Let's get to know your new neighbourhood!

It’s almost time to make the move from living on campus to a local Liverpool area. Smithdown Road and Wavertree are where you’ll find most Liverpool university students living. To help you find your feet in your new neighbourhood, check out what the area has to offer for food, drink, music, parks, things to do for students.

🍕 Food

The food choices around Smithdown Road are endless and there are always new cafés and restaurants popping up. It’d be impossible to list them all but here’s a few to get you started.

Nomad

Nomad sits in the heart of Smithdown Road and is here for your breakfast, coffee and lunch needs. It’s a super cosy space for catching up with a friend or doing some work. Not only will you find food and drinks at Nomad but also gigs and shows with everything from jazz to country and folk music. Follow Nomad on Instagram here.

Big Lolas

Big Lolas is here for all your fajita, tacos and churros needs! Look out for deals on their Instagram such as their lunch burrito & fries deal on Wednesday, Thursday and Fridays!

Tavern

Also known as home to Liverpool’s best breakfast served with unlimited tea and coffee. You can grab a 10% student discount, ideal for post-lecture pick me up!

Raggas

Raggas serves authentic Caribbean food six days a week. Expect traditional Jamaican dishes with a super budget friendly menu.  

Fritto

Serving Italian street food from Smithdown Road is Fritto. This cosy authentic Italian bakery serves arancini, pizza, focaccia sandwiches.

Chamber 36

Chamber 36 is a must-visit while living in Liverpool! You can build your own ramen bowl or go for small plates of pan-asian food. Students can grab 25% off the main menu (sun-fri) or 10% off on Saturdays.

Maggie Fu

Maggie Fu takes famous Liverpool salt & pepper to the next level. Maggie Fu serves up asian food and caters for all with their vegan menu! Go check out it out!

Little Furnace Pizza

Who can resist a stone-baked pizza fresh from the oven?! We can’t! Little Furnace does not disappoint with their freshly baked pizzas.

🍻 Drinks & social

Anyone else hungry after seeing all that food? Now it's time to look at what's on offer on Smithdown's nightlife scene.

You'll find plenty of pubs, including local bars and breweries on Smithdown so there's truly something for everyone.

The Brookhouse pub is a rite of passage for students but you'll also find the Handyman Brewery, Black Cat, Beeswing and Kelly's dispensary. Expect weekly pub quizzes, gigs and live music going on in all of these local pubs and bars so be sure to give them a follow on Instagram to stay updated.

Blackcat are now doing a bottomless tea or coffee for £6 from 10am Mon-Fri and from 12pm on weekends! With wifi included, it's the perfect place to hang out and catch up on some work. Did we mention they serve local coffee and freshly made cakes? 

🎵 Music 

Smithdown Festival takes place every year and is celebrating its 10th anniversary this May! Local music will be on offer across different venues in the area across 3 days. It's free entry to the festival and instead you'll find each venue is collecting for a local charity.

There's also a big litter pick taking place before, during and after the festival for the local community to get involved in.

If you haven't already heard, BBC 1's Big Weekend is taking place in Sefton Park, just minutes away from Smithdown Road which goes to show just how much we love our music in Liverpool. Sefton Park is also home to other festivals such as Africa Oyé. 

🎨 Things to do 

Smithdown is not just about the food, drink as you'll find the likes of Smithdown Social Arts club which is a local community centre which supports local art, film, music and literature.

Frankie's Pottery Painting is also for anyone creative! Relax and unwind from uni and paint something for your new room.

You'll also find some of the city's best green spaces just minutes walk from Smithdown Road. Sefton Park and its palm house are a must-visit as well as Greenbank Park for a quieter wander around the lake.

Did you know Penny Lane is just 5 minutes away from Smithdown too?

🛒Shopping 

Smithdown is proud to be home to so many local, independent shops such as Defend Vinyl, Deak Ink bookshop , Decent Donuts and Coco Baroque chocolate shop to name a few! 

Charity Shops

For a budget friendly way to kit out your room and wardrobe, Smithdown has plenty of charity shops at your doorstep. Here's a list of a few places you can try - just click the shop for directions!

• Oxfam - best for furniture and household items to kit out your room, kitchen, drawers
• Roy Castle Lung Cancer charity shop - best for furniture and kitchen items e.g. plates, crockery
• Bernardo's - mix of clothes, shoes, household items
• Open Door - best for clothes, outfits, shoes (just 5-10 min walk from Smithdown)

If you're living in Smithdown, you'll also find plenty of grocery shops. Asda Smithdown is a superstore and an essential for any student moving into the area. You'll also find a local Aldi and Tesco. 

Finally, Purple Carrot a 100% vegan, wholefood local shop on Smithdown. You can refill your shampoo, body wash, cleaning products and shop sustainably and locally here. They also serve Cakehole vegan cupcakes which are delicious!

There you have it! You're practically a local of Smithdown already. When you move into your new house share, be sure to explore what the area has to offer and it'll feel like home in no time.

Click here to read more from our Moving on from Halls series!