Strawberry Field

You're standing where John Lennon used to play as a kid, and somehow that makes your flat white taste better. The café sits within the restored Strawberry Field site, serving up decent coffee and light bites while coach loads of Beatles pilgrims snap photos outside. But here's the thing – locals actually come here too, because the staff are sound and the cakes are proper good. The exhibition downstairs tells the story of the Salvation Army children's home that inspired the song, but upstairs in the café, you're just enjoying a brew in one of Liverpool's most famous locations. Yes, you'll hear 'Strawberry Fields Forever' on repeat, and yes, there are tourists everywhere, but the view over the gardens is lovely and the atmosphere feels genuine rather than manufactured nostalgia.