If you haven’t wandered down this Liverpool street yet, you’re missing out on some of the city’s best-kept neighbourhood secrets
Kevin and Shoonagh De La Cruz, owners of L’Olivetto on Rose Lane(Image: Liverpool ECHO)
If you hop off the train at Mossley Hill station, you’ll find yourself on Rose Lane. It’s not the kind of place that shouts for attention, but for locals – and anyone who fancies a quieter slice of Liverpool life – it’s long been part of the city’s fabric. People nip in for their weekly shop, meet friends for coffee, or grab a chippy tea without giving it too much thought. And that’s the point: Rose Lane isn’t about spectacle, it’s about familiarity.
On first impression, it might look like any other suburban street. Cars trundle past, parents push prams down the pavement, and people step off trains and head home. But look closer and the details that keep this stretch ticking over begin to emerge.
Food and drink are central to Rose Lane’s appeal, and few places embody that better than L’Olivetto, the Italian restaurant run by Shoonagh De La Cruz and her husband Kevin. Open for 11 years, it’s become a fixture for families across south Liverpool and beyond.
Of Rose Lane, Shoonagh says: “It’s thriving. There’s a lot on Rose Lane and it’s very family-oriented.”
Inside the restaurant, large groups mix with couples and regulars who have been coming back for years, often ordering the same dish every time. Shoonagh told the ECHO: “We do a house pasta, spaghetti alla L’Olivetto, a king prawn linguine and an Alfredo. They’re probably our most popular dishes.”
On Sundays, the kitchen also turns out roasts, further cementing its reputation as a place that blends Italian staples with British comfort.
For Shoonagh, the consistency is part of what keeps people coming back. She added: “We’ve been pretty consistent, to be honest. We’re always busy.” That long-standing presence means she’s watched families grow up at her tables. She laughs: “When we opened, they’ve been sat in a high chair and now they’re drinking a pint with their dad.”
A little further along is 52 Rose Lane, a bistro known best for its breakfasts. Neil Marsden, who has managed the place since 2019, says: “We’re the go-to brekkie gaff. We’ve been doing that for over 10 years. We’re really good at it now. We’re about to sell our 100,000th full English breakfast – someone’s going to win free brekkie for a year. We serve the best full English in Liverpool.”
Neil Marsden, manager of 52 Rose Lane(Image: Liverpool ECHO)
Neil describes Rose Lane as “just a nice road” that has quietly grown busier over the years. He said: “There’s more people here now than there was 10 years ago, and there’s more on the way. It’s nice and chill.
“We get all kinds of customers but we tend not to get the Instagram crowd. We’re not the trendiest gaff. We get locals, tradesmen, people in for business meetings – a bit cliché but ‘all walks of life’.”
He’s noticed more eateries opening up nearby, but sees that as a positive rather than competition, adding: “The more places we have on Rose Lane, the better it is and the more footfall you get. There’s something for everyone.”
That sense of variety also applies to Black Cat, a bar that opened on the street in 2023. For manager Hannah Robinson, it’s the community atmosphere that makes Rose Lane stand out. She said: “It’s amazing, I absolutely love it. Yesterday, one of the regulars brought in a little jar of homemade pesto for me and today, another regular gave me a John Lennon stamp. I can’t express how wonderful the community atmosphere is.”
Black Cat(Image: Liverpool ECHO)
She describes the street as “a little hidden gem” that feels like a small village in the suburbs, adding: “It’s so leafy over here and calm and quiet, but there’s always a buzz. It feels like a slightly calmer extension of Allerton Road.”
That balance of calm and activity is part of what keeps people attached to Rose Lane. Alongside newer ventures, there are fixtures like Chris’s Chippy, a takeaway that has been serving generations of families, and landmarks such as the Church of St Matthew and St James, a Grade II* listed Gothic Revival building whose spire can be seen from several streets away.
Chris’s Chippy on Rose Lane, Mossley Hill which has been there for 55 years pictured Tony, Dad Chris and Costa Moustoukas(Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)
What makes Rose Lane stand out is how ordinary it feels – and that’s meant as a compliment. In a city where certain streets are constantly being reinvented to suit the latest trend, this one has stayed comfortably itself. It serves the people who live around it: families grabbing a takeaway, students heading back from the train station, older couples meeting for a quiet lunch. There are no gimmicks, no slogans – just the sense that this is a street that has found its rhythm and stuck with it.
For locals, that makes Rose Lane part of the daily routine. For visitors, it’s a glimpse of Liverpool life away from the city centre.