Nostalgia, Lord St, Southport

Regular readers of my blog will know that I don't buy into these new-fangled trendy restaurants. For me, eating out is all about an experience, a little journey for the eyes and the senses as well as the tastebuds. In my favourite seaside resort of Southport, I have found the perfect antidote to your chains, your glass fronted wine bars and the nouvelle cuisine brigade. My friends, let me take you in my time machine to Nostalgia.

Nostalgia has been present in Southport for decades, before all those pesky budget airlines took away all its tourists to Majorca and it was still a thriving seaside resort. It sums up the essence of an English tearoom- quaint and stereotypical for foreign tourists, buying into their idealistic image of England being genteel and taking tea in a similar vein to when we go to Spain and watch a flamenco show. The waitresses are immaculately turned out in pinnies and hats (calm down gents, thats not all they're wearing!), 40s music plays in the background, old fashioned decor (please, don't refurb!) and cabinets filled with gooey cakes.

The dishes aren't the most exciting and for the main part consists of soups and sandwiches, but you are in an Olde Englishe tearoom, it'd lose its purpose if it were to serve sushi and curry. You wouldn't expect a cream scone in a Chinese, would you? In a similar vein to pub grub, the hot dishes of the day include traditional favourites like lasagne, fish and chips, and for us veggies, a homemade cheese, onion and potato bake (above) for £5.99 served with salad and crusty bread.

Where they do get imaginative however, are the desserts and drinks. A variety of teas, milkshakes, sticky puds and more really whets the appetite. My drink of choice is the Spider, a mix of cherry coke, normal coke and a dollop of ice cream, followed by either jam roly poly or apple crumble with lashings of custard for dessert.

So, next time you go to Southport, please visit this beautifully nostalgic cafe. You can eat chips, pizza etc any time, cafes like this are few and far between in today's C*sta filled society of no imagination. I guarantee you will leave with a warm fuzzy feeling in your stomach and a sadness that this country ain't what it used to be.