Phil Manion Bakery on Hale Road in Walton has been named the best bakery in Merseyside after ECHO readers cast hundreds of votes. The independent, family-run venue beat some of the region's biggest names to take the top spot.
Liverpool's independent bakery sector is thriving, with many small businesses emerging in recent years and building loyal followings. Long-established local favourites sit alongside artisan newcomers, and several renowned venues attract queues from the moment doors open.
Joint third place for Bean There and Pastille
Normally the top three venues are commended, but two bakeries landed in joint third. Bean There, run by Candice and Andrew Mulligan, opened on Smithdown Road in 2017 and has since expanded to three sites, including a new takeaway venture, The Side Door on Penny Lane, and a coffee shop and bakery at 62 Rose Lane where much of the bread and pastries are made fresh daily.
Tying with Bean There is Pastille in Liverpool city centre, founded by Jamie Heffey. The business began in the kitchen of Jamie's home, selling at markets and pop-ups, and opened its first fully realised venue in 2024. Earlier this month, Pastille launched a second site in the Baltic Triangle, and the Good Food Guide named it one of the best bakeries in the UK.
Satterthwaites takes second place
In second place was Satterthwaites Bakehouse in Crosby, a family business that began in November 1910 when Walter and his wife Miriam opened their first shop on King Street in Southport. Now in its 116th year, the bakery has survived two world wars, economic hardship and the decline of independent craft bakers, and remains a symbol of community and resilience.
Within 20 minutes, a constant stream of customers arrived for their daily fix. Some came in intending to buy just a salt-and-pepper sausage roll or a New York-style cookie, but many left carrying far more than they had planned.
Phil Manion Bakery wins top spot
Dozens of venues across the region received praise, including Berry Street's Bon Bon, Lark Lane's Lunko, Oakfield Road's Home Baked and Bridgeway Shopping Centre's MV Patisserie. But it was Phil Manion Bakery that ECHO readers voted for overwhelmingly.
With no flashy social media accounts or viral pistachio donuts, the Walton bakery attracts customers from as far as Speke and Huyton, with queues out the door daily. Despite holding only eight to ten customers at a time, fresh bread sells out daily, workers flock for sausage and bacon butties at dinnertime, and students pop in for breakfast.
Originally owned by the eponymous Phil Manion, the bakery once had five shops across Merseyside but downsized to its single original store. Phil died 13 years ago. Derek Ford and David Brook, both in their sixties, took over last year and said the shop's approach to baking has hardly changed since they first experienced it working as shop staff in their teens and twenties.
Voters praised the bakery's "fresh baked bread every day" and the "fab staff that make this a perfect bakery all round". One person said they've been visiting since they were a child for the "lovely cakes and crusty cobs and always a line out the door". Another simply said: "All their produce takes you back in time. Amazing."
ECHO readers have also voted in droves for Merseyside's best chippy, best village and best pub.
