The town in Merseyside is home to a range of dining establishments, including the award-winning eatery and pub dating back 300 years
Numerous towns in the UK boast enviable food scenes, but one rising star amongst them, as hailed by hospitality experts, is Halewood in Merseyside. Traditionally overshadowed by its industrial heritage and its association with Everton FC’s Finch Farm training complex, the town is now earning recognition for its blossoming array of great places to eat and drink.
The culinary landscape here has been particularly boosted by spots like Casa Rima, a delightful Mediterranean restaurant that opened on Baileys Lane in 2023 and fast became the talk of the town. The man behind the culinary magic, Chef Kemal Coşkuncay of Speke, recently scooped up the ‘Chef of the Year’ title at the prestigious 2025 British Kebab Awards as reported by the Liverpool Echo.
Casa Rima’s menu is as varied as it is enticing, offering everything from the best kebabs to pizzas, pastas, and burgers, ensuring there’s something for everyone. Speaking to the ECHO, Kemal extolled Halewood’s virtues in the culinary scene.
He said: “Halewood is the hidden gem. It is unspoiled. There’s good families, good couples, good businesses. Halewood used to be known all over the UK for sport, because of Finch Farm. Now it is known all over the UK as ‘the hidden gem’.
“The Eagle and Child [pub] is over 300 years old, there are Indian restaurants and other restaurants. Top class people are living here, but we didn’t know until we opened. Before, people from Halewood would travel to other places for good food and drinks, but now people from other places travel to Halewood. It is a pleasure to be here. We are so happy to be part of Halewood – and the locals here support us a lot.”
For those making the journey on one of the several buses to Halewood, you might find yourself hungry after the trip through Liverpool City. Fortunately, as you arrive at Halewood Shopping Centre, you’ll have three tempting options to satisfy your appetite: Subway, Halewood Fish Bar, and Pepe’s — home to delectable piri piri chicken.
Pepe’s has built a strong rep among both newcomers and regulars for offering bang for your buck, hearty helpings, and most importantly, tasty food– their piri piri chicken might just make you forget Nando’s with its flavourful, fiery, tender bird.
Patrons are spoilt for choice with six searing flavours – whether you fancy mango and lime, lemon and herb, mild, hot, extra hot, or the daredevil extreme.
In Halewood, diners are spoilt for choice with a selection of choices, from the cosy Triangle Cafe to the much-loved Brunch Box, not to mention the historic Eagle and Child pub, where history lingers in the air, with its roots stretching back to at least 1843 as the Tithe Map reveals. Whether you’re in the mood for a light snack like a sandwich or tapas, or craving some robust British fare such as pies and bangers and mash, the pub has got it all.
Just on the outskirts of town is where the Yew Tree Coffee Barn is nestled within an expansive 40-acre farm. It’s on this very land that sisters Rachel Maskell and Katie Wilkes, who have their childhood roots deeply embedded here, decided to venture into the coffee business in 2013, offering a friendly breakfast and lunch service amongst a charming assortment of farm animals, boasting particularly popular alpacas.
Chatting to the ECHO, Katie said: “We started in 2013. I’d been travelling when I was younger and there was a big coffee shop culture. I really liked it and so I wanted to open a coffee shop when I got back, but I had to work and save up money, and everything like that.
“We’ve also opened The Barn which does weddings on the other side, which me and my sister run together. So, we’ve got the coffee shop and the wedding side of it as well.”
With its doors opening from 9am to 3pm every Monday to Friday, the coffee shop is abuzz with customers enjoying all-day breakfasts, handcrafted sandwiches, crisp salads, and comforting homemade soup, while the weekends are reserved for celebrating joyous wedding occasions.
Katie spoke optimistically about Halewood’s rapid development and the variety of people it attracts, saying: “Halewood is growing quite quickly. We get people here from Widnes, Warrington, St Helens, and there’s even people in Halewood who tell us they never knew we were here. Halewood’s opening up in terms of people coming into ‘the country’, as they call us, and more people are finding us.
“There’s a large amount of new houses and new people in the area; we’ve had a lot of development over the past few years. Where the farm is based, on a little country road, we used to be surrounded by fields, but now we’ve got a few big housing estates around us.
“We’re finding we are a lot busier all the time. When we used to be quiet midweek, we’re now very busy all the time. There’s a lot more coffee shops and restaurants opening up and it’s just lovely to see because we need them. We’ve got an area which people can visit now because they know there’s more than one choice.”
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