I Love Grapevine. The fruit and vegetables are always so fresh and delicious. It's really quite a…read morelarge shop and sells more than the average fruit shop; there's a small range of cooking extras: sauces, oils and dressings, herbs, and fresh eggs, and a fantastic indoor and outdoor plant section, with cut flowers and bedding plants all available. There's always great offers on the fruit, Tuesday I bought a big strawberries for £1 and they were just divine! Great place, but it's a long way to walk back to the train station (or the car park) with heavy purchases.. I don't think home delivery is available.

Trayner Brothers is a wonderful little green grocers in Maghull Square. I love green grocers…read morebecause they always seem to have a far greater variety of fruit and veg than you find in most grocery stores, and the prices are generally really great too. When I popped in here there was quite an array of fresh produce, and I found some very tasty, plump and juicy nectarines for 39 pence each. I am a fruit lover, so I know when I see a good nectarine. They have to be ripe and ready to eat when you buy them, otherwise most of the time they turn out bland or chewy even after they are ripe. This place knows its fruit. Mmmm.

Best when the weather is good, the Liverpool Farmer's Market can provide new surprises as well as…read morefamiliar faces and products with each 3rd Sunday of every month. While most of us are trying to get a well earned lie in or nurse a hang over there are many out there setting up stalls to sell their wares and even more getting out there to sample the fresh produce of fruit, meat and cheese sellers and hand crafted materials and jewellery. When the weather is good or the 'farmers' know there will be more tourists out on the street there seems a better turn out and the market is the best way to sample some of the areas best local goods.

Deli Fonseca is one of the few places that makes me wish I was loaded…read more A fab independent deli in Liverpool's business district, it's packed floor to ceiling with all kinds of mouthwatering goodies. The gigantic counter displays a myriad of delicious cheeses, hams, olives, pates, anti-pasti and salads whilst the nearby baskets display fresh sticks and loaves of bread. To top it off, they have dozens of wooden shelves groaning with all kinds of lovely store cupboard treats from organic granola, cereals and cookies to oat cakes, chutneys, olive oils, vinegars, sauces and spices. Now, where did I put that darn lottery ticket?

This review is for the upstairs restaurant area - and sadly it is not a good one. One Saturday…read morelunchtime, I popped in for a light lunch. Nothing complicated - in the end, I ordered a Greek salad and a plate of Serrano ham rather than the pricier mains on the blackboards. I'm not sure how two really basic things could be so disappointing. I think it's because on the surface, this looks like a place that prides itself on sourcing and attention to detail. On the specials during my visit were such items as hand foraged local samphire, Cumbrian lamb and Pink's award winning sausages. So why was the Greek salad about 50% raw onion? Why did it feature those mealy crunchy supermarket basics tomatoes, cold from the fridge? Even the black olives mentioned on the menu were green. And they clearly did have black olives in the kitchen, because my four slices of Serrano ham (almost £6) came topped with a single olive. They boasted it was "20 month aged" - most of it had clearly been in their fridge, as it featured a faint tang of refrigerator and managed to be unpleasantly rubbery. Not sure how Serrano ham can even go rubbery but there you go. If you've boasting of excellent ingredients then it's unacceptable for the basics to fail so badly. I wouldn't bother returning.

Matta's is an excellent Asian store selling a huge variety of ingredients and exotic foods as well…read moreas frozen fish. There is no other store like this in Liverpool as here you'll find rarer products that you can experiment with. It is particularly popular with students and people from foreign backgrounds. Some westerners may consider the food strange so don't be suprised. There is alot of delightful produce to be tried at affordable prices. If you want to cook up something new whether it is middle-eastern or Carribean cuisine, come here because staff are friendly and will kindly advise you.

The world in one city is one of the many trite cliches we scousers like to ram down people's…read morethroats - instead visit this excellent food emporium and get some ingredients to make some lovely food to ram down your throat instead. Matta's is a well known Liverpool food stockist, I'm not sure it's really a deli, let's call it a food place because they sell things to do with food. Because we here in Liverpool know so little about food - our traditional meal is not scouse as people will have you believe but Pot Noodle - there are few places like Matta's and certainly none as reasonably priced. Herbs and spices, exotic condiments, preserves, oils and stocks are the main fare of Matta's trade helping scousers to liven up our spam frittas since a while ago and now they have entered the 21st century with an e-commerce website.

You want local and fresh? You want independent and cheap? You want it delivered to you're home or…read moreoffice? Well by golly, it's a good job Adam's Apple is around. There are crates and crates of every kind of fruit and veg you can think of; the cherries looked particularily yummy today! And they had flat mushrooms on offer so I had to indulge...(mushrooms may be fungus but they taste darn good!) I always feel good about myself when I buy from places like this, it's very friendly and chatty in here, busy when I went in, rustic in character and a damn sight better than the big Tesco up the road!

Adam's Apple is a great local fruit and veg shop. There is nothing that I like better than a shop…read morebrimming full with fresh fruit and veg and english flags flying! Bananas, pineapples, cherries, apricots, peaches, apples, pears, oranges, broad beans, onions, tomatoes, lettuce. I could go on and on. They also have some beautiful plants on sale including pansies. Adam's Apples offer a really good service and if you can't get to the shop because you are too busy or don't live nearby - it's ok! They offer office and home delivery! Cool!

I love this fruit and veg shop. There are two in the area, and I guess I actually love both of…read morethem. I used to shop at both at various different times when I lived in the area. Fresh fruit and veg from a small shop like this is always so much better than the stuff you buy in general grocery stores. It's cheaper, fresher, and usually higher quality. This shop generally carries basics like for fruit: bananas, apples, oranges, and grapes, and for veg: carrots, parsnips, potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, etc. But sometimes you will find some more exotic or unusual items, and as always still priced fairly low.

Fruit exchange is a massive fruit and veg stall inside Birkenhead Market. They offer one of the…read morelargest ranges of fruit and vegetables you will find in an independent shop, and they have some really good prices. They can certainly give Aldi a run for their money, so if you're into saving money on your food, this is a great place to buy your fruit and veg, especially those items that tend to be more expensive like strawberries and grapes. And there's just so much to choose from.

I love that this greengrocers is run by three sisters. What a great idea! Unfortunately, when I…read morepopped in, the three of them were out for a funeral. :( But I had a nice chat with the lady that was manning the shop for them. This shop smells amazing. All you can smell is the fresh fruit. The apples are deliciously amazing. The prices are good, and there's plenty of variety for both fruit and veg. I highly recommend this shop.

Lydiate Hall Farm Shoppe is the companion farm shop to The Hay Loft Tea Shoppe which I have…read morereviewed separately (highly recommended!) Not a lot of airs and graces here, just a very solid farm shop. These days, it would seem some of the more successful farm shops have gone way upmarket with eye-watering prices to match. Although I didn't purchase anything or look closely at the prices, Lydiate Hall Farm Shoppe has a strong feeling of being an old-fashioned 'basic, good value' type of farm shop - you will do well to stay fully wrapped up when paying a visit during winter. Just of how fresh the produce and eggs will be as a result of the frigid temperatures - and keep moving! This is mainly a greengrocers, but with the addition of what may well be the full range of Mrs. Darlington's preserves, relishes and chutneys and also lots of eggs. Things that are obviously Lydiate produce are Maris Piper potatoes, eggs and probably the sprouts stalks and cabbages also. But ask them, as I am sure you will meet with a friendly response. With a triple-whammy comprising farm shop, tea room and duck pond/peacocks on a working farm with traditional buildings, the Lydiate Hall Farm is definitely worth a visit.

A fabulous little greengrocers shop in a beautiful setting of wood and farmland with lots of…read morepeacocks & hens, roosters and ducks. As soon as you drive up the path to the car park you are greeted by chattering ducks and it is very welcoming. The actual shop is great - everything is super fresh and best of all super cheap. We bought a big bag full of fruit and veg for £6! So all these people who say you can't eat nice food cheaply can eff off. You can even buy 6 eggs from a local hen rescuer - free range of course- for a pound! A POUND! The ladies serving in the shop today were very nice, helpful and cheery.