Community café toasts competition cooking up Wirral's best breakfasts

The full English breakfast at Gilly Gem’s Café in Eastham has toasted the competition and is Wirral’s Best for Breakfast 2024.

In April, we launched our Best of 2024 competition.

This year’s search for the area’s best in a whole host of categories started with hair and LA Hair quickly followed by Pies4u who won for their delicious pastry offerings.

Next up were picture perfect nails and By Taylor Jade won for the second time in three years, The 21st Amendment Hoylake is officially Best for Roast Dinners and we toasted Cow Shed Bar & Grill for their cocktails.

Then we moved onto breakfast with customers and readers sending their nominations and votes for their favourite venues to get the day off to the perfect start.

Voting for Wirral’s Best for Fish and Chips is currently taking place and we’re also looking for nominations in our latest search - Best Beer Garden.

Vote for Wirral’s Best for Fish and Chips 2024

Nominate your favourite for Wirral’s Best Beer Garden 2024

Twelve brilliant breakfasts in Wirral made the shortlist with Gilly Gem’s Café taking this year’s coveted crown.

Vanessa Dickens opened the business on Mill Park Drive in Eastham in August 2021.

Gilly Gem's Café opened on Mill Park Drive in Eastham in August 2021

She has always lived in Eastham growing up in the family home on Bramhall Drive and attending Millfields Primary School and Wirral High School.

She met her husband Joe shortly after starting her first waitressing job at the Bromborough Hotel and they have two children – Holly and Ethan.

Vanessa, who is 42, said: “From a young bustling waitress in a pub, my dream was always to run a little café of my own.

“Unfortunately, due to family circumstances, my dream had to be put on hold.

“After lockdown, a local shop became available to rent and I jumped at the chance of making my dream come true.

“I never have thought I could manage a business of my own but with the support of my amazing husband, family and friends, I found the confidence in myself and opened Gilly Gem’s in August 2021.

“As a local Eastham girl, I wanted to open a café that I felt would be an asset to the community.

“My family has always been a big part of it, with my older sister Tina owning the hairdressers and barbers for more than 20 years two doors down from Gilly Gem’s.

“I lost my mum 18 years ago and then tragically lost my baby sister in 2014.

“I chose to name the café after them as they were very dear to me - this is where the name Gilly Gem’s came from.”

Gilly Gem's owner Vanessa Dickens

Vanessa added: “We are a lovely little café seating 21 people at our maximum.

“Our location is perfect as we have plenty of parking available and we’re close to bus stops too.

“We are open Monday through Friday from 8.30am until 2pm and Saturday from 8.30am until 1.30pm.

“Our breakfast menu is served throughout the day and ranges from a simple bacon on toast to a full large breakfast.

“Our lunchtime menu has an array of choice from freshly made toasties and paninis to hot jacket spuds and our popular omelettes.

“We have daily special boards with deals like midweek roast dinner and pudding, double cheeseburgers and crispy chicken New Yorker wrap.”

The full English breakfast

The award-winning breakfasts are freshly cooked to order and include local Priory sausages, prime bacon and fresh free range eggs.

The breakfasts are griddled so the mushrooms and black pudding are grilled to perfection and they use the best branded beans and tomatoes, the crispiest hash browns and thick sliced white toast with real butter served with a hot drink.

The ever-popular breakfast wrap is a sure fire hit with busy workers and it’s a 12 inch tortilla wrap filled with bacon, sausage, has brown, egg and cheese, which is then toasted.

Nothing is ever too much trouble when you visit Gilly Gem’s Café whether you’re looking for a large lunch or simply a cup of coffee and a slice of cake.

But what do the customers think of the café? Why did they think they deserved to win our latest award?

This is a “fab and friendly café” where the customers are always met with a warm welcome.

One review on their Facebook page said: “Lovely breakfast and at a great price.”

The ever-popular breakfast wrap

Vanessa said: “We are a friendly, happy group of girls and we seem to be very popular with our regulars.

“They say it's like a home from home - we always wear a smile.

“Our food is always freshly cooked to order and nothing is ever too much trouble.

“Everyone always finds the time to stop and chat and you often hear the cook Shaz singing and laughing in the background!

“People say we are the best place to come if they need cheering up.

“I am so very grateful for my staff’s hard work in getting Gilly Gem’s to where we are today.”

The hard-working team at Gilly Gem’s Café was surprised that they had made the shortlist for Wirral’s Best for Breakfast 2024 and knew that the other venues had a lot to offer customers.

It was only after they saw some of the customers’ votes and read their comments that their confidence grew and they felt they might stand a chance of winning the award.

Vanessa said: “When we got the call to say we'd won, we were absolutely over the moon!

“Our hard work and love for the community has paid off and everyone’s votes and love for us all means the world.

“We hope we can continue to give the best quality of service and food for a long time and we thank you all for your votes and constant support.”