Idle Hands

“We sell coffee, pie and food in Manchester’s Northern Quarter.” Idle Hands couldn’t cut to the chase faster if the team tried. A bonafide institution in a city which is well known for its coffee shops, you’ll find this design-led brew house hiding out in an historic red brick mid-rise on Dale Street. A building very much in keeping with the area’s storied and wealthy Victorian history, when the neighbourhood was a focal point for the textile industry. Traces of this are visible today beyond the grand old warehouse conversions, too, with a number of successful independent fashion companies operating around these parts. 

All the more reason the coffee scene is so enviable, then. And make no mistake, Idle Hands is up there with the very best. The espresso offer always includes two or three choices from different roasters on rotation, and a brew bar where filtered options are also regularly changing. The team look globally for their suppliers, and proudly claim to serve the very best the world has to offer. 

Aficionados might recognise names like Hard Lines, Dak, Manhattan, Plot, Craft House, Elsewhere, La Cabra, Round Hill, Strangers, Nude, Heart, Good Life, Koppi, St Ali, Tim Wendelboe, Coffee Collective, April, Man vs Machine, Workshop, Square Mile, and Dark Arts. All of which have collaborated in the past. 

In addition to coffee, pie is the other big sell here. Vegan cherry, pecan, chocolate cream, salted caramel apple, cookie dough, Biscoff, banana cream, and vegan salted chocolate. Less a rundown of the menu, more a quick list of what you might find on any given day. Choices aren’t fixed, which is part of the fun. Brunch is also served 9AM-3PM Monday to Friday, and 10AM-3.30PM on Saturday and Sunday. Expect to find all the usual meaty, veggie and vegan items, alongside some more exotic options.