So sweet! The tea, the coffee, the cakes and the smiles! I stumbled into the cafe after shopping in the Northern Quarter and now I will make a sugar high staple. With a variety of cakes and wonderful dishes its worth a try. Teacup has all the fancy smancy coffees, brewed in ways that make my head spin! I settled on a flat white, but that was a good cup of joe! The rainbow cake has become my favorite. Just imagine layers of multi coloured sheet cake separated with jam and finished with marzipan. Moist and flavourful and ordered another to go for my boyfriend. Others have mentioned the price being high, but I think the quality you receive is worth it. read more

Beat the Starbucks!(or Costa). I have no idea why people in town go to Starbucks. Cup is much better than any high street coffee shops. They have much nice atmosphere and much quieter and still locates in town centre. I normally have a cuppa with my boyfriend and they give us a generous size of tea pot. The cake tastes really good too.I also love the display. They display lots of nice cups and you can actually buy them!Many customers are very nice dress style so I personally like to see their fashion too! read more

Take this rating as a 3 and a half stars. I really like the decor and feel of the place, all the food looks great but not all of it tastes as good. The cakes especially. I had brunch there, which was good if not slightly steep, but altogether tasty. Recommended for brunch or lunch. read more

Great atmosphere, location and cake! win win WIN, love meeting the girls here for a cheeky catch up over a brew and a cake. Love the fact that they change up the variety every so often so even if you go weekly (don't judge me...) you're never bored! read more

Delcious smoothies! good muffin. Fab converted tabletennis table to sit at! good Mr Scruff merchandise and records at the back of the store. relaxed vibe good for recovering, chilling with the papers etc read more

I loved Teacup, a venue chosen for a Sunday lunchtime powwow with hangover friends in the Northern Quarter. It was buzzing but relaxed, with happy staff who could have been a bit quicker in their attention, but their charm made up for this. Lovely breakfast and a huge tea, generous thankfully as it wasn't the cheapest. But I'd definitely be back, because it's a good little place for brunch. read more

The tea sets in the window were certainly a draw into the cafe. I enjoyed my lunch, tea and pie but the service left a bit to be desired. The staff seems to be a little put off about actually serving people. Otherwise, nice addition to the Northern Quarter scene. read more

This is such a cool little cafe, & I love all the fab t-shirts they sell too. They have a great selection of drinks & cakes, though service can sometimes be a bit slow, & they also have a habit of leaving yummy looking cakes in the cabinet when they have already been sold so you think you can have it but then discover you can't : ( read more

This place is good. You do wonder how many more coffee shops the NQ, and Thoma St in particular, can support. But when they're good, funky and different like this, I guess there could be no limit. It's certainly well visited whenever I'm in there. read more

Service is too slow, staff are hit and miss and the menu is somewhat overpriced BUT the bagels are good (proper) bagels and the tea is nice!

Teacup is one of the best places I have ever had afternoon tea. The tea itself is loose leaf, high quality and served properly. The sandwiches and nibbles are always changing and delicious, and the scones are lovely. Service is relaxed, yet attentive. They have at least a dozen cakes beautifully displayed on the bar. In a great location in the awesome Northern Quarter area of Manchester as well. read more

My reason for visiting Teacup was that it's described on Yelp as a good place for working, but I found the opposite to be true. On entering, I was told that the only plug sockets for laptops were those under the narrow breakfast bar. Unfortunately, this counter adjoins the cafe's preparation area and so is quite a noisy spot. I visited around 10:15, shortly after opening. There were few people in, but the music--a mix of 70's funk, soul and disco--was loud and made no more sufferable by the out-of-tune singing and whistling (joyous and spirited as staff may be). A nearby toilet door slamming shut every few minutes did nothing to help the ambience. Otherwise, the Wi-Fi wouldn't stay connected. At about £4 a go, tea is none too cheap. (If there's a coffee menu, I wasn't given it.) Teacup's famous cake is lined up uncovered atop the same counter I was working at. Tempting, you might think--until somebody makes an enquiry over it and you realise that all those colourful sponges are happily absorbing the wayward spittle of customers and staff. Looking around, I saw plug sockets in the wall, leaving me wondering why I'd been directed to the breakfast bar. (I'm suspicious of any cafe that insists customers "wait here to be seated".) Places like Takk and North Tea Power suit me better. The tea was nice, though. read more

Really lovely vintage teacups & teasets!

comments above on service don't surprise me, and the management should sit up and take note because they have an excellent product and poor staff tariningis harming their reputation i loved the superfruits porridge for brekkie this morning. read more

I have to say I'm disappointed in Teacup. I love this place, the food is great, the atmosphere is great. However, I have just been in there and the service was atrocious. The guy who seated us was borderline miserable. When we finally got someone to take our order, we then had a half an hour wait for food, only for things we hadn't asked for to turn up. Luckily the food we HAD asked for also turned up. It won't stop me going, it'll just cause me to rethink going if I'm not prepared to hang out all afternoon! When it's good, it's great. Today was not a good day for them, and I really think they need to sort out the staffing issues. read more

Only been here once but i had a lovely hot chocolate and cake, in addition to the scrumptious food and drinks they have, the decor and atmosphere is lovely - I may just have to make a return visit soon! read more

poached eggs at their best. Read more: http://staydine.com/15wZU5S read more

Hi Edward, as the new manager here at Cup, I'd like to thank you for your feedback, we're working hard to make Cup as special as possible as we transform in to the TEACUP ON THOMAS STREET. We have new chefs and service staff, this means things have dramatically improved, I'd thus like to offer you a free lunch when we change names from cup to teacup on thomas st. ps, your last post was deleted due to bad language being used on a family site. read more

I went with some friends who had been before as they said it was amazing, they weren't wrong! We went early sunday afternoon and they advised there was a massive wait (30mins) but it was raining so we were fine waiting in the warm! The tea comes in a teapot along with a timer so your tea is brewed to perfection. I ordered orange juice which wasn't amazing (esp as it was quite dear!) but next time will just get water. The cluck cluck pie was DELISH!!! Confit chicken pie with a creamy sauce on a bed of mash and veg. The mash was also creamy and the chicken melted in your mouth, it was a huge portion and really filling. Decided we couldn't leave without having a slice of cake as they looked so divine so got a slice to takeaway (they give 10% discount on takeaway cake) White chocolate and poppy seed - I was in love! The slice was giant and we split between 3 people it was still enough each. Staff are all really friendly and chatty, really good service. Cannot wait to go back up north to eat there again! read more

I went here for afternoon tea once a few years back and been a returning customer ever since. This is the place for you whether you're looking for a snack, pastries or afternoon tea. read more

Found this place in yelp as we are staying close by. It was a very nice place, had tasty sandwiches and 2 plates of dessert. I have had tea plates with salads but I will never complain about two plates worth of desserts. Nice staff and nice ambiance. read more

I found it disappointing. I asked for a recommendation for a traditional tea to have with milk but the Assam tea that was suggested wasn't what I had in mind. For cake I had the Victoria sandwich, which came with a filling of fresh raspberries and clotted cream on the side: the whole turned out to be less than the sum of its parts. I'd say this place puts form over substance. Also very noisy. read more

Busy, full of local hipsters and happy familys, food is good and well presented, all manner of excotic brews. Staff in my experience have been friendly and attentive. Smart place in a smart part of town. read more

Finally made my first trip in here after passing it and looking in enviously on several previous occasions. Brought a couple of out-of-towners in who enjoyed their pie, mash and mushy peas and toasted chicken and cheese sandwich respectively a cup of detox tea and an Aretha Franklin smoothie also went down well as well. I was eating light and had a healthy flapjack which was a little tough but oh-so-tasty, had to take half it home for tea later! Had a perfectly brewed pot of peppermint tea too Yes it's a touch pricey but they can get away with charging a bit of a premium in the Northern Quarter as they were pretty busy when we were there. The service was excellent and the staff very friendly so if they've had problems previously (as in earlier reviews), they seem to be doing a lot better now. Lots of Mr Scruff merchandise (including plenty of his tea!) if you're partial to that kind of thing. Probably won't make this a regular haunt but as an occasional treat this is well worth looking at. read more

love this little gem! fantastic tea selection, great service, very tasty treats and free wi-fi. drop by!!

Me and my wife popped in here today for hot drink and a cake. Served by a girl who looked about 13 wearing dirty trousers and must have just got out of bed as was yawning constantly. Now I have been to many establishments in the Northern Quarter and my expectations as per the ambience of the area is more of a 'laid back' style which is absolutely ok, but in here today they took it too far. My wife's scone was served on its own and after a wait of 15 minutes and no sign of my wife's cup of tea and my cake and cappuccino, I left my seat and asked to be pointed in the direction of the Manager. I pointed out the situation to him and his response was to try and tell me not to raise my voice. No apology....'No we will sort this out immediately' a lame excuse of that they were busy. It's the holiday season every restaurant and cafe is busy. This was in my opinion just an excuse and a very poor one at that. I returned to my seat and told my wife of the managers response, she left the restaurant in disgust, I put my coat on and also left before again telling the manager that we were extremely unhappy about this service and the way it had been handled, his only comment was about the fact I had raised my voice. Do not go to this cafe/restaurant. We and our family and friends come into Manchester on a regular basis and we will not ever again visit this establishment. read more

I love tea, and I love cake. In theory teacup should be my idea of heaven, in reality I hate it. First, I must say I do love their tea selection, all are lovely, all the staff seem capable of providing tea correctly and in a timely fashion. Also nice is the porridge. I recently had the misfortune to visit for a late breakfast with a bunch of hungover, hungry boys. basically they needed a full english. Even though teacup sells all the items required for a full english, they could not manage to provide one. Instead they have the most ridiculous homemade smoke infused beans with bacon bits. Why ruin a perfectly simple dish by chucking in bits of undercooked pig?! Essentially as a non pig-eater, and with them running out of salmon I was left with only the option of boiled eggs. Requested runny, arrived rock solid. Complained, told it wasn't possible to get an egg runnier. Hmm. So why serve with soldiers then?! All 5 guys I was with found their food either cold / too small / too fussy or a combination of the above. On a separate visit I was forced into sharing cake with a friend. Having previously been disappointed by teacup serving me a toasted scone (I swear to try disguising the staleness) this time was no better. The cupcake was the texture of pumice stone. How anyone can make such beautiful cakes taste so bad I have no idea. a 'spiced flapjack' was also terrible- I think the chef had inadvertently thrown curry powder in rather than the usual cinnamon/nutmeg sweet spices which would usually be expected Avoid for all but tea would be my advice! read more

A cute little cafe perfect for a cup of tea and a slice of cake. The cake slices average about £5 but are worth the price as the servings are very generous. The tea is also delicious I got a Indian chai and it was very nice, my mate ordered a vanilla tea and seemed to enjoy her pot too. The teas arrive with an egg timer so you know how long you brew it for. They also come with an extra teapot so if you want a weak tea you just pour it straight away into the other teapot which I thought was a really good idea even though I prefer my tea strong. Had excellent service and will be visiting again. read more

An expensive treat...chicks dig it

Great place, always very busy however. The menu has a great choice of cakes and hot food too (the salmon pie is amazing), I think I was the only one of my friends to prefer the hot food to the cakes! Although the selection is amazing, the pastry on my tart was a bit rock solid for me but other than that (and the slow service) it was a pleasant experience. read more

I visited for the first time today for lunch and was highly disappointed, I chose a fish finger wrap, the description making it sound delicious, however when it finally came the presentation was unappealing, bordering sloppy and the tastes and textures within the wrap didn't quite seem to match up. The coleslaw that was served with it was exceptionally watery and nothing special, it's only purpose seemed to be to make the wrap soggy. My sister ordered a chicken sandwich and was similarly unimpressed, describing it as tasteless. I think we could have done better ourselves at home. The cakes were almost a saving grace, and maybe as a pastry chef I am just used to a higher standard..... But they were distinctly average! The one good thing about my meal was the smoothie I had but again it was overpriced! My little sister had a pie, which she said was very nice but too expensive for what it was! Overall I don't think I'd bother coming here again, the place was cramped and loud and I found the space was ill designed, service was slow and I had to go ask for dessert menus and for the bill when we were done. read more

The service in this place is terrible. If you're looking to impress, try elsewhere. If you're flying solo, or with a close friend, then you'll probably be able to handle the arrogant/rude staff and the slow service. Personally, I'd try one of the other cafes in the Northern Quarter which true, may not look so pretty, but which probably give you a more honest brew, and service with a smile. If you do brave it, don't take one of the tables at the back - you'll risk being sat there until the end of time before one of the waiters takes your order/ brings your order/ tidies/ brings the bill/ brings the card machine. read more

Service is rubbish. Staff are rude. Food is expensive for what it is. Quality is okay, but this place has become more than it deserves to be. read more

now then am i big enough and old enough to accept that the new cup (teacup) is a changed entity? yes! yes i am a whole new place everything improved that i ranted about in the past-the difference between a bad business and a good business is accepting feedback and growing,well you guys have in everyway-i had a great time today and not one problem. amazing loveley staff the rest great too im happy to swallow my words and good luck guys hopefully fellow ranters will give them another chance. and in hard to please . xxxxx oh dear such young staff who presumabley rent in chorlton didsbury or trendy flats in town thus feel they are uber cool bohos above niceties like hello . they are just rubbish waiters in a overhyped sanwich bar. visually its great. coffee is great and mr scruffs merchandising good. thats were it ends.... if these clowns werent out all nite posing in noho and moho on their meagre wages and pretending to be real mancs we,d get some actual service ( eg giving us what we pay for )(before xmas).....dont go in here until mr scruff fires them all and hires normal people. read more

there used to be a woman there who always dressed as if she was about to go to a fancy dress party! she'd parade up and down calling numbers like a high class bingo caller. it was worth going to Cup in those days just to see what she was wearing! the best outfit was when she was dressed up as a a milkmaid! yes a milk maid. she clearly thought she was drop dead gorgeous and frequently showed everyone if the cafe her bare breasts. even though she has now left, Cup is still a great cafe. and the only place in town you can drink Barry White and get dippy egss which really are!. however, some of the staff seem to have had labotomies and are unable to perform simple tasks. .....and when i ordered Eggs and toast, it came with NO butter on the bread!! when i told Jesus, his response was to laugh!! read more