Hidden gem is a word thrown around with reckless abandon so we ask, are there any true hidden gems left?
Of course there are. There was a time when the words ‘hidden’ and ‘secret’ were met with roars of apathy but now, it’s exciting and endearing. Away from the prime real estate, hidden down alleys you may have never ventured with no signs, no directions and not a drop of help from Google Maps. Amid the independent explosion over the last couple years in Liverpool, there are still a few places not known to the masses. And that’s the way they seem to like it. So it’s with great confliction we spread these secrets but deep down we know it’s for the greater good.
Thanks to Matthew Pike for featured image. Check him out here.
R&H Fine Wines
Robert & Henry Fine Wines is tucked away on the strikingly elegant, serene and peaceful Queen Avenue off Dale Street. This little stretch is so untouched by the modern world in a really good way
Address: 12 Queen Avenue off Castle St/, Dale St, Liverpool L2 4TX
Cucina Di Vincenzo
Saving you the flight to the boot-shaped land, Cucina Di Vincenzo is everything you want from your neighbourhood restaurant and more. We would return solely for the meat platter.
Address: 256 Woolton Rd, L16 8NE
Botanical Garden
Liverpool’s premiere gin garden. An urban wonderland full of all things green and gin that is only open for the summer.
Address: 5 New Bird Street, L1 0BP
Chop Chop
Quite possibly Liverpool’s best and smallest kept secret. Every day, for the last 7 years queues of people line up outside a modest shop with an olde-worlde facade. Go taste why.
Address: 52 Fenwick St, City Centre, Liverpool L2 7ND
Goodness Gracious Roof Garden
Possibly the best view of Liverpool with alcoholic beverages. If there’s anywhere better to be on a sunny day, we’ve never heard of it.
Address: West Africa House, 25 Water St, Liverpool L2 0RG
Big thank you to Visit Liverpool and Marketing Liverpool for the image
Lox & Caper
Lox & Caper is the kind of place you rely on. You can come in, at any time of the day and any day of the week and be guaranteed a freshly made meal, a good cup of coffee and a smile.
Address: 65-67 Hanover St, Liverpool L1 3DY
Kazimier Gardens
One of Liverpool’s most beautiful spaces. Go and enjoy it in the sun or admire it when it’s illuminated by fairy lights at night.
Phil’s Picture Palace
Hundreds of frames and mounted prints from around the globe. Step in to the Old Police Station and immerse yourself into an Aladdin’s Cave of art and photos.
Address: Old Police Station, 80 Lark Lane, L17 8UU
Writer’s Block
A beautiful and quaint little hideaway has just opened on Lark Lane. They’re cocktail specialists but there’s beautiful coffee and meat and cheese boards on offer too.
Address: 27 Lark Ln, L17 8US
The Buyers Club
A breath of fresh air, an incomparable space and completely on its own with what it’s doing and what it’s trying to achieve. The beer garden isn’t bad either.
Address: 24 Hardman Street, Liverpool L1 9AX
The Bagelry
Liverpool and beyond, the bagel-shaped hole in your life has now been filled. A real labour of love goes into the bagels and that’s the reason we’re hooked.
Address: 42 Nelson St, Liverpool L1 5DN
Berry & Rye
Completely blacked out, good luck finding this one. The drinks are some of the best in the city but ultimately it’s the nostalgic, bluesy atmosphere and clandestine, underground feel that keeps the people coming back.
Address: Somewhere on Berry Street
Cow & Co Cafe
A beautiful boutique coffee that is a dream to work or play in. Get a cup of coffee, take a good book and head there on a nice day.
The Workshop
You have to travel far to find a hidden gem like The Workshop but for the lucky people of Crosby, it’s right on their doorstep. From Sunday roasts with laid back grooves to to the full on Mod nights – there’s something for everyone.
Address: 47 Crosby Road North, Waterloo, L22 4QB
Clockworks
Clockworks is a new bar and restaurant inspired by the era of industrial invention. Each serving comes with a big slab of comfort.
Address: 11 Wolstenholme Sq, L1 4JJ
Homebaked Anfield
Brick by brick, loaf by loaf, they built themselves. The story of Homebaked Anfield is rather incredible and despite being opposite Anfield, they’re still a hidden gem in our book and selfishly, a little bit of us wants it to remain that way as we never want to ask “who ate all the pies?”
Address: 197 Oakfield Rd, Liverpool L4 0UF
Furnival’s Well
Berry & Rye recently became custodians of the beautiful Bridewell building in Liverpool. Named after the inn where Dickens resided for 4 years prior to his first visit to Liverpool, Furnival’s Well is a cocktail bar with a Victorian heartbeat.
Address: 1 Campbell Square, Liverpool L1 5FB
A Tavola Deli
Check out this new and beautiful deli in the city centre. It’s offering healthy and organic authentic Italian produce and wine and is a one-stop-shop for all Italians and Italians-at-heart.
Address: 12 Madison Sq, East Village, L1 5BF
Sanskruti
A vegan and veggie restaurant with a menu that traverses the Indian sub-continent: from the ‘Thalis’ of Gujarat to the ‘Dosas’ of South India and from the ‘Chaats’ of Mumbai to the rich, unforgettable taste of North Indian curries.
Address: Lombard Chambers, Bixteth Street, L3 9LP
Arts Hub 47
Arts Hub 47 is a community cooperative for artists, designers and crafters. This is an open space for like minded people to come together and share skills and is a unique way to support so many local artists at once.
Address: 47 Lark Lane, L17 8UW
Crosby Coffee
For nearly a year the business was ran from the owners Mum’s living room, using tiny american style roasters and taking days off from work to fulfil orders. He’s gone from farmers markets to owning his own roastery and you need to visit it.
Address: Unit 14 Bridge Road Industrial Estate, L21 2QG
24 Kitchen Street
Reid Of Liverpool
Quintessentially English yet typically Scouse. Reid’s is the only surviving Georgian, purpose built retail premises in Liverpool, erected circa 1785 and from floor to ceiling, ageing hard and paper backs are stuffed wherever possible.
Hobo Kiosk
Hobo Kiosk will put a smile on your face, a song in your heart and a strange fetish figure on your wall. Located in the once well-worn Baltic Triangle, it fits in quite well.
69A
69A is a shop located in Liverpool City Centre, with an eclectic mix of stock from all ages and from most parts of the world. Make sure you give Murdoch, the resident ginger cat a stroke when you’re in.
Address: 75 Renshaw St, L1 2SJ
Little Macaron Shop
We’re not just talking about a regular pastry chef, we’re talking about a man who invented the ‘Maclair’, a macaron eclair. The food is a work of art and is almost too pretty to eat.
Caz’s Kitchen
You don’t need Mr Kipling’s approval to know Caz’s Kitchen are knocking out exceedingly good cakes. Grab a slice, a cup of coffee and head to their secret garden.
Address: 47 St Johns Road, L22 9QB
Kernaghan’s Books
One of the most beautiful courtyards in all of Liverpool, The Bluecoat, is also home to quite a ravishing little bookshop. It’s owned by a lovely couple who would have never anticipated that over the years of collecting books, the most interesting story they have accumulated would be their very own.
Alison Appleton Tea House
The most delicious form of patriotism comes in the form of a cup of tea and Alison Appleton, on Lark Lane, have got lots of interesting flavours and beautiful ceramic cups to drink them out of.
Izakaya
Castle Street has undergone a foodie renaissance as of late and much of this has come from Izakaya – the new sushi place cooking up a storm. From bento boxes to big bowls of ramen, it packs a serious punch.
Address: 6 Castle St, Liverpool L2 0NB
Xiringuito
Arriving in Liverpool in November last year, the restaurant pitched up in a disused warehouse at the Cains Brewery, part of the new Northern Lights development of Liverpool’s Baltic area and have astounded people with the food and setting.
Address: Old Cains Brewery, Stanhope Street, L8 5XJ
Cocomo
Delicious coffee, lovely sandwiches and run by really nice people, what more could you want? Incredible cake? Oh, well you’re in luck, they’ve got loads of that.
Dig Vinyl
No shop front and no doors. They’re located in the basement beneath Soho and truly define what it is to be a hidden gem as well as ironically stocking a shed load of them.
Open Eye Gallery
A free photo art and international journalism showcase on 2 floors with large archive collection. They specialise in photography and everything they do is inspiring.
Baltic Fleet
Blink and you might miss it, The Baltic Fleet might be off the beaten track but good beer is worth walking for.
Whisky Business
Liverpool’s own Diagon Alley, a mysterious and intriguing stretch of cobbled wizardry. Once a well renowned seafood restaurant is now Whisky Business, an emporium where the soup of the day is always, well, whisky.
Rough Handmade
You’ll smell it before you see it. Freshly baked goodies every single day that you need in your life on the iconic Penny Lane.
White Wolf Yoga
Yoga brings about countless positive effects to the mind, body and soul. This hidden gem just opened up on Cook Street and radiates potential.
Duke Street Bazaar
Amid some amazing restaurants, beautiful abandoned buildings, gin bars and a strip club, there’s a small unassuming shop with the whole heart of Liverpool on Duke Street.
Italian Club Bakery
An authentic Italian bakery in the heart of Liverpool baking up a fresh storm daily. What’s not to love?
Address: 22 Newington, L1 4ED
Maggie’s Farm
The advent of supermarkets hasn’t been kind to the world of the fruit and veg man or woman but there are a dedicated few not giving up that easy. Support the mavericks and shop at this beautiful organic fruit and veg shop.
Address: 114 Aigburth Road, L17 4BP
F U
UK’s first dedicated Baiju bar has opened in little old Liverpool. It is a Chinese alcoholic beverage that represents nearly a third of world-wide spirit sales yet remains relatively unknown in the West. Go find out what all the fuss is about.
Artisane
The macaron Mecca and Liverpool’s first French patisserie in the leafy suburbs of Childwall. Diets are immediately shattered upon arrival.
Dead Crafty Beer Company
Liverpool just got a new hop head quarters that will be your new favourite watering hole. Inspired by Texas, they call Dale Street home and it’s most certainly worth a visit.
Address: Westminster Chambers, Dale Street
A Small Cinema
The old Magistrates Court has been revamped into an intimate cinema to show off local filmmakers work. A unique experience that embraces community and takes cinema back to the core of what it is.
Address: 57-59 Victoria Street, Liverpool, L1 6DE
Black Lodge Brewery
A collaborative bar and brewery in Liverpool’s Baltic Triangle, specialising in elemental, rare and one off craft beers and ales. An excuse to re-visit over and over again. They also have a special restaurant called Oktopus offering a series of pop-up teasers until the end of March.
Panna
Panna is fun to say and even better to visit. Away from the humdrum of the business district there are a set of stairs that lead to a modest coffee shop that is ran by a Slovakian couple so nice that they’ll make you feel all gooey inside like one of their brownies.
Purple Carrot
Vegan whole food heaven. A real gem for Smithdown.
Rococo
Rococo gets its name and inspiration from the 18th century rococo movement but blink and you might miss it. Climb the Everest-like stairs to the top and be greeted by three grand rooms and a Victorian hallway.
Address: 61 Lord St, Liverpool L2 6PB
Honourable mentions:
Cowshed, Space Coffee, Cooper’s Coffee Shop, Our Kitchen, Filter & Fox, Amalia, StoryHouse, Grand Central Hall, P&D Deli.
Did we miss anything? Let us know hello@independent-liverpool.co.uk
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