Here’s a list and small reviews of some good places I’ve found including shops, markets, cafes, restaurants and the like. It’s entirely subjective these places are deemed to be good because I’ve been to them and like them and that’s it.

I hope to encourage you to visit these places in an effort to support what they are doing and sway the trade away from the monsters who will overtake our towns if we let them.

If anyone knows anywhere they think I should add please contact me to let me know about it.

Wales

Llanidloes

Great Oak Cafe
Fantastic veggie cafe. Always has 3 tasty hot meals on offer on the hot plate, typically quiche, lasagne etc with choice of salads. Also soups, sandwiches and an amazing range of cakes. Very generous portions. Reasonable prices. Main meals about £5.
Great Oak Cafe, 12 Great Oak Street, Llanidloes, SY18 6BU
Tel: 01686 413 222

Great Oak Organics
Lovely little organic veg shop. Very unusual in that it sources a lot of it’s produce direct from small scale local growers giving people an opportunity to make a bit of cash from their back gardens while reducing food miles. Doesn’t get much more fair trade/local than that. Also has a fantastic deli counter, specialising in Welsh and continental cheeses at very reasonable prices as well as a range of vegetarian, organic and biodynamic wines, beers and ciders.
Great Oak Organics, 11 Great Oak Street, Llanidloes, SY18 6BU
Tel: 01686 413 222

Natural Foods
Small but perfectly formed organic and whole food shop. Suma products. Mostly staples – dried beans, flours etc. Also small selection of dairy products and meat.
Natural Foods, 17 Great Oak Street, Llanidloes, SY18 6BU
Tel: 01686 412 306

Birkenhead and the Wirral

The Chocolate Cellar
Amazing independent chocolatiers, using top quality ingredients and Belgian chocolate to make delicious cakes, chocolate bars some pretty snazzy inventive truffles, for example Thai Surprise, flavoured with lemon grass and coconut. Yum. You’ll never go to Thornton’s again! Also at Wirral Farmers markets.
The Chocolate Cellar, 12-14 Hanover St, L1 3DN
Tel:0151 200 2202
www.thechocolatecellar.co.uk

Church Farm Organics
Organic veg shop. Also does a great range of cheese and other deli items.
Tel: 0151 648 7838
www.churchfarm.org.uk

Claremont Farm
Brilliant farm shop selling good value locally sourced fruit, veg and farm assured meat, fish and poultry. Does a good selection of cheeses and various preserves, chocolates, wines and real ale etc from local companies. Also does pick your own summer fruits and strawberries.
Old Clatterbridge Road, Bebington CH63 4JB
Tel: 0151 334 1906
www.claremontfarm.co.uk

K and N Fruit and Veg, Birkenhead
Loads of different good quality fruit and veg, also herbs etc in fridge (you need to ask). Also supplies to catering industry so wholesale available. Really nice staff. Cheap.
Oxton Road, Birkenhead (not sure of the number, but it’s heading out of Birkenhead, up the hill)
Tel: 0770 347 5170

Siam Asian Food, Birkenhead
Asain (mostly Thai) speciality food store.
9 Oxton Road, Birkenhead, CH41 2QQ
Tel: 0151 652 3414

Cornwall

Fat Hen
Wild food forager, supplies restaurants, runs courses and does wild food walks. Good fun, really nice lady.
Caroline Davey, Gwenmenhir, Boscawen-noon Farm, St. Buryan, Penzance, Cornwall, TR19 6EH
Tel. (01736) 810156    Mob. 07767 792417
www.fathen.org

The Gurnard’s Head, Nr. Zennor
Cosy pub and hotel selling great locally sourced food. Inventive menu, including some freshly picked wild food supplied by Fat Hen.
The Gurnard’s Head, Nr. Zennor, St. Ives, TR26 3DE
Tel: (01736) 796 928
www.gurnardshead.co.uk

Devon

Pannier Market, Barnstaple
Great indoor market, fresh fruit and veg. Also parade of shops outside including cheese shop, bakers, butchers etc. More info.

Liverpool

Bold St Veg Shop, Liverpool
Towards the top, on the right nice veg shop, not organic or particularly local, but sometimes is and can be really cheap, often does amazing deals on things near end of shelf life.

Matta’s, Liverpool
Great for groceries, lots of different international food, unusual veg, chilis etc.
51 Bold St, Liverpool, L1 4EU
Tel: 0151-709 3031

Windmill Organic Wholefoods
Nice little wholefood store. Some things seem a bit pricey, but I think its just because we’ve been spoilt by shopping at Unicorn. Friendly staff.
337 Smithdown Rd, Liverpool, L15 3JJ
0151 734 1919
www.windmillorganic.co.uk

Manchester

Aladdin Restaurant, Withington
The best restaurant in Manchester. Middle eastern food. We usually skip the main meals and order a big selection of starters to eat in meze style. Very tasty food, and cheap, usually around £10 a head.Plus it’s bring your own. Woop!
529 Wilmslow Road, Manchester, M20 4BA
0161 434 8588

The Barbakan
Despite it’s bizarre opening hours which always seemed to prevent me from buying anything at anytime and ridiculous queueing system that doesn’t seem to work, I have to put this place is as it really is THE place in Manchester to get bread. The range is fantastic and all the bread is handcrafted, made using traditional methods and authentic European recipes. So long as you don’t work during the day and never get out of bed early for your breakfast then this is the place for you.
67-71 Manchester Road, Chorlton, M21 9PW
Tel: 0161 881 7053
www.barbakan-deli.co.uk

The Cheese Hamlet, Didsbury
Fantastic cheese shop/deli. Hundreds of different types of cheese. Smells amazing. There’s always a huge queue down the road at Christmas. The range of cheese available in supermarkets is always incredibly disappointing and dull once you’ve been to this shop.
706 Wilmslow Road, Didsbury Village, Manchester, M20 2DW
0161 434 4781
www.cheesehamlet.com

Khawja Bros Mini Market, Chorlton
Great green grocers, also stock organic milk and lots of pulses etc.
63, Manchester Rd, Chorlton, Manchester, Lancashire M21 9PW
Tel:0161 881 1818

Unicorn Grocery, Chorlton
Possibly the best organic veg and whole-food shop I’ve been to, used to do pretty much all my shopping here. Run as a co-operative. Good variety of fruit and veg, brilliant for herbs, spices and bulk staples.
89 Albany Road, Chorlton, Manchester, M21 0BN
www.unicorn-grocery.co.uk

Wild at Heart, Chorlton
Organic deli, cheeses, meat and coffee shop. Also sells pie minister pies. Mmm.
1 Railway Terrace, Chorlton, Manchester, M21 0RQ
0161 881 2389
www.wildatheart.uk.com

Sheffield

Beanies Whole Food
Workers co-operative selling organic fruit and veg, also cereal, dry goods, suma chilled products etc and toiletries. Does an organic box scheme. Soil association approved.
205/7 Crookes Valley Road, Sheffield, S10 1BA
Tel: 0114 268 1662
www.beanieswholefoods.co.uk

Just Natural
Organic fruit and veg. Also sells Ecover products, teas, nuts, dried fruit and other wholefoods. Ran by volunteers.
209 Crookes, Sheffield, S10 1TE
Tel: 0114 266 6142