19/08/12 - A very good Egg.

As a vegetarian, it can be a little tricky to give fair and honest reviews of restaurants.  For instance, on holiday, we ate at a lovely little place in Bridlington called Naked Fish.  The ambience was amazing, the staff were friendly and the choice of local seafood was very impressive…but the only thing on the menu I could eat was chips.  I mean, they were good chips but really not worthy of an entire blog post.  And it’s a shame, because I would recommend it to anyone who is around that North East coast area – my family seemed to really enjoy their fish, the portions were great and reasonably priced, and overall it was a lovely experience.  But this paragraph is the only review I can give.

So it’s great when I can give a fully-fledged review of a place without feeling like I’m missing anything out.  And I’m even more pleased when I can review one of my favourite places to eat in Liverpool, possibly the whole world. 

The Egg Café.

This is an amazing vegetarian and vegan café hidden away on Newington, the road that runs between Bold Street and Renshaw Street near Liverpool Central railway station.  Situated up two flights of narrow stairs and furnished by battered wooden tables and benches, the atmosphere is one of my favourite things about this place.  The staff are always really friendly and helpful, the hand-painted purple walls give it a unique charm and the food is to die for.  The prices are insanely low considering the quality of the food.  And the portions!  My go-to lunchtime treat is a huge helping of the cheese on toast, which comes with a heap of pasta salad, mixed salad and couscous.  Every time, I bet myself that I can eat it all and every time I fail.  I’ve been known to halve this serving (which is under the heading ‘Starters and Snacks’ on the menu – but it’s like no starter or snack I’ve seen anywhere else!) with a friend, and still not quite finish the whole plate.  And for £3.70, that’s not bad.  The Specials board has a choice of three hot meals each day (generally two of the three are vegan-friendly), all of which come with the same salad and I don’t think cost more than around £6.  But don't let the lack of meat/fish put you off - I know what carnivores can be like! ;)  I have a lot of friends who are hardcore meat-eaters who love to come here as a bit of a change.  And even though the portions could happily feed a small village, it's all wholesome healthy food so no need to feel guilty.

Sorry for the awful quality, this was a sneaky photo as the woman behind the counter was giving me funny looks.

There’s a very homely feel to the Egg – there are jugs of water on the counter for you to help yourself, the condiments are all kept on one table and a little hand-written note requests that you don’t take more than you need of anything.  When you order, you’re given a raffle ticket type thing which you take to your rustic wooden bench to wait for a member of staff to deliver your food.  It attracts all kinds of clientele – from students buried in textbooks, business people on a quick lunch break or families and shoppers who just want a sit down and a cup of tea.

Unlike most things these days, the Egg Café doesn't seem to have much of an online presence - in fact, it took me a while to find a definitive address for it.  But if you give it a Google, I'm sure you'll be able to find any more information you need.  I would recommend it to anyone who is around Liverpool and fancies something a little different from the usual fast food or coffee shop lunches.

Do you have any vegetarian recommendations in your area?  Have you been to Egg in Liverpool?  Let me know!