WHO makes Wirral’s best roast dinner, pizza or afternoon tea?
Where is the best place to have your hair or nails done?
Which is the best independent shop or business in the area?
In April, we launched the Wirral Globe Best of 2023 competition to find the best that the area has to offer in 23 different categories.
Each week, readers nominated their favourite cafés, gyms and pubs as well as fish chip shops, beer gardens and fitness instructors and we put together a shortlist of the most popular places announcing an overall winner for each category voted by you, the readers.
The winners have all been featured in the Wirral Globe over the past few weeks but as 2023 comes to an end, we decided to take a look back and find out how they each took one of the Best of 2023 crowns.
Here are the 23 winners in Wirral:
The Hair, Beauty and Nail Lounge
WHEN you’ve been doing the same job for nearly 30 years and you still enjoy every minute of every day at work you know you’re onto a winner.
Best friends Deborah Evans and Karen Russell opened The Hair, Nail and Beauty Lounge in November 1993 on Birkenhead Market and they say that even after three decades “not a day goes by where we don’t have a laugh together”.
They were crowned Wirral’s Best for Hair 2023 and The Hair, Nail and Beauty Lounge was the first winner of our Best of 2023 awards.
Pies4U
FANCY a three cheese pie with caramelised onions? How about butter chicken curry encased in pastry?
All the pies at Pies4U sound mouth-wateringly delicious and they’re officially the best in Wirral.
Tim Aldcroft, from West Kirby, is the owner of the business, which has been open since 2019.
Ebony J Nails and Beauty
OPENING your own business during lockdown was never going to be easy.
But Ebony Joy knew that she could make a success of her salon and she was right as it took Wirral’s Best for Nails 2023 title.
Ebony opened the business ten years ago as a sole trader renting chairs and stations in salons and in February 2020 she finally got the keys to her own salon – one month before the Covid-19 pandemic plunged the country into lockdown.
The Fox and Hounds
HOMEMADE hearty food in a charming country pub – what more could you ask for on a Sunday afternoon?
The Fox and Hounds in Barnston is the perfect place to enjoy a traditional roast dinner – the best in Wirral!
Mark Parry is the general manager and Dan McLennan is the managing director of Stange and Co – a small pub company that has nine venues across Wirral and north Wales.
Shaker Shaker
CHEERS to Mia Williamson at Shaker Shaker – Wirral’s Best for Cocktails 2023!
Based in Heswall, the mobile bar serves cocktails to customers all over Wirral and the north west, catering for birthday parties, hen dos and other special events.
Launching a new business just weeks before the Covid-19 pandemic hit at the beginning of 2020 meant Mia was faced with challenges from the start but three and a half years later Shaker Shaker has won a top award.
Twenty Sixteen
WHEN it comes to breakfast, you can’t go wrong with a full English – fried eggs, sausages and bacon with hash browns, beans and toast.
How about an award-winning one from Twenty Sixteen – officially Wirral’s Best for Breakfast 2023?
And you might even rub shoulders with some celebrities while you eat.
Matthew Colligan at MCT Fitness
AS a former Royal Marines commando personal trainer Matthew Colligan knows a thing or two about fitness.
And the 42-year-old owner of MCT Fitness has beaten off some healthy competition to take Wirral’s Best for Fitness 2023 title.
Matthew does his one-to-one personal training sessions and nutrition coaching from his home on Windermere Road and runs SLF (Stronger Leaner Fitter) bootcamp at West Kirby School and College with troop trail conditioning sessions being held at different locations in Wirral.
Matthew opened MCT Fitness in November 2017 and it’s dedicated to promoting an active and healthy lifestyle through group fitness classes and one-to-one personal training and nutrition coaching.
SelFish
SERVING top quality fish and chips every day is no mean feat but Boris Bektashev and Tatyana Koleva have clearly got the recipe for success.
The couple are the proud owners of SelFish in Bromborough, which has been crowned Best for Fish and Chips 2023 after the venue battered the competition from nine other fish and chip plaices.
Boris and Tatyana took over at SelFish on High Street at the end of March last year and the business was established 12 months earlier.
Nomad Ink
THE road to recovery after a near-fatal car accident on the motorway seven years ago has been gruelling, heart-breaking and frightening in equal measures for Joanne Sherlock.
Travelling to work one Monday morning in 2016, the car she was travelling in was collision with a lorry as it tried to change lanes and her vehicle was dragged along the motorway before spinning free.
Joanne was working in early years education and while she escaped from the accident with her life, it ended her career.
The now 39-year-old spent months recovering – living in the back of a camper van so her boyfriend Lewis Sherlock could check on her throughout the day while he was at work, as her injuries meant it wasn’t safe for her to be left alone.
Once Joanne was well enough, the couple closed Lewis’ tattoo studio and went travelling in the camper van for two years eventually coming up with a plan to reopen a bigger and better tattoo studio in Wallasey on their return to the UK.
And it’s this tattoo studio – Nomad Ink on Seaview Road – that was been crowned Wirral’s Best for Tattoos 2023.
What an achievement!
Pizza Mamma
EMRE Bomboz is just 24 but he owns an award-winning pizza business so he clearly has all the ingredients for success.
Customers regularly give Pizza Mamma five star reviews and they’ve just voted for them to win Wirral’s Best for Pizza 2023 award.
Pizza Mamma on Bromborough Village Road was already an established business when Emre took over ownership in 2019, having moved from London to Wirral.
Sanderson Vets
THE team at Sanderson Vets are “compassionate, kind and caring” and award-winning too!
The Pensby Road practice was named Wirral’s Best for Pets 2023 and Richard Sanderson and the team celebrated their win.
We were looking at our furry and feathered friends and the people who take good care of them, with Sanderson Vet beating off tough competition from nine other businesses.
Richard, who has lived in Wirral for 16 years, opened the practice in July 2017, offering routine veterinary care, specialist veterinary services and cancer care.
They have onsite advanced imaging, nursing clinics and 24/7 emergency care.
Bromborough Flowers
FRESH flowers never fail to brighten the room, add a splash of colour to a special occasion or put a smile on someone’s face especially when they come from an award-winning florist.
Hundreds of Wirral Globe readers voted for their favourite independent shop or business in our latest Best of 2023 competition and Bromborough Flowers came up smelling of roses.
Pauline Bartlett, who has lived in Wirral for the last 15 years, started the business in 2019 opening the shop on Allport Road in Bromborough in 2020.
She grew up in Rainford near St Helens, which is where she started her floristry training at 16, opening her first floristry business at the age of 17.
She now offers community tuition classes throughout Wirral.
Our Coffee Shop
FANCY a slice of the classic Victoria Sponge? How about a taste of lemon cake or Manchester Tart?
Maybe you’d like to try some Romanian plum and walnut cake?
Whatever you try at Our Coffee Shop, you’re sure to have your tastebuds tickled and your sweet tooth satisfied as the family-run business scooped Wirral’s Best for Dessert.
Born in Romania, Flavia Popa has lived in England for 13 years with the past seven years spent in Wirral.
She lives with her two daughters Natasha, who is ten, and eight-year-old Inga.
Glow Aesthetics
FROM mobile makeup artist to running a salon with ten beauty technicians – Kelly Cotton offers the best glow ups in Wirral.
Hundreds of readers cast their votes last weekend in our latest Best of 2023 competition and Glow Aesthetics came out head and shoulders above the rest.
Kelly opened her own business four years ago in August 2019 on Seaview Road in Wallasey having been in the beauty industry since 2013.
She started as a mobile makeup artist which she was able to fit around being a single mum and a carer.
Spanish Tots and Bebes
¡FELICIDADES a Lauren Adamson!
Spanish Tots and Bebés is officially Wirral’s Best for Kids 2023 and Lauren couldn’t be happier.
The music, movement and sensory classes for babies, toddlers and children up to the age of six has only been running for two years but families have embraced the sessions and helped owner Lauren secure a worthy win.
Lauren grew up in Wirral but moved to Spain at the age of 11, living there for more than 14 years and moving back to the UK in 2011.
She has classes in Wirral and Liverpool offering different sessions for babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers.
Spanish Bebés is a sensory class tailored for babies up to the age of 12 months with different themes and custom-made equipment aimed to stimulate little ones and introduce the Spanish language.
Dream Body Health, Fitness and Nutrition
THERE aren’t many places you can enjoy a workout or fitness class inside a renovated church.
Lenny Atherton moved his Dream Body gym to the neglected Manor Church in Wallasey last year and the venue was named Wirral’s Best Gym 2023.
Lenny owns the business and runs it with fiancée Shanice Mason.
He has been a personal trainer since 2010 and run bootcamps and fitness classes across Wirral before opening a gym on Borough Road in Seacombe in 2019.
The now award-winning gym moved to the derelict church last year after the previous building sustained significant storm damage and Lenny, together with friends and family, spent 10 months renovating the old church.
The Red Fox
WITH picturesque views of the countryside, not much beats a cold drink outside in the sunshine at The Red Fox.
The venue, which won last year’s Best Beer Garden in Wirral, has just done the double and scooped this year’s title as it continues to be the number one destination for a drink and a bite to eat al fresco.
David Green is the landlord at Thornton Hough venue and it’s owned by Brunning and Price.
He took over at the pumps in 2014 having been born in Wrexham and growing up in Llangollen before heading to university and starting an events business.
The 42-year-old joined Brunning and Price in 2011 as a roving manager and opened Worsley Old Hall in 2013 before taking the reins at The Red Fox the following year.
Our Coffee Shop
WHAT’s better than winning a Best of 2023 award? Winning two!
Flavia Popa clearly has the recipe for success at Our Coffee Shop on Spital Road as just a few weeks after scooping this year’s Best for Dessert award in Wirral she’s topped the list of the area’s tasty treats enjoyed between lunch and dinner – afternoon tea.
It was the middle of July when Flavia and the team at Our Coffee Shop were named Wirral’s Best for Dessert and then they added Wirral’s Best for Afternoon Tea to their list of accolades.
Chuck Wagon
FANCY a Louisiana burger? Two smashed patties topped with American cheese, grilled bacon, pickles and salad before being drizzled with burger sauce and placed on a toasted brioche bun?
It sounds and looks mouth-watering!
This is one of the award-winning burgers on the menu at Chuck Wagon by Taylors Kitchen – the winner of Wirral’s Best for Burgers 2023.
David Taylor and his son Adam originally opened the business as a takeaway on Seaview Road in 2020.
It was an instant success and, following requests from customers, they decided to open a restaurant just two years later on Liscard Road in Wallasey.
Aroma
A FAMILY-run business where everyone goes the extra mile for customers has defended their Best Coffee Shop in Wirral title by adding this year’s award to their list of accolades.
Winning a one of our Best of awards is no mean feat so to win two – Best Coffee Shop in Wirral last year and again in 2023 – is amazing.
Aroma in Irby has a unique that leaves customers with a desire to make a quick return to the venue after each visit and the Pyle family were rightly celebrating.
Husband and wife team Victoria and Andrew opened the coffee shop on Thingwall Road in Irby 13 years ago and their children Hannah and James have helped in between their studies.
Aroma is open seven days a week serving breakfast and lunch as well as cakes and afternoon tea along with a wide selection of drinks.
Kerala Kitchen
WIRRAL’S number one curry restaurant has been feeding customers for nearly two decades.
Owner Sabuji Rocky clearly has the recipe for success having won numerous awards since he opened Kerala Kitchen in 2006 and can add Wirral’s Best for Curry 2023 to his Best Restaurant 2022 accolade this time last year.
Sabuji first opened Kerala Kitchen 17 years ago on Woodchurch Road in Prenton and moved to the current premises on Arrowe Park Road in 2011.
The Scrap Yard
CLAIRE Simpson has clearly made a good first impression in Wallasey.
Just 12 months after taking over at the pumps at The Scrap Yard on Wallasey Road, Claire can say she owns Wirral’s Best Pub 2023 and she raised a glass with customers to celebrate.
Claire and Gary bought The Scrap Yard on Wallasey Road, which had been established for four years, exactly 12 months ago.
It’s an independent, family-run business with “an amazing team”, headed by manager Christopher Lindon, who Claire calls her ‘Scrappy Doos”.
The Refreshment Rooms
GOOD quality home cooked food made with fresh, seasonal produce – the secret ingredients to running a successful restaurant.
And Refreshment Rooms owners Alan Tuohey and Ian Joyce, together with head chef Matthew Fairbanks have clearly got it mastered, having been doing it for decades.
The talented trio are celebrating this week after winning our final Best of 2023 award – Wirral’s Best Restaurant 2023.
The Refreshment Rooms opened on the Rock Ferry waterfront in 2012 with Alan, Ian and Matthew having all worked together at popular local eatery Villa Jazz in Oxton, Heswall and West Kirby in the 1990s and 2000s.
They all grew up in Wirral and share a passion for local produce.
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