This is as good as it get's for your local bakery and cafe in the UK. Friendly staff, lovely…read moreenvironment and the best cakes you will taste this side of the channel. When you enter, you'll probably struggle to find seating as this local Cafe has become the hang out place for Mum'n'Kids, Pensioners and the odd student who likes a good coffee. The cakes and sandwiches which are made fresh on site are to die for! A must for any cake lover!

I absolutely ADORE Mama Bears Cakes & Bakes!!! I live in the US, and my boyfriend lives in the UK,…read moreand I wanted to send him something super special for our anniversary. After searching endlessly and fruitlessly for weeks online for someone who could make exactly what I wanted, accept payment internationally, and deliver it to my BF, I messaged Mama Bear's, and the owner is an absolute ANGEL. She worked with me to decide on exactly what to create. Even though the things I asked for aren't typically items that she makes, she told me that she was a "romantic" and would be happy to make a special order for me. She even ended up adding decorations on her own because she wanted to make it extra special! Such a lovely person to work with!!! Her husband hand-delivered the cake & chocolate-covered strawberries to my boyfriend on our anniversary and even passed along a special message. My boyfriend was totally surprised and absolutely impressed with the presentation of the gift itself. He also said that the cake and strawberries were incredibly DELICIOUS!!! He really tried to ration them out to last longer, but they were so good he couldn't help eating them within about a week and a half haha. Mama Bear is the greatest, and if you live in the area, you should DEFINITELY choose her shop! I'd be there for coffee and baked goods daily if I didn't live across the pond! haha.

As a fellow baker, I am always very critical. Not much to…read morecriticise here! From the moment we walked in and saw the fabulous photography on the wall to the minute we left with £15 worth of cakes I was a happy bunny. The lady who served us (a character all by herself!) was very helpful and packaged our cakes nicely so we got them (all) home in one piece. We over indulged in the white ganache tarts, caramel death by chocolate, a selection of chunky chocolate topped chocolate muffins, and a shortbread heart amongst some others. For my particular taste the ganache was slightly too runny, but i had a spoon so it was all good. The chunky chocolate topped muffins were varied from chunks of toblerone, crunchies, white choc etc. and were very tasty and moist, like proper chocolate cake should be, The shortbread was super - perfectly baked with a good amount of jam sandwiched in the middle. There wasn't much bread left on sale but it was about 3pm so we decided to go to the Barbakan.....

One of the reasons why I gained so much weight is because of the sweets, and carbs! Yes, it's true,…read moreI have to admit. I'm a carbaholic! Places like Ho's Bakery doesn't help because they have fabulous Asian pastries. My friend Marvin brought me here, and we bought major carbs for our trip back to the U.S. Small bakery shop, old fashion, but best egg custard in Manchester,

Roll up to Ho's Bakery in Chinatown for good quality Chinese buns to take out. There's another one…read morein Manchester and one in Leeds - is Ho soon to take the country by storm? Maybe. One bun at a time. This little bakery tucked into an old arched building has nothing but freshly baked goodies (a few savoury snacks too like pasties) and for that we love them. I've never tried the bubble tea myself but friends have raved about it - they have all different flavours so it is definitely on my to do list. But I can tell you that their cakes with cream, fresh fruit, things like that are so so delicious. The prices, whilst steeper than a donut in Greggs, are still pretty good for what you are getting so don't let this put you off.

While on a little road trip up the M6, we stopped in Stafford for some lunch. After lunch, I saw a…read morebakery glistening off in the distance, with windows steamed up from all the fresh baked goodness inside. This little bakery was jammed with all kinds of bread, pastries and cookies. I selected a sticky bun type of thing with raisins and currants as well as a chocolate chip cookie. Both were fantastic. If I could have eaten more, I would have ordered 1 of everything. It all looked very good. The service is excellent, with a bunch of ladies exuding classic English charm. Very pleasant and helpful.

Sandwiches, freshly baked bread, cream cakes, cakes, pies, pasties- you're kind of spoilt for…read morechoice really. Everything is made fresh every day, and every lunch time there is a queue out of the door. Service is pretty fast as it's over the high, goody-filled counter, but it's always polite. The BLT sandwiches are salty and full of awesome, the fresh cream cakes are hard to resist, and the custard slices are cut far more neatly than mine at home. I'm not particularly fond of the chocolate numbers myself, if I'm tempted, I go for the rhubarb and cherry slices (super moist), and things like the Belgian buns are pretty snazzy too. A couple of things worth noting are- They have a slicing machine- so if there's any loaves you want, but are only capable of cutting diagonal doorsteps at home, they can deal with it. If you want a hot sausage or bacon sandwich for example, you're possibly going to have a little wait as they like to cook things fresh. If you ring in advance, you can avoid standing in the corner by the fridge of drinks for a short while.

I've been to pollen for take out pastries, coffee, and adore their sourdough, but I've never…read moreactually sat down to eat anything more than pastry ... until I did. whenever I've passed this branch, its always been busy, people queued outside on weekends, all tables full inside and outside, and generally busy, so I was a little worried I wouldn't be able to get sat down when I went. It was a Sunday morning, and I could only get there long after opening due to my transport arrangements so I was worried ... but thankfully I was easily able to get a table to sit down and eat .. I'm lucky most of the people of Manchester don't wake up early on a Sunday. So it was a little quiet but inside was almost full when I got there ... which was nice. It was a decent day and I was kinda close to the window so could see the marina and all the people exercising and walking their dogs and it's with sitting and just chill. So with sitting and eating, I wanted to get something good. it always looked amazing when I was waiting for my drink to take out, but I'm always one to have eggs Benedict whenever I can, so I figured I might as well try theirs ... and it did not disappoint. It came with ham hock, 2 eggs, brown butter, hollandaise, and crispy kale on their own sourdough. Im not usually one to have kale ... but they made it amazing. I finished every last bit and wanted more ... it was hands down, one of the best eggs Benedict I have ever had. To accompany the eggs benny, I also went for a coffee, as you do, and an orange juice, which was so nice. Hands down will always recommend people to go to pollen, if not for their sourdough and coffee and pastries to go, but also to sit and eat. Love this place

This place is quite popular! There was a long line (or queue) but it went pretty quickly. I was…read morehappy they had an iced black, since I prefer ice coffees. There is a homemade Yuzu drink that I'd love to try next time. Outside has a few more seats than inside. They can run out of food, so I'd make sure you get here on the early side if you want food. It's a pretty casual spot and loudness level depends on the crowd. The food tastes very good!

Sandwich, delicious and loads of filling inside. Topped up to the max!…read moreSlightly pricey but oh well :)

This place is legendary in the village of Hasland. Has been there years. The food never fails to…read moredeliver. Sells sandwiches, cakes, pastrys etc etc. Prices are cheap and the portions big!!! The staff are really friendly and its well situated on the main road in the village. If your passin trough Hasland you have got to grab a sandwich from here !!!

Amazing food. Fresh bread and staff are really nice. Will definatley be returning. Thanksread more