Liverpool cheap eats: I visit one of the top Tripadvisor rated cafes in the city and grab a bargain lunch at A Small Fish in a Big Pond

Determined to better support and champion our local, independent businesses, I’m on a mission to find high-quality, budget-friendly options for eating out in Liverpool. As part of my ‘Cheap Eats’ series, I will be exploring the city’s hidden gems which offer good value for money and an overall pleasant experience. Only sharing my honest opinions, the places I visit are chosen based on local’s recommendations or because they have a reputation for offering affordable meals.

My latest choice was A Small Fish in a Big Pond, located on Water Street. With a Google review rating of five out five stars and ranking as Liverpool’s number one choice for coffee and tea, it had been on my list for a while, with a number of customers praising its reasonable prices.

Situated inside the beautiful Oriel Chambers building, lovely bunting donning the cafe’s name makes it easy to spot and I headed in at around 1.00pm on a weekday to grab myself some lunch. Originally planning on sitting in, I found that all of the tables were already taken so decided to order my meal to take away.

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Although the menu is small, it offers a great selection of lunchtime items such as wraps, soup, sandwiches and cheese toasties, as well as cakes, hot drinks and soft drinks. I opted for the vegan option, a sweet chilli hummus and falafel wrap and was very impressed to see that it was made fresh to order. Priced at just £4.35 to take away - or £4.55 to eat in - it was incredibly reasonable and I waited no more than two minutes for it to be prepared.

The wrap was packed with salad, falafel and hummus and you could really tell it was fresh as it tasted so much better than the wraps I often get on a supermarket meal deal. As far as falafel wraps go, it was one of the best I’ve had.

The two staff members present were extremely friendly and you could tell that it was a proper community cafe, with smiles around and a lovely atmosphere. The interior was really lovely too, with a guest book for every visitor to sign, little dried flowers, bunting and marine-themed decorations.

While I didn’t fancy a drink - as I’d had a coffee about 30 minutes prior - the drinks menu was really impressive with a whole host of hot drinks available. I was actually annoyed at myself for getting my coffee elsewhere as the prices were so reasonable at between £2.50 and £3.10 for a large hot drink, depending on your order.

To be able to support a small business and get a fresh sandwich or wrap PLUS a coffee for around £7 is pretty good going so if you’re after a lovely lunch at a lovely venue, you need to try A Small Fish in a Big Pond.

Watch the full video above or visit our TikTok page for more food and drink reviews. Let us know which Liverpool restaurants you think we should visit by leaving a comment below.