A collective and audible sigh can be heard across the nation as we can’t week in and out bask in the blue of Paul Hollywood’s eyes and drool over all the insane show stoppers. Whilst we can’t really offer you Paul’s eyes, we can however suggest the best places where you go and try pastries / tarts / baked goods that may have featured in this year’s show or just to satisfy your sweet tooth.
Pollen Bakery
Under the railway arches of Piccadilly, this sourdough and Viennoiserie Bakery prides itself on the simplicity of baking – using just water, flour and salt. Customers will often queue for hours to take home a sourdough loaf or pastry made by this amazing bakery. Get down there from Wednesday through to Saturday and it’ll be worth the wait for a fresh warm croissant.
Pollen Bakery, 2 Sheffield St, Manchester M1 2ND
0161 273 3171
pollenbakery.com/
Sugar Junction
Inspired by a love for all things vintage, Sugar Junction serves up afternoon tea like no other. A gorgeous little tea room in the Northern Quarter and another in Altrincham where you can indulge in homemade scones and cake platters. A proper afternoon tea with two fruit scones and the works will only set you back £9.95 for two people – a bargain I’d say.
Sugar Junction,
60 Tib St, Manchester M4 1LG, 0161 839 1444
80 Stamford New Rd, Altrincham WA14 1BS, 0161 928 0586
www.sugarjunction.co.uk/
Great North Pie Company
As Great North Pie Co doesn’t have an official shop, you are encouraged to go to any Maker’s Market / Farmer’s Markets around Manchester to source these absolute delights. Blue cheese, potato and apple or 14 hour braised beef and ale pies helped them to earn the accolade of Supreme Champions of the British Pie Awards 2015. Their menu changes seasonally and they always have a new selection to try at their stall. The next market they will be at is on the first Saturday and Sunday of the month at these venues:
Saturday – Altrincham, Rode Hall and Urmston
Sunday – Altrincham, Abbey Leys and Knutsford
Ho’s Bakery
A family run bakery in Chinatown where you can feast upon traditional sweets, buns, dumplings and a selection of home baked cakes. Ho’s serves fresh Portuguese Tarts, Pandan Swiss Rolls and Honey Buns every day, but you can also pre-order cakes for special occasions as well as up to five-tier wedding cakes.
Ho’s Bakery, 46 Faulkner St, Manchester M1 4FH
0161 236 8335
www.hosbakery.co.uk
Katsouris Delicatessen
A great place for a delicious Ciabatta and for traditional Greek sweets. There is a Deansgate store, but nothing quite beats the Market Hall set up and stylish little cafe in Bury. Gorge on some of the best sandwiches you’ll ever eat or even pop in just for a brew and an Apple Danish.
Katsouris,
113 Deansgate, Manchester M3 2BQ, 0161 819 1260
22- 25 Market Parade, Bury BL9 0BD, 0161 764 4382
katsourisdeli.co.uk
Slattery
Home to all things dessert and patisserie, Slattery offers all your cake needs from Gateaux and famous sponge cakes down to celebration cakes and ‘Lancashire Afternoon Tea’, including an assortment of sandwiches, cheese savoury tartlets, homemade sultana scones, strawberry fresh cream meringues and dark chocolate and orange profiteroles. They also have some pretty great chocolate too. There’s an abundance of dolce to choose from, too much to even describe in one list. You will truly be spoiling your sweet tooth, so waste no time and visit now.
Slattery, 197 Bury New Rd, Whitefield, Manchester M45 6GE
0161 767 9303
slattery.co.uk
T R O V E
A shining beacon of light and baking in Levenshulme, TROVE is your one-stop shop for anything baked including a vast array of bread, cakes, croissants and anything else you might find in a French patisserie window. Their sourdough is perfect for smashing avocado onto, while their range of tarts and brownies will ensure that you will look foolish at Slimming World come Tuesday. If you manage to get past the shop, there’s a fantastic cafe at the back too.
T R O V E, 1032 Stockport Rd, Manchester M19 3WX
0161 432 7184
trovefoods.co.uk
Robinson’s the Master Bakers
One of the oldest family run bakeries in Manchester, established in 1864 and inventors of the Manchester Tart. Robinson’s keep tradition at heart whilst baking 17 different types of loaves and over 100 varieties of cakes including Eccles Cake, Vanilla Slices and Dairy Cream Cakes. They also tried and tested their own version of scones, Failsworth Scones and something called a Manchester Rascal. They have their bakery in Failsworth, but also set up stalls at markets across Greater Manchester and will also cater for parties and events with buffets.
Robinson’s, 69-71 Ashton Rd E, Failsworth, Manchester M35 9PW
0161 681 2493
www.robinsonsbakery.co.uk/
Home Sweet Home
In Home Sweet Home, sweet really is what they aim for. You can enjoy something saccharine for any meal, breakfast, lunch and dinner if you so wish! Pancakes for breakfast, Nutella waffles for lunch and a cake shake for dinner. Sounds heavenly, right? Home Sweet Home’s very own show stopper has to be their take on an afternoon tea. On the lower tier, an open bagel with your choice of filling, the middle tier filled with churros and ‘dreamcheese frosting’, and the final tier topped with cake truffles, lemon meringue pie, chocolate espresso mousse, red velvet cheesecake brownie and the cupcake of the month. Oh, did you know they had their own cake shop too? Pure dessert perfection.
Home Sweet Home,
Unit 4, Great Northern Warehouse, Manchester M3 4EN, 0161 300 8121
49-51 Edge St, Manchester M4 1HW, 0161 244 9424
homesweethomenq.com/
San Carlo’s Gran Cafe
A little bit of a hidden gem, San Carlo’s cafe in Selfridges, named Cafe Of The Year 2016 at the Les Routiers Awards, offers an elegant dining experience for your patisserie and gelato needs. They specialise in brunch and breakfast, but there’s always a bar as well as more ice cream than you can imagine. Just a few things on the dessert menu – mille feuille, an array of fruit tarts, torta al pistachio, amaretto cake, as well as Danish pastries, pain au chocolate and Afternoon Tea with an Italian twist.
Gran Cafe, 1 Exchange St, Manchester M3 1BD
sancarlo.co.uk/restaurants/manchester-gran-cafe/
