of three old warehouses and a coach shed.

Next to Nowhere Café

Next to Nowhere Café, 96 Bold Street, Liverpool, L1 4HY - Visit now

It might only be open on Saturday afternoons but this is a must-visit place for anyone looking for sustainable vegan fare surrounded by some of the most laid-back and friendly people in the city. Based underneath the radical bookshop, News From Nowhere, the food on offer is donation-only and environmentally-friendly. If your psyche is in need of a deep cleanse, head here.

Ian Jones

Where to go in Liverpool

food and drink
Liverpool
Restaurant
Manifest

Manifest is a casual fine dining restaurant and wine bar in the Baltic Triangle, serving seasonal dishes and delicious wines from small scale producers.

food and drink
Liverpool
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Sanskruti

Sanskruti is a vegetarian and vegan Indian restaurant, serving an array of fresh, brightly coloured dishes in Liverpool’s Business District.

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Liverpool
Restaurant
The Botanical Gin Garden

The Botanical Gin Garden is a seasonal outdoor gin bar, open six months a year, serving a wide selection of delicious gin drinks.

food and drink
Liverpool
Restaurant
Mahoe Blue

Mahoe Blue is a bar and bistro that serves authentic Jamaican food in a cosy venue in South Liverpool.

bar
City Centre
Brewery
Ye Cracke

Hidden in the Georgian Quarter, Ye Cracke is a historic Liverpool pub, known for being John Lennon’s local in his student days

food and drink
City Centre
Café or Coffee Shop
Artefact

Artefact combines vintage finds with a laid-back coffee shop experience, plus a busy schedule of events from open mic nights to exhibitions

food and drink
City Centre
Café or Coffee Shop
Lovelocks

Lovelocks is a chilled café on the outskirts of Liverpool city centre, serving delicious sweet and savoury foods and championing inclusivity.

food and drink
City Centre
Café or Coffee Shop
Hardware Coffee + Kitchen

Hardware Coffee + Kitchen lives up to the hype – excellent lunch in a lovely friendly atmosphere, with a perfectly central location.

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