The wonders of technology are allowing me to draft a review for the Holden Tea Room just as my…read moregigantic coffee pot has yielded its fourth, read, FOURTH cup of delicious coffee. However these wonders of technology take something of a back seat in this beautiful, delightful pop-up tearoom. Each lovely and friendly member of staff is dressed head-to-toe (okay, maybe not head and toe - some lovely quirky haircuts and glasses obvs. This IS Manchester after all) in 1930s tearoom staff finery. A proper working gramophone takes pride of place, providing the kind of soundtrack that makes the Northern Quarter's retro vintage cafés sound like they've got Now 56 blaring out, and I'm currently seated on a plush leather sofa in front of an aviary. With real tweeting birdies. But there are cheeky nods to the present day too. My choice of cake (officially the best cake choice I've ever made in my life - not even joking) was a delicious slab of Americana amidst all this quintessentially English tradition... a peanut butter and jam cake. Listen here, I spent part of my time devouring it, part trying to figure out how the hell I could replicate it. I'm reckoning it's standard Vicky sponge, but it would appear that a layer of crunchy PB has been baked into the base. The topping is a jam icing, similar to the one Jamie Oliver got us all to make one Red Nose Day where he smushed up strawberries with icing sugar... but even better than that, somehow. Does this frosting have butter in it? I don't know! But I need this cake in my life again. So why am I so desperate to replicate it? Because I'm already in mourning. This place is only open until Friday 10th Feb 2012 and I am utterly devastated. I want to try everything on the menu. I've not even started on the vast selection of teas available. There are more cakes than you can shake a hungry fork at. And about that coffee. When did you last get - let me just check - FIVE cups for £1.50? Out of your own coffeemaker at home perhaps? I want to start a petition to keep this place going, permanently. As in, it always needs to be final year art degree money-raising project time. The only thing that sucks about all Manchester's amazing pop-ups? That they're not forever! I don't want to be *that girl* holding somebody's ankles begging them not to go, but if Holden Tea Room had legs, well, hand me my best grabbing gloves please. Seriously, no pride. Stay. Don't leave us. We love you.

The Gay Village is one of my favorite Manchester neighborhoods and one of my favorite places to…read morevisit there is this tea room. Each time I visit I am taken back to a time when high tea was not only expected but proper. The scones are absolutely to die for! Freshly made, onsite. The sandwiches, teas, and bubbly are always spot on. Service is just what you would expect. Proper and welcoming. They've got drag tea hours that never seem to match up with my schedule when I am in Man. One of these days... Nonetheless, I am eager for my next visit to this proper English tea house.

Yae not really a fan. And I really wanted to be…read more First the positive. - nice location inside the gay village (yes that the official name of the neighborhood ) - very nice and friendly staff and waiter. - good selection of teas and the teas have been tasty. But now to the rest a teatime should be sacred time with loved once an hour to relax calm down and enjoy good tea and food. We had the queens tea and it comes as a full high tea with scones, sandwiches and sweets. While the service - as already mentioned was great (they switched one set to vegetarian sandwiches) - the sandwiches have not been. The toast was a bit try on the edges and the actual spread and creations have been lackluster to be friendly. The chickpea vegetarian was the best by far. The scones clearly made in house fresh and really good tasting. But they have been more like a bead bun in consistency- but together with the clotted cream very very good. Just not really scones. This tea room also did disappointed me with just serving a tiny glass of industrial made strawberry preserves. They also only serve one "scone" per person and did not offered any more sandwiches or scones. And then finally the "sweets" the Richmond tea room takes that word very very literal. Besides a macaron and a little passionfruit tartlet they served two pieces of cake that have both been tasting like sugar only. While looking ok they just had no taste whatsoever other than just being overly sweet. No fruit flavor or distinctive taste. Since I left mine untouched since they were just not good maybe that why they don't offered more sandwiches or scones. All in all it was just not the teatime I was looking for spending with my husband as quality time we slowed down drinking the tea but we did not really enjoyed the food and that messed up the experience. Sadly. Starting with five stars I'll take one of for the stall sandwiches, another one for uninspired sweets and a third for the jam and overall price / quality relations. Since I would have lived with it when it would have been a cheap teatime in a restaurant, but it's a location that ha w tea room even in the name.

I enjoyed a quick meal here and really enjoyed my tea and light snack. Staff were kind and this was…read morean ideal experience for me.

Annie's in Manchester is quite an interesting place, located on a slip road on St Anne's Square,…read moreOld Bank Street, it is quite a small building with very interesting decor, it is more of a tearoom, but also they do have a resturaunt menu, mainly British cuisine which does seem overpriced. Many people might recognize Annie's as being owned by Jennie McAlpine and her partner, Jennie is a British actor who is from the Manchester area, being born in Bury and she placed Fizz in Coronation Street. When I visited, it didn't have a nice feel to it, it just felt a really small place and quiet, myself and another party were the only ones in there, before they originally vacated, the service didn't improve because of that, the guy who served me seemed nice but he did seem a little pushy, trying to stay near my table when I was trying to concentrate on my order, so kept coming over too soon before I decided on what I was to choose, he had a decent knowledge on what on the menu was gluten free but they didn't have a menu or allergy book, which was awkward and made it more tiresome and frustrating for me, as well as harder to order. I was also upset that Annie's wouldn't accept my Tastecard, despite it not stating that it must be on the main menu and after 5pm on their website, they even seem really strict on having to pre-book it, meanwhile places like Pizza Express and Prezzo, also in Manchester don't seem to care if you waltz on in, after speaking to Tastecard they should have accepted it as it says nothing in the terms and conditions about certain menus you have to order from and times, which was frustrating. They also had loads of menus too, they just thrown on my table with no explanation,which just was rather unusual and didn't seem too welcoming or friendly either, which was a shame. At the end of the day, due to the awful atmosphere, bad selection on the menu, poor service, poor menu and high pricing, I decided to walk out which made me quite sad as I have wanted to try Annie's for a while now, as from the outside it does seem quite nice, but sadly it doesn't seem to be, which is a shame and I feel sadly warrants a one star review, and for now due to breaking Tastecard terms and conditions, which they agreed and signed up for, warrants a place on my "Places not to go list"

my friends were craving something sweet after our late lunch & wanted to find a cake shop in…read morenorthern quarter then we landed here! the atmosphere inside was very mellow & somewhat calm/regular cafe vibe! we seated ourselves at a table & a worker promptly supplied us with more menus & told us come up to the counter when we were ready to order! we looked at the desserts on the counter as well but decided on scones! they also ordered tea along with their scones since that's the proper way to do it haha! when they ordered, the worker put it in as cream tea which was like a bundle of scone/tea which did save them a bit of money! however, after we finished ordering, we were notified that they were out of scones & asked if we wanted to wait 20-25 minutes for the new batch--which we did since we had time (we arrived around 4pm & they close at 6pm). they did ask if we wanted our teas now or later & after they brought of my friend's teas, the worker asked if i wanted another cup so i could share the teas with my friends which was kind of them to ask! once the scones were out & served, i came to the late decision of wanting one for myself as well, however, when i ordered, they said they were all sold out again (a man had bought them all)!! it was disappointing but my friends gave me a few bites of theirs & shared their tea with me;; overall, it was a nice atmosphere, not too crowded or loud--nice place to catch up with friends or to study! i wished they could have saved/planned their quantity a bit better though! it would've been nice to have tried scones for the first time properly!

FIVE STARS REINSTATED. Oh yes. After a brief lovers' tiff, Teacup and I reignited our passion with…read moreaplomb after I visited twice recently. What a difference a holiday makes! Or rather, what a difference their effort makes. The entire back area of the space has opened up to create a whole new dining experience. If you don't believe me, check out their deconstructed evening menu. http://www.manchesterconfidential.co.uk/Food-and-Drink/Coffee-Shops/Teacup-Launches-Evening-Menu Just ruddy look at it. What even is that. Brilliance, that's what it is. What looks like something beyond what you'd get at Room or Australasia in the nouveau cuisine stakes is brought to casual dining, in a casual environment at thoroughly casual prices. I've had some utterly lovely meetings and social experiences in here recently and its reclaimed its crown as Norther Quarter Big Daddy. No, wait. There are too many contenders to that crown. Let me get my Game of Thrones geek on. You know how in the second book there are seven folks claiming themselves king? If you don't, seriously, get involved. Anyway, Teacup feels like one of the more rightful contenders. Kind of like a Stannis Baratheon. Willing to experiment with new things. Determined and full of effort. Takes things seriously. Might have had a dip in popularity at some point, but heck, that does not keep a rightful king down. Teacup has totes re-stolen my heart. You know how quite a few Yelp reviews complain about certain things? Particularly Claire I's whereby the manager treated her meanly - well, fear no more. The manager she mentioned is gawn. In his place is an environment that feels so welcoming and friendly that it's like going into your best friend's front room for a brew. Their coffee is still one of the finest blends in all NQdom. It's time to wipe the slate clean. I for one cannot WAIT to taste this new evening menu. Supper and a cuppa, yes PLEASE!

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!

I visited Sugar Junction on the basis of a Yelp Passport offer and was mightily impressed! The £10…read morefor an afternoon tea deal provided for your own pot of brew, plus more scones, cakes, and creams than you could shake a stick at. Beyond the truly absurd amount of food that was presented before us (so much that we -all- had to box some up to take home), Sugar Junction has some nifty features that make it a stand-out spot. Free wi-fi means you can sip your caffeine whilst staying productive. And the collection of mismatched vintage/antique teacups, saucers, teapots, and cutlery round out the ambiance in a unique way. Whether it's for a bit of studying during the week, or a spot of tea to warm your hands with as you catch up with a good friend on a lazy afternoon, this wee shop makes for a fine socialising destination well worth taking advantage of.

Tucked a bit away, it's a small coffee shop with lovely character. We decided to have food here…read more I ordered the grilled cheese and there was a mixture of vegetables cooked in. It was a surprisingly filling sandwich. I couldn't finish it from feeling so full. My skinny mocha was good. I don't know that I can judge much other than to say it was a good coffee drink. Staff is friendly. Plenty of seating including open tables. I wish I had tried a baked good cuz they looked amazing, but just didn't have the room.

I've been here a handful of times, with others, and on my own. I like a fancy tea shop with poncey…read morecakes and dainty china, but this is the Northern quarter. I'd rather be in here than a behemoth chain, as it's quite a good place for little design business meetings. Brunch is quite nice, plus I'm a fan of almost anywhere where I can get pastrami. I'm a tea drinker, not coffee, but they do a good range of both. Banana flapjack is a simple but tasty favourite. And I had the wine poached chicken once too, which was rather good, also.

I love Japanese tea and wagashi sweets and this was a nice little tea house where everything tasted…read morejust like it does in Japan, as I had visited there and been to tea houses before. It is quite expensive and they do not allow you to talk during the quiet tea time, only whisper. It's also reservation only. I liked the sencha tea and warabi mochi here, the staff were polite and explained everything well. Overall a very Japanese tea experience in the heart of Manchester.

Impressive experience. Never thought drinking tea would be this complicate. The limited time allow…read moreus to really appreciate the 'ceremonial' of making and tasting tea.

This tea room and gallery opened recently (ish) I believe around May 2017. I went today for a…read moremeeting with potential client. Its not the biggest space but its a nice space - it would almost be suited for in the Northern Quarter I think. The upper level is the gallery area. According to their web site it will have 6 week long exhibitions which will give emerging artists a chance to showcase their work with the focus on graduates from Salford and Manchester Universities. (And also people from the local surrounding areas). Great idea. You can find out on their web site details of the current exhibition. The ground floor is the tea room selling tea, coffee and cakes. Its not the biggest area and can accommodate about 12 people with mostly tables and some "high seats". I only had a coffee (Americano) so didn't try any of the cakes but they looked good. The owner Gina was friendly. If I am ever nearby again, I will have no hesitation on popping on for a drink and checking out the gallery properly.