You're homesick. You miss your mummy/daddykins/dog/significant other/catfish/weasel/antfarm. You…read moreneed some of that home cookin' to soothe your lonely soul, something traditional and warming and comforting. And while in this humid heatwave such thoughts might turn your stomach as much as they're turning mine, I'm thinking back to the cold winters of November when I visited Pudding and Pie in a chilly, wind-whipped Southport. It's worse on the coast, you know. Rumour has it that breeze is so sharp it can make your favourite jumper threadbare. True story. Look no further to solve those feelings than the very definition of stodge that is Pudding and Pie, a place where they do a mean fish finger sandwich (whether the fish were mean before they became fingers remains to be seen), a steak and ale pie that views your arteries as a personal challenge, Lancashire hot pot that could rival Betty's in the Rover's, soups designed to put hair on your chest when you're feeling infirm... all 100% home made. And if you've made the leap to the fat-is-flavour side of the river this far, you might as well finish yourself off with an equally cosy pud. Eccles cakes, or fly pies as my mother calls them (thanks, dear parent, for ruining a traditional north westerly baked treat), apple crumble so warm and juicy that Jim from American Pie would want to get a room with it, bread and butter pudding that ain't stingy on the bright yellow sticks of doom... it's all here, waiting to comfort you. The location is pretty delicious too; Wayfarers Arcade happens to be one of my favourite spots in Southport and the ornate architectural delight that it is blankets Pudding and Pie in even more loveliness. Plus it's super central, so once you've had your fill you can either walk off your heavy tummy by hitting the shops with aplomb or head straight to the beach for a lunch-burnin' sand hike. Either way, the staff are lovely and it makes a superb spot for a substantial lunch or naughty treat any time of the day... one I'd highly recommend.

A friend and I came here for Lunch. We got the Vegetarian Shepherd's pie and homestyle fish and…read morechips. The service was at Pudding and Pie is very good. The guy behind the counter was super nice and made a few jokes, the waitress was also very nice and accommodating. The food at Pudding and Pie was very filling and well priced. They even had free games and crayons to pass time. What a great place to just relax and have a good meal!

Pinder's is somewhat of a hidden gem in the local area, or at least to me it is anyway. I recently…read morestumbled across it accidentally whilst out in Southport and as my friends and I were quite hungry, we decided to head inside and try it out. From the outside, Pinder's just looks like your bog-standard café/greasy spoon but upon entering, you are greeted with an old-fashioned diner look, complimented by different figures decorating the café such as Betty Boop. Think a bit like those American 50s diners that are around now, but less tacky and more authentic-looking. The food there is a mix of sandwiches and toasties and good home cooking like freshly made apple crumble (which is deliciously sweet) and hotpot, a speciality of theirs. Drinks-wise, they offer a very good selection of hot and cold options, including cream tea, all of which are very cheap. The service there is quick and efficient whilst still being friendly and the whole place has a very personal and cosy feel to it. A lovely place to go for some good food or a hot drink.

From the owner: We specialise in our Hot Pot a recipe passed down from our grandmother. Fresh coffee ground to…read moreorder, fantastic breakfasts, and home baked pies. Just good home cooking

How do I love thee Pippins, let me count the ways. First of all I always have and always will love…read moreyour quiches. They are amazing. They are served warm or cold (and warm doesn't mean soggy, they somehow stay crisp and light) with gargantuan side salads full of pasta and coleslaw and Waldorf and all sorts of lovely things. Varieties include broccoli and tomato, mushroom, cheese and onion, Lorraine, you name it, they've put it together. The sandwiches always taste fresh too. Prawns, egg, cress, all lovely with a cup of tea. The soup is always hearty and warming. The cakes, pies, slices and pastries are astonishing. But the most impressive fact about Pippins is that all this is homemade. Even their salad cream. I've been coming here for a bite ever since I was a little girl, and it hasn't changed a bit since then, apart from extending its opening hours to Sundays (perhaps a symptom of the recession but the fact that it's survived has made me woop with joy, it being open on Sundays just makes it even better). The same orange design, same cute apples with faces, same terracotta tiles, same trays, same kinds of things on the menu (but a wider drink choice and more options for veggies) all at the same great prices. In Pippins, there is a table full of magazines and newspapers to choose from while you eat. They always have a copy of Private Eye. This was our routine, my father and I, we'd grab Private Eye and a few supplements and settle down for lunch or a cake and a cuppa, him with a scone with clotted cream and jam (all homemade) and me with a slice of their stonking lemon meringue pie, their chocolate cake, a Millionaire's shortbread, an almond croissant, a giant cookie... there's just too much to choose from and I'd have them all if my body wasn't bound to reject that much sugar. The staff at Pippins are lovely, always accommodating and cheerful. When I was little I always had a glass of fresh milk with my lunch, it was the only thing I'd drink, and Pippins still to this day has a brilliant milk cooling machine with a poster on it encouraging kids to drink up. It worked on me. I might have switched to caffeine since but it's a great touch. Proper large pots of tea, enough for about two and a half cups accompany a really relaxed, quiet ambience. You could quite easily stay in here all day and it has a lovely view of Southport's main shopping street. It's a stone's throw from the station too, and make sure you walk straight past Nero because when Pippins is on the same street it might as well not even be there. This isn't just one of my favourite places in Merseyside, it's one of my favourite places in the world thus far. It might look a little dated, you might think you're the youngest person in there, but trust me, this adds to its charm. Gorgeous.

I went in here on a recent visit to Southport with my mum and sisters. Usually I would have walked…read morestraight past and ignored it. From the outside, Pippins looks really old fashioned and like somewhere only your grandparents would venture! There's nothing to entice you in, the café is actually up on the second floor, the entrance is tiny and is squeezed between Phones4U and M&S. After going up a big staircase, you enter the café. It's actually a large sized place, although it still feels quite old fashioned. The decor and ambience are more suited to old people! However they had a great selection of hot and cold food on offer and the prices were very reasonable. It was much busier than I expected, I had visions of us being the only people in the place, but it we were lucky to find a free table! Good place for a bite to eat at lunchtime, or a hot drink.

Contrary to what you might assume, Coffee Bean is not a new, Starbucks coffee shop wannabe but is…read moreinstead a lovely cosy café that has been around for several years. The café itself isn't particularly large but is certainly big enough to do the job and what it lacks in size it definitely makes up for with its quality food. Coffee Bean's menu has a range of hot and cold snacks as well as a small selection of main meals too. Their snacks include sandwiches and soups which are fairly tasty and reasonably priced. The main meals there are especially good though, with an excellent mixed grill available there for less than seven pounds; a great price for a meal that leaves your stomach fully satisfied. The staff there are friendly and are able to offer each diner a personal service, meaning a trip to Coffee Bean is always a pleasant one, whether you're going for a cup of tea and a cake or for a sit down meal.

This is another Southport stalwart I've been visiting since I was tiny, and I'm so glad it's…read moresurvived. Long before I gave up meat, when I was a littlun, my father and I had one very specific thing in common - we didn't like our bacon cremated. Years later when my mother's genetics started to fight with my father's, I came round to her way of thinking and proceeded to set fire to every piece of bacon I cooked, you know, when it's so burnt you can snap it. This broke my father's heart as I was his sole companion in the fussy bacon department but once you've had a crispy BLT you never go back. The point of this longwinded story is that the Coffee Bean (a great name conjured up long before coffee increased its importance in society, years before Starbuckses and Neros) always did bacon just as we liked - soft and yielding. And their bacon butties were legendary. It was the only place to go in Southport to get a decent down-to-earth bacon, sausage or egg sandwich, a greasy spoon with less grease and more class. I'm so glad it's still standing. It's a top little spot and you can get a great cup of coffee, pot of tea (or indeed glass of milk, as was always my poison as a youngster) to wet your whistle. The food is simple and lovely, the staff are happy to be working there and the atmosphere's fabulous. Please, keep these places going and don't let the chains take over our lovely little seaside town, it's imperative.

My darling girlfriend is always pestering me to make more decisions in our relationship, in…read moreparticular when it comes to choosing somewhere for us to go to eat. So, during a recent trip to Southport when she was dying of starvation, I decided to take the bull by its horns and pick where we would go for lunch. In the past as a young boy I would visit a small café on Tulketh Street with my mum and sisters called Delizzis, so I decided that we should go there as I had not been for many years. Upon entering, Delizzis looked a bit more sophisticated than I remember all those years ago - the tables and chairs were a sleeker, darker colour and design and the plates were square not round, but overall it hadn't seemed to change too much. We sat down and ordered a baguette and pannini each and received our food fairly promptly. One thing I did notice was different from previous visits were the prices (probably something to do with me never paying in the past) which were a bit more expensive than your bog-standard M&S sandwich, but their food is freshly prepared and made there and then so I guess you do pay a bit more. That being said, my roast chicken baguette cost about 4 pounds and for the price I didn't really get very much - a decent sized baguette and a bit of salad on the side. My girlfriend's pannini on the other hand earned rave reviews as she went for a salami, pesto and red onion filling which was delicious (obviously I tried it). They also do a range of pizzas, pastas and omelettes for those of you feeling a bit hungrier, all of which are quite reasonably priced.

There are many little cafés dotted along the streets of Southport and Café Arden is no different…read morefrom its rivals. Size-wise it's probably one of the smaller cafes in the area but what it lacks in size, it makes up for with its quality home cooking. Their menu has a small but solid collection of hot and cold snacks as well as more substantial main meals, all of which are well cooked and perfectly good. As always in cafés like this their prices are not unreasonable, meaning you are able to get a drink and something to eat for a small fee. Café Arden has various daily chef specials which are worth checking out when you visit as well as all day breakfasts, morning coffee and afternoon tea specials, all of which represent excellent value for money. The staff there are friendly and efficient, ensuring you're never waiting too long for your food.

This is my favorite place in all of Southport…read more It is like stepping back in time...the waitresses wear black dresses with crisp white aprons, the tables are laid with cloth linens and vintage china, the tea is served in a silver tea pot with all the necessary utensils...the menu is extensive and comprehensive...you may want a full meal, or just one of the many sweet treats...everything from scones and clotted cream to tea buscuits to eccles cakes...and all the while Al Bowlly is playing softly in the background...this is a must visit location when visiting the North of England. And their house blend of tea, one of many, is fabulous.

Quite why this place is called 'Westminster' tea rooms, I'm not sure. Perhaps it's because in…read moreLondon, they all still sit and drink tea in posh restaurants from china tea cups. But being sat on Southport's busy Lord Street, Westminster Tea Rooms is vastly different to the Starbucks and Café Nero further down the way. Instead of contemporary, comfy sofas and going up to a counter to get your Venti Caramel Latte, you're served by waitresses wearing black dresses and white aprons like something straight out of a film from the 50s. If I'm honest, the whole waitress attire combined with the sophisticated interior design does put me off quite a lot (it looks more like a dining room from the Titanic) as I'm much more comfortable in a more casual, contemporary surrounding but if you're after tea and scones in a more unusual setting then maybe Westminster Tea Rooms is for you.

Rich's Ice Cream Coffee Shop and Gelataria is based along Southport's shopping boulevard. It…read moreprovides a welcome break after a long walk along the promeade because you can wind down in this lovely cafe whether it is to sip a mug of coffee, slurp on a luscious sundae or bite on a toasted sandwich. Most strikingly through their window, you'll easily see that their speciality is selling beautiful ice cream for your delights (at a cost)! However, you'll find a generous variety of flavours to make your mouth water. My favourite has to be Pistachio, which I found to be just as good as the one I had in Venice. Certainly worth the money if you enjoy it! As well as ice cream and hot drinks, they strangely combine their sweet business by offering a selection of savoury snacks, such as breakfast butties and soups with rolls. These dishes are are a bit pricey but when you consider it's prime location and fine dining experience, it is second to none. All this makes Rich's such a tempting place to visit and why not on a gorgeous day. "I scream, You scream, We All scream for ice cream!"

And now, back to an establishment that is a bit more traditional in Southport, Rich's Coffee Shop…read moreand Geleteria. Although, saying that, 'geleteria' does sound a bit exotic and unusual, doesn't it? It does sound more enticing than 'ice cream shop' though, so I can see why they'd use that instead. Rich's is primarily a nice little café at the quieter end of Lord Street which offers its customers a pleasant atmosphere in a reasonably-sized area that gives shoppers the chance to take the weight of their feet and have a hot drink and a sandwich or light snack. However, where Rich's really excels is in its range of desserts. As their sign says, Rich's sells ice cream in a variety of flavours and colours, meaning even the fussiest person could find a flavour to suit their tastes (I usually play safe and stick to chocolate myself, but each to their own). Their dessert menu also features a selection of homemade delicacies such as sundaes and huge chocolate éclairs which at three quid are pretty expensive but are definitely worth it, as my éclair-loving friend will testify.

Me and my brother's meet there once a month, we ignored the miserable manager with no manors as…read morefood is ok an open on Sunday morning. He was that rude we walked out and would not recommend to anyone. Also, and I have worked in cafes and pubs you don't take your troubles out on your customers. All because I got a message on my phone I was told to turn it off.

We visited Sunday with our two young children after a lovely morning on the beach…read more The place was heaving. We were sat at a table with 2 of the seats covered in the coats of the People on the next table. We had to ask them to move them after we were seated. We had a long wait to be offered a drink after approaching a waitress to ask for a menu! Again a long wait for our food order to be taken! You could feel the tension everywhere as it was obvious a lot of tables had been waiting a long time for food and drinks. A couple came to the table next to us and weren't offered a drink or even approached by a staff member for nearly 25 minutes. Understandably they walked out! After 1 hour and 20 minutes our food had still not arrived. I approached the owner twice who said food is on the way. I got to the point where I had to ask "how many minutes" I was told ten more minutes. We waited another 15 then walked out. We were chased by the owner who told us a chef had rang in sick the night before. I have my own business and understand these things happen. I would have got the team together in the morning, put an action plan in place and made sure we were only accepting enough tables we are able to cater for rather than being greedy and not letting guests know there may be a wait and giving us the choice to decide if we were prepared to wait. Understaffed with waiters/waitresses and the owners running around like they didn't know what day it was. The situation handled dreadfully by the owner who showed complete incompetence and lack of knowledge in this industry. We left fed up and hungry with two young children also hungry and fed up. It ruined such a lovely family day for us and completely wasted our time. We will not be visiting again and will tell anyone who asks not to bother wasting their time either!

Really great tea room. Themed Alice in wonderland cafe with cups, decor and music to suit…read more Definitely worth a visit if you're into that sort of thing. Staff are polite and food is good quality.