This place is heavenly…read more I'd had a pretty stressful and busy week that seemed like it was never ending. Waking up for another morning of non-stop action I thought I'd pop into Fig + Sparrow to grab a coffee and get myself set - however upon entering I felt a weight lifted off my shoulders. The entire aura of this place is calming and relaxed and I could have honestly sat there for hours. As it happens this was a fairly prompt 30 minute visit in which I enjoyed a Peanut Butter Brownie, which was excellent, and an Americano - black. It was a perfect way to start the day! Fig + Sparrow doubles as a lovely little store as well and there are lots of nice bits and bobs you can pick up for your home! A new favourite coffee haunt for me in the NQ!

Was happy to find this place after rather miserably trudging round the Northern Quarter in the rain…read morelooking for somewhere to sit down and have a hot drink. It has a comforting well maintained ambience (even the basement loo!) and the staff are extremely friendly. I really like the broad wooden table in the middle of the coffee area, feels calming and comfortable to sit at! I tried the Marrakesh loose leaf mint tea which was very nice although not as good a fresh mint tea - when I return next I'll try the peppermint instead. They have some lunch in a jar meals which is a fun concept although I'm not sure the actual contents would be that exciting. But it's a nice touch, also like the jugs of water with orange slices and sugar syrup. Shops like this which contain loads of really overpriced unnecessary home items I normally just dismiss as selling tat but for some reason the stuff here entranced me, especially cushions featuring a dog saying "Bonjour" /holding a French flag in its mouth (srsly I don't know why I found this so cute) and a wire basket for £18 which I for some reason felt I really need in my life. My friend felt the same about a set of colourful plastic spoons...I don't what this place does to you but I enjoyed it!

I was in Manchester for the day and decided to check out this coffee shop near the arts museum…read more The staff came and grabbed our orders. I asked for their flat white with regular milk. They have milk alternatives as well. The coffee itself was pretty good even though I don't really drink coffee that often to know the difference (I enjoyed it).

Walking by looking for a breakfast spot and eyed this place. Service was friendly and quick. The…read moreinterior is comfortable with great natural light and there is also an upstairs for seating as well. I ordered a chai and it was delicious with great latte artwork. Food was delicious and servings were plentiful

I have always heard of this place but I have never visited today was day and I was not…read moredisappointed. The decor is really nice and subtle excellent for chilling out with a coffee- and these guys take their coffee very seriously - I had my new favourite coffee drink of a piccolo this came with a small glass of water and a biscuit stick all serve on a mini silver tray I think all the drinks come this way and I must say I am impressed. I wouldn't say I am an expert at coffees but I do enjoy a quality taste and this is by far one of the best coffees I have tasted I will be visiting again!

We went here during our trip to Manchester wanting a proper English breakfast and it did not…read moredisappoint. We also tried the spicy Bloody Mary which was really good along with a side of gnocchi. The ambience was nice and so was the service. I would definitely recommend this to anyone.

I wanted to grab food here but came too late as the kitchen just closed. I ended up just trying…read moretheir coffee. I asked for a cold Vietnamese coffee (not sure if they didn't hear) but got a hot one instead. I didn't mind it as the weather was being indecisive that day anyway and would be too cold to be holding my cold drink outside. The coffee itself was pretty good considering I haven't had decent coffee in awhile. It wasn't overly sweet either which was what I was worried about at first. I'll try to come back and try their food next time.

This is a pretty cool coffee shop in the Northern Quarter. It's quite large too with ample seating…read more We surprisingly found a big table in its own little cubicle with space for our newborn's stroller and 4 adults. The ambiance here is great. I like the decor. It's perfect to catch up with friends or coworkers, and it would be also be an enjoyable co-working space. We saw plenty of people toiling away on their laptops. Unfortunately, one little gripe though, all of the booths only had one person, camped out with their laptop, so those people should be more mindful to take a smaller table if they're going to work for several hours. I like the various seating options including big tables, small tables, comfy sofa chairs, and counter seating. The menu offers lots of options too including chai lattes which seem less common in the UK, so that was a nice surprise. Overall, it's a cool spot. I'd come again.

I really really really like this place - in fact it was that much of a pleasurable cake and tea…read moreexperience that I'm gonna give it 5 stars! Having a rare afternoon off recently and having our oldest child in nursery, my wife and myself had a quick trip down here and treated ourselves to 3 cakes and tea between us - the salted caramel cake was amazing and the tea tasted lovely in proper china cups. You can eat in or out with just a small number of tables for the even smaller number of days of sunny weather. I hear the afternoon tea is excellent (my wife goes regularly) - I really need to get here again soon and check it out. Tea and cake FTW!

Amist the hustle and bustle of Burton Road stands a tiny cake shop, with possibly the greatest…read morename! I absolutely love this place, I keep telling everyone I know to go and try it, so they best keep making their fabulous cakes so everyone can try them. There's only about seven or eight tables, so when I say tiny, I certainly mean it. This isn't a bad thing at all (well unless it's so busy you can't grab a table), because it means the atmosphere is great. When I visted on Saturday there was a baby shower in progress, a few friends having cake and a catch up and an adorable elderly couple having cream tea and scones. It's great, certainly a place for anyone and everyone. There's a cake counter - that's right! A whole two tiered counter displaying all the homemade goodness for the day. This is great because you actually get to see what you're ordering. I've never seen any less than six different types of cake on offer!! I booked a table for my best friend and I for afternoon tea. When we arrived the table was laid out ready and we were given our afternoon tea menu. There were four sandwich choices, multiple drinks choices (you don't have to have tea) and the best bit is that you can pick two cakes! All for the amazing price of £14.50. I had their cheese and chutney sandwich, which was full of flavour, followed by a big juicy strawberry covered in dark chocolate. Next came the freshly baked scone, with clotted cream and jam of course, then finally my cake selection, a red velvet cupcake and a chunk of cookie and cream cake. So moist, yet fluffy with a side of a sugar overdose. Ha. I was so stuffed that I couldn't manage all my cake, but that's okay because they offered me a box so i could take it away with me!

It was a little while since I went here .. but it was such a great experience that I still remember…read moreit now. The coffee shop is in an old mill building next to the canal and it is SO PRETTY. I went for when it opened so I was the first one in and I had a great chat with one of the staff about dragonball z as I was wearing a shirt of it. Inside it looked immaculate, very trendy and a place I would love to go to, time and time again. It was a large space too and they had their own merchandise in there which I will buy one day and a full cabinet of delicious looking treats .. all handmade and not the usual manufactured items. I went for a donut and a flat white and they were both amazing. As I was on a coffee tour, I took it all out and had it whilst sat next to the canal ... perfect view for a perfect coffee. I couldn't recommend this place more and I count the days until I can return.

TL;DR - Great coffee shop away from some of the busier spots in Ancoats…read more You really need to know this place is here to find it, tucked away inside Royal Mill. Go in through the main entrance, past reception and the cafe is on the far right. In side it's dimly lit but cosy with lots of exposed wood. Great coffee, great cakes and a nice relaxed atmosphere. Every time we've been here it's always pleasantly busy but not overcrowded. There's plenty of seating inside at tables and long benches, or you can head into the "outside" seating area, which is actually indoors but under glass and so protected from the weather. They also roast their own coffee so you can pick up a bag to go.

Right, I'll lay it out at the start, these guys for me, are a solid 4.7 or so, they aren't perfect,…read morebut I'm rounding up as they're averaging on here as a four, and I think they're a bit better than that. So, came here with the bestie, as she wanted to quiz me about taxes and slap duty, as you do. She'd been here with her fellow before, and cake is always a good shout with me (these guys also do plenty of other things though too) We chose to sit outside, as it was a little warm in for our tastes, the waitress (in a rather excellent green dress) wiped the table clean (even though it looked it anyway) and sat us down with menus. We'd literally just chosen, when she came out, apologising for the wait, but excellent timing in our books. For you indecisive folks, there's a cake platter, where you get taster slices (which were fairly generous actually) of three, yes three, types of cake. I had; raspberry and white chocolate, carrot, and chocolate and blackberry, with a little pot of tea of hibiscus, rose, strawberry, elderberries, rose hip and orange blossom, quite the pink cocktail. Jess had blueberry French toast, which arrived as a huge, almighty stack, adorned with heaps of tiny, bright purple juicy blueberries in a saucy puddle. The service was excellent, the seats outside are a sun trap, there's a great range of choice, and a cocktail and slice of cake for £9.95? Excellent. My only gripe is that the cake wasn't quite as moist as I like, not dry, but still, I do think this is down to it being a hot day, but it just stops them from edging perfect points, but not enough to drop a star.

What a great start of our vacation! This quirky and cute…read morebreakfast place delivered delicious entrees. The hot chocolate was generously portioned and whimsically presented. My avocado poached egg entree with bacon (British style bacon more like a Canadian bacon/ham) was perfect. Hubby got the banoffi pancakes were decadent. We weren't rushed and noticed other patron got cream/high tea... next time we will too!

Lovely 'little' place to escape the hustle and bustle of city life.This may have been possibly the…read moresmallest coffee shop I have ever visited but my goodness I may just fallen in love with coffee as well as Tea. Relax and listen to the fine selection of music or you can watch and listen to the water installation just outside. On a sunny day why not sit outside and realise what a beautiful city we live in. -Today I tried their latte Artisan coffee in Manchester at its best

Ever since seeing 'Grindsmith' on kickstarter months ago, an uber-cool urban eco-pod of a coffee…read morehouse, I had been eager to venture to Greengate Square to give it a try. I was adamant that given the compact-wooden-pod nature of the place, I should only go in extreme weather conditions in order to make the trip all the more exciting. In beloved but rainy Manchester, blue-skies and sunshine qualifies as extreme conditions. As such, during a sunny June Sunday, I seized the opportunity to sip on a 'Grindsmith' flat white, with sunshine beaming through the open façade (almost entirely made of glass) - I was not disappointed. An excellent decision on my part to go when sunny and excellent brewing skills from Grindsmith as far as kick-ass flat white's are concerned. Grindsmith offers little when it comes to food, there was a very small selection of baked goods but they looked rustic and appealing. I wasn't expecting an extensive food menu, nor was I disappointed by its lack. What is pretty darn cool however, is that Grindsmith stock 'Ginger's Comfort Emporium' ice-cream - absolutely the best ice-cream I have ever tasted! (See my review of the cafe in Affleks palace) Marry this with a Grindsmith espresso and you've got an Affogato sent directly from heaven. £3 well spent I'd say - a delightful weekend treat. Take a walk to Greengate Square. Look, I know the Premiere Inn there is really ugly and a bit of an off-putter, but once inside Grindsmith's coffee haven, you'll forget such an architectural disaster ever happened. You can read more of what I have to say about Grindsmith (and other places) on my new blog: http://thehungrygiraffe.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/grindsmith-espresso-and-brewbar.html