Pudding and Pie, Southport

A modern cafe in Victorian surroundings! I love Southport. People are so dismissive of the great British seaside resorts nowadays, thanks to Sleazyjet and Ryanscare offering cheap flights to Spain. Even the chavs are getting particular about where they holiday now (in my opinion, they shouldn't have a holiday as they're living off the taxpayers, but I'll save my rant for another blog!) We should be helping our country as let's face it, Britain is not particularly attractive to tourists with its unpredictable weather and greasy food, but if you delve deeper, our land has a lot of character, fabulous architecture and history, hidden gems, and thanks to its bad food reputation, it now has the world on a plate and some of the best restaurants ever! If you haven't been to Southport before, yes it does have tacky shops selling salt and pepper shakers in the shape of breasts, but it also has classy designer shops. The same goes for its eateries. There are greasy chippies which quite frankly, are very good for a naughty treat, the usual chains that shall remain nameless, quaint Indian and Chinese, old school tearooms and modern cafes with some of the most potent coffee known to man! I found myself in the fabulous Wayfarers arcade, a magnificent Victorian building packed with quaint antique shops, trendy furniture shops and the delectable Pudding and Pie Cafe. The cafe is the focal point of the arcade, with seating both in the cafe and in the arcade itself. I chose to sit in the arcade in order to take in the victorian splendour of its glass roof and simultaneously windowshop. I ordered my usual Americano, generous and potent, passing my stringent coffee test. There isn't much on the menu for us veggies, but what they do have is a break from the cheese butty/ lasagne norm. On my first visit, I chowed down on spicy vegetable wrap which was beautifully stuffed with fresh, spicy veg but at £5, I felt the plate was bare- for the price, it should have come with chips or even a baked spud. On my second visit, I chose a 'proper' meal, the Shepherdless Pie. This is a veggie take on the Shepherd's pie; instead of the mince filling, it was stuffed with a vegetable medley in sauce (I suspect it was soup or stew, but nonetheless it tasted great). This came with chips and salad. The chips are a masterpiece here. Not the cheapo lazy option of frozen skinny chips, but home made, hand cut mis-shapes of potato- YUM! Please note, the chef automatically cooks all chips in lard, but he does have a separate, vegetable oil fryer. If you're a veggie or simply hate lard, you will need to ask for them to be done separately. 'You've forgotten us!' I hear the carnivores cry. You meat eaters are in for a treat with succulent home made pies topped with flaky pastry, full Englishes and more! I'd definitely return here, but I feel it is rather expensive. However, the food is freshly produced. made from scratch and the staff are well mannered. Plus they have daily papers!