The Poundcafe is located in St Johns Shopping Centre
Hannah Rees joined the newsroom as the Liverpool ECHO’s newsletter lead in 2021 after graduating from Liverpool John Moores University with a master’s degree in Journalism. She is now the Liverpool ECHO’s social media editor.
Exterior of Pound Cafe in St John’s Shopping Centre, Liverpool
Nothing beats a bit of cheap and cheerful. But sadly that’s becoming more difficult to come by with inflating prices. A light bite and hot drink can cost a small fortune at some big-name coffee shop brands, and even the price of a bog-standard meal deal increases each year.
Fortunately, tucked away in a corner of St Johns Shopping Centre, is Poundcafe. The history of the Poundcafe dates back to 2013, when the first of its kind in the UK arrived in Kirkby town centre – serving four-item fry ups for £1. The cafe formed part of one of Sayer’s Poundbakery branded shops.
Fast-forward to 2025 and although the Kirkby site is no longer with us, Poundcafe has multiple sites across the UK. Their breakfasts might not be as little as £1, but the cafes are still impressively cheap, as I came to find out on Monday morning.
Every time I’ve walked past the cafe in St Johns Shopping Centre it’s always been chocker, which was no different when I arrived at 11.20am.
I joined the small queue and had a nose at some of the options the menu had on offer. It had all of the British delicacies you’d expect from your average cafe; egg and chips (£3.20), Sausage, chips and gravy (£3.90) and beans on toast (£3), to name a few on its main meals.
There’s also a selection of sweet treats, sandwiches, toasties, jacket potatoes and children’s options. Until 11.30am, the cafe serves its breakfast menu which features five item (£3.75) or seven item (£5) breakfasts. A piece of toast will set you back just 90p.
But it was the all day brunch that caught my eye. Sausage, bacon, egg, chips and beans, costing £4.40? What more could you want? A regular tea would set me back just £1.80 too – bargain.
The all day breakfast in Poundcafe
A regular latte, flat white or cappuccino costs £2 – a lot cheaper than the big name brands.
I placed my order – coming to a total of £6.20 – and was told I’d have a ten minute wait for food from the apologetic cashier. If that’s enough to justify an apology then I was definitely in the right place. I took my table number and sat down with a brew in hand.
Around me were mostly people who’d clearly done their shopping at the centre, friends chatting over a coffee, or families just having some lunch. Considering it was a weekday, the cafe was mostly full and was getting busier by the minute as the clock edged closer to noon.
Not long after I’d ordered, my lunch arrived on a black tray and was popped on the table in front of me. At first glance it looked great; with crispy bacon, and a good sized portion of chips.
I went straight for the chips which had a good crunch to them. The beans were good too. The bacon was a good amount of crispiness, not too overdone.
I’m always skeptical when it comes to a cafe sausage. Will it taste cheap? But considering the price, the sausage was just like a smaller chippy sausage and was nice enough.
My only complaint was the fried egg was overdone for me. There was no runny yolk to dunk your chip in and the egg white had become rubbery.
All-in-all it was well worth it for the price. I left Poundcafe feeling absolutely stuffed and questioning how I’d continue in work without a nap. It was cheap, delicious and had so much choice. I can see why the cafe is so popular.