1. Maharaja

Two minutes' walk from Lime Street station, Maharaja is a real find. One of only a handful of southern Indian restaurants in the north of England, its business lunch - £6.95 for a selection of four small curries, rice, Malabar paratha bread and dessert (rice pudding, say) - is, arguably, Liverpool's best bargain. The food, typical of India's coastal Kerala region, is light (everything is cooked in water, not oil), sensitively seasoned, with fresh, zingy herbs and spices, and full of long, lip-smacking flavours. With a diet Coke (£1.10) or two, it's a little culinary adventure for under a tenner. Hospitable staff, too.

• Business lunch £6.95. 34-36 London Road, +44 (0)151 709 2006; maharajaliverpool.co.uk

2. Delifonseca

An exemplary deli-cafe. Pick up posh snacks in the deli (gourmet sandwiches, Pipers' outstanding crisps, Mawson's traditional drinks), or head upstairs to the attractive casual diner. It serves what owner Candice Fonseca calls, "peasant food", simple, tasty, honest dishes. Expect impressive platters of local, artisanal cheeses and charcuterie; the hearty likes of sausages and colcannon mash, with Cains Raisin beer onion gravy; and a smattering of exotic, slow-cooked global dishes, like pork belly with feijoada, a Brazilian mix of black beans, chorizo and smoked pork, which has all the depth of flavour that description suggests.

• Mains £6.45 to £12.75. 12 Stanley Street, +44 (0)151 255 0808; delifonseca.co.uk

3. The Egg Cafe

A curious little enclave of ateliers, Newington Buildings is also home to local veggie legend, the Egg. Go up the scuffed, poster-lined stairs to the top floor, through the unmarked doors, and you'll find yourself in a cosy, boho bolt-hole - all colourful painted furniture, vintage Bob Dylan tunes and trendy artworks (it also doubles as a gallery), with great views over the busy city-centre. Specials might include goulash or chilli, alongside fat quiches, good salads and interesting soups (apricot and lentil, anyone?). The cheese-on-toast meanwhile, two huge doorsteps, with three salads on the side, is a meal in itself. The Egg does a good brew, too. Vegan available.

• Specials £5.95; cheese-on-toast £3.70. Top Floor. Newington Buildings, 16-18, Newington, +44 (0)151 707 2755

4. Tokyou Noodle Bar

A blink-and-you'll-miss-it Berry Street gem, this simple canteen serves solid pan-Asian dishes at remarkable prices. Gourmet it ain't, but Tokyou's beef noodle soup (£4.80) is good and aromatic, the broth is clear and full-flavoured, it's packed with vegetables, and the thick udon noodles are perfectly cooked. The menu, mainly Cantonese, Japanese and Malaysian, is long and varied; it's conveniently open 12.30pm-11.30pm daily; and, if you've been badly bitten by the credit crunch, you can drink free Tokyou tea, rather than Tsingtao (£1.60). What's not to like?

• Mains £3.80 to £6.20. 7 Berry Street, +44 (0)151 445 1023

5. The Side Door

Located in one of Hope Street's handsome Georgian terraces, halfway between the Everyman theatre and the Philharmonic Hall, this Good Food Guide regular does a roaring trade in its set theatre menu (three choices at each course). The cooking is accurate, quietly creative and, stylistically, roams far and wide, from pan-fried wild bream with celeriac remoulade, to Szechuan salmon with courgette and chilli rice, and coriander yoghurt. Book early for a pre-theatre table, although the set menu is actually served all night Tuesday to Friday.

• Theatre menu, two-courses £15.95; three courses £17.95. 29a Hope Street, +44 (0)151 707 7888; thesidedoor.co.uk

6. Kimos

A Liverpool institution, this large, busy halal cafe does a good line in the obvious filled spuds, burgers, pizza and panini. Much more interesting, however, are its Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and north African dishes. Why breakfast in your hotel, when you could be here, eating the lesser-spotted likes of foule mudammas (fava beans cooked with tomatoes and cumin, topped with feta and boiled egg, served with warm pitta bread) and kebdah, a dish of fried chopped lamb's liver?

• Breakfasts £3.90. 38 Mount Pleasant, +44 (0)151 707 8288

7. Tate Café

There are cheaper places to lunch, but eating on a budget isn't always a bald matter of price, it's about value for money, too. The cooking at the Tate - simple dishes like hot pot, chorizo stew or fish cakes, with an emphasis on premium regional ingredients like Rhug Estate steak and Mrs Kirkham's Lancashire cheese - is a cut-above. The homemade cakes (from £2.50) will lift the spirits of even the weariest art lover.

• Light lunches £5.50; mains £7.55. Albert Dock, +44 (0)151 702 7581; tate.org.uk

8. Baltic Fleet

A short stumble from various local budget hotels (Ibis, Campanile etc.), this iconic pub, the last surviving sailor's pub on Liverpool's dockside, is a good place to nurse a hangover. Not just a slice of Scouse history, the Baltic is also a brew-pub renowned for its own Wapping beers. Try a pint of their fresh, citrussy Summer ale, with breakfast (£5.95), or a bowl of local favourite, scouse (£3.95), and everything will soon seem right with the world. Fydles (fydles.co.uk), who provide the Baltic's food, source handmade sausages and black pudding from renowned Wirral butcher, Muff's of Bromborough, and apples from their own orchard.

• Mains £3.95 to £6.95. 33a Wapping, +44 (0)151 709 3116; wappingbeers.co.uk

9. Leaf Tea Shop & Bar

The words 'tea shop' suggest a certain aesthetic: china cups, doilies, floral patterned wallpaper. Well, forget all that. A club and gig venue, gallery space and cinema, this (recently relocated) multi-purpose room - all exposed brickwork and modish, loft-living design - is as far from chintz as it is possible to get. They do, however, take their tea seriously. Choose from 24 loose, whole-leaf teas, including the earthy, disconcertingly sweet organic bohes lapsang. The homemade cakes, particularly the moist, orange-spiked chocolate brownie (£1.75), are fantastic. Leaf also serves breakfast, starting at £1.99 for organic porridge, and a daytime menu of good-looking soups, salads and stews.

• Tea £1.65 to £2.05-a-pot; mains £3.25 to £5.95. 27 Parliament Street, +44 (0)151 707 7747; thisisleaf.co.uk

10. The Quarter

Cheap, reliable homemade pasta dishes and above-average, stone-baked pizzas have made The Quarter one of Liverpool's busiest and best-loved restaurants. It's a young, buzzy space, all day long, with local creatives tip-tapping at laptops over coffee, and smokers spilling out on to the handful of pavement tables. The carbonara is good, they serve beers from excellent local brewery, Cains, and the service is easy going but efficient.

• Pasta £5.99 to £8.50; pizza £4.85 to £6.99. 7 Falkner Street, +44 (0)151 707 1965; thequarteruk.com

• Word of mouth food blog: The best meal deals on the Mersey