Temperatures have dropped in Manchester – here’s how to help rough sleepers
Manchester City Council has launched a campaign to support homeless people over winter - urging anyone who spots rough sleepers to contact representatives who can assist.
We’re all bemoaning the fact there’s a difficult winter ahead; with yet another national lockdown determining that we’re destined to spend months indoors.
But perspective at times like this is crucial. There are hundreds of people in the city who aren’t lucky enough to have a roof over their heads.
This time of year is a particularly dangerous period for Manchester’s homeless population – with low temperatures and bad weather creating extremely challenging conditions.
But this winter poses an additional, concerning risk for rough sleepers: The spread of COVID-19.
Manchester City Council has launched a campaign to support homeless people over winter – urging anyone who spots rough sleepers to contact representatives who can assist.
The council stated: “We’re out on the streets seven days a week connecting people who are sleeping rough to the housing, food and health care they can get.
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“We will support them to get off the streets for good.
“Think we’ve missed someone? Tell us and we’ll get to them.”
Wikimedia Commons
Neighbouring councils are also offering similar services in 2021 to protect people in Greater Manchester without a permanent address via the Street Support Network.
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Earlier this week, Oldham Council confirmed it would be teaming up with local GPs to prioritise the vaccine to homeless people in the area.
Councillor Zahid Chauhan, Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care, said: “People living on the streets, or those who have no permanent address, are some of the most vulnerable people in society and need help and support.
“Because they live on the streets they can also come into contact with a large number of people, which means if they have Coronavirus there is a big risk they could pass it on to others. That’s why it is important they are offered the vaccine.”
If you spot someone sleeping rough in Manchester, you can reach out online.
Contact details for Manchester City Council are as follows:
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Office hours: 07930 867 663 Out of hours: 0161 234 5001
More information on support for the homeless is available via the Street Support Network.
Feature
The best pancakes in Manchester and where to find them
Danny Jones
Pancakes might traditionally be a relatively simple staple, but here in Manchester our restaurants and cafes go large, with dozens of different styles, flavours and toppings to choose from– and we have some of the best places going in the North West.
There’s a pancake to suit everyone if you know where to look, from sweet to savoury, miniature to fat and thin to fluffy.
We’ve broken down some of our favourites below to help you get your pancake fix all year round. Yes, it may be Shrove Tuesday is looming, but one day is hardly enough to sample them all.
There are some relative newcomers to check out, too. Keep reading to discover the best places for pancakes in and around Manchester.
Where to get really good pancakes in Manchester
1. Cocoa Cabana – Didsbury and The Trafford Centre
If you’ve got a sweet tooth, the remaining Cocoa Cabana site in West Dids is one of the very best places to head for some fluffy pancakes in Manchester.
They’ve even done bottomless for Pancake Day in the past, with the only rule being you have to finish one stack before you order the next.
Flavours include tiramisu, Biscoff and caramel, Kinder Bueno and many more; they also have a pop-up at The Trafford Centre these days.
Now, if you’re more of a crepe person than a fluffy stack fan, then this increasingly viral and trending spot on Brazennose Street, just between two of the city’s most resurgent squares, might be a good alternative for you.
Putting a somewhat lighter and more delicate Japanese twist on the classic French-style dessert, these thin but flavourful little pancakes feel like a happy medium between treating yourself and pure decadence and potential overindulgence.
Their creme brûlée matcha flavoured crepe is absolutely to die for and an absolute must-try.
3. Hampton and Vouis – Central and Northern Quarter
Credit: The Manc Group
This cute little cafe next to Albert Square used to be very easy to miss, but with a second venue in the Northern Quarter now too, they’re more worth seeking out than ever. Venture inside, and you’ll find great coffee, a counter full of bakes from local suppliers and an excellent year-round pancake menu.
Here, fluffy American-style pancakes are loaded with sauce and sweet treats like Jammy Dodger biscuits, raspberries, caramel sauce and strawberry jam.
There’s also a Lotus Biscoff stack, a special apple crumble and custard stack, Biscoff and Bueno stacks, as well as plenty more – all come with vanilla ice cream on the side.
4. Lazy Sundae – Manchester Arndale
Now in the Arndale Centre only, but still just as delicious as ever, we visited their old NQ venue for some of those airy soufflé pancakes more than once over the years.
It’s a popular order in Japan and, increasingly, across the globe, and they offer personalised toppings like wafers, chocolate sprinkles, fruit and ice cream to make this special, puffed-up pancake your own – or at least they used to.
There’s still no word as to when they’ll be doing them regularly from the stall in the Arndale, but who knows? Maybe they’ll make a special exception this Pancake Day; plus, they’re great at catering to vegans and the lactose intolerant, too.
Next up is another NQ spot that often gets forgotten about, perhaps because it’s down the ‘quieter’ stretch of Tib Street that is so typically busy with deliveries and cut-through traffic that people just want it pedestrianised.
However, if you haven’t tried Sugar Junction before, you’re seriously missing out. It also happens to be ‘r Amy’s favourite, and trust us, this girl knows what she’s talking about.
The rest of their menu is also jam-packed with all the sugary goodies you’d expect from a gaff with this name, but it’s well worth a visit if you want your pancakes just about as sweet as they come.
7. Moose Coffee – Piccadilly Approach and Central
Credit: The Manc
Canadians are famous for their pancakes, and the selection at Moose in Manchester is up there with the best. Made fresh to order, think a stack of three dusted with icing sugar and served with Canadian butter.
Whether you opt for savoury or sweet toppings, maple syrup on the side is pretty much a given (yes, even with your eggs and bacon), and we’re absolutely here for it.
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The only thing that could make it more authentic is if the staff often split the bill for you unrequested. A nice little touch.
8. Ezra and Gil
In at number eight is arguably one of the original contemporary brunch spots during Greater Manchester’s biggest foodie boom over the past decade, Ezra and Gil, who smash both day and night when given the chance.
They’re another one of those where you’ll always find a queue coming out the door and for good reason, as they’ve been reinventing the pancake game here in the city centre for a long time.
We’ve been Ezra and Gil die-hards since day one. Exhibit A:
Still as good now as it was back then.
9. 19 Cafe Bar
This blink-and-you ‘ll-miss-it spot has become an absolute go-to for naughty pancakes, thanks to its chocolate bar-laden menu.
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The Biscoff and Kinder Bueno pancakes are the big draws here at 19 Cafe Bar. Loaded with the likes of Biscoff crumb and spread, banana, ice cream and salted caramel sauce, or homemade Kinder sauce, Bueno, chocolate sauce, roasted hazelnuts and vanilla ice cream.
There are healthier pancake options, too, and a strong list of brunch cocktails available from the bar. Familiar Brett from our ‘On The Street’ series is a big fan:
A greasy spoon cafe, but make it Northern Quarter.
The Koffee Pot has long been a go-to breakfast spot, way before it moved up from Stevenson Square to its newer premises on Oldham Street.
It’s been known for fry-ups and breakfast tacos for nearly half a century now, but you can get a solid pancake stack here, too. Think all-American buttermilk pancake stacks with added sausage patty, smoked streaky bacon, hash brown, fried egg and maple syrup.
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It’s basically a full English in a pancake stack, and who doesn’t want that?
Credit: The Manc
11. Evelyn’s
Another trendy cafe in the Northern Quarter with a beyond solid brunch menu, including indulgent buttermilk soufflé pancakes loaded with honeycomb butter and a spiced berry compote, just to name one of our all-time favourites.
Better still, they always do a super-rich and irresistible special every Shrove Tuesday; past concoctions include Nutella and strawberry, date caramel and banana with a spiced apple compote. Wow.
Washed down with a coffee or a brunch cocktail, you can’t go wrong with one of the GOATs.
Our penultimate pick of top-tier present-day pancake houses in central Manchester is the ever-filing out the door, Bruncho, who work magic with their Middle Eastern twists on brunch staples.
This spot also serves as just one stop among Deansgate’s growing brunch triangle. In fact, make that quadrangle – quitangle? Not sure, all we know is there’s a lot to choose from along here, and plenty serving pancakes.
Just over on the edge of Salford, as you leave the glitzy reaches of Spinningfields behind, this beloved breakfast spot has become increasingly popular since it opened back in June 2024.
They’re not for solid coffee, great deals on various brunchy bits, and in case you didn’t know, some very tasty pancakes. Specifically, that tiramisu one you might have heard about, which is nothing short of unreal…
For context, when we asked our resident taste-tester EmJ on the day what she made of it, all she could repeat was “BANGIN'”. Says it all really, doesn’t it?
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And that’s our list and now yours, covering some of the very best places for pancakes in central Manchester and a little bit further.
Why 13, we hear you ask? Well, because we expect to eat at least a baker’s dozen ourselves over the course of the 24 hours.
If that sounds like too much for you, then you’ve got the best part of 12 months to up your game until the time the next Pancake Day rolls around.
Gig review | DMA’s have Manc in their DNA, whether they know it or not
Danny Jones
Yes, we saw the crowds in Brixton, Leeds and so on, and they were also box office, no doubt – and we’re sure there’s plenty of bias coming in here – but DMA’s final night in Manchester was just magnificent on every level.
Still managing to bring a real Friday feeling even though it was a Sunday night following the protracted Valentine’s celebrations, when most were already dreading the inevitable Monday blues (morning, all), it felt like the perfect way to close out a weekend with everyone’s first love: music.
During a period when we’re all encouraged to be a little bit more sincere and spread pure positivity, seeing the sea of happy, smiling faces watching DMA’s on night two at the O2 Victoria Warehouse was just the injection we needed.
For starters, you can’t ask for much more than getting to hear not only Hills End from start to finish but ‘Lay Down’ live twice in one night. The limbs were just as mad the second time around, if not even more.
To quote a fan speaking in the comments under this video, for some, it was beyond good: “The best gig I’ve been to in my 45 years on this planet”, apparently.
Quite the bold statement, and while we’re not sure we’re quite ready to be so superlative just yet, hearing them play their debut album from cover to cover on its 10th anniversary did make for a perfect set and an “unreal night” as we’ve heard and seen so many remark in the hours since the gig.
One person wrote, “If the next album is good, these will be absolutely huge”, while another declared that they’re “the greatest on Earth” already.
Whatever point on the scale you land on, pretty much everyone almost universally agrees that their first record is still their best, even with all the bangers they’ve put out since.
One of the best moments of the entire nostalgia trip was when they bookended the show with ‘Timeless’ and played their usual extended outro with multiple repetitions of the chorus and a proper breakout, letting their instruments do the talking in a fast, frenetic flurry as the crowd thrashed around.
DMAs never let you down when it comes to a performance, and neither do Manc crowds.
One of those where you saw way more arms in the air than phones. (Credit: Audio North)
And maybe that’s just it, as far as bands that come to this region and do well, the Sydney trio are one of the VERY best, vouched for by pretty much every mate and regular gig-goer whose opinion you trust implicitly; you can certainly add us onto that list.
Maybe it’s somehow to do with some of those Melbourne roots, too, as we’ve often heard the parallels drawn between the two cities, and they even asked if there was anyone in from ‘Melbs’ between songs – there was a notable cheer – or maybe it’s just some kind of uncalculable magic we can’t understand.
Either way, besides the ongoing rise of Aussie rock and Anzac bands doing very well around the UK in general, there is something very special about this particular indie outfit’s connection with the North West and Manchester, specifically.
Johnny, Tommy and Matt have all themselves cited it as a ‘second home’ throughout their career, having hit the ground running and finding a cult following here right from the off.
In fact, they admitted that the full touring band still regularly flies into Manchester first whenever they’re heading to the UK. Love that.
‘Olympia’ and ‘Silver’ were also big standouts beyond the Hills End part of the setlist. (Credit: The Manc)
Perhaps labelling them part of the ‘Britpop revival’ is a bit reductive, but it certainly hasn’t done them any harm thus far, and conversely, it’s definitely done them plenty of favours here in Greater Manchester.
They’re not just adopted Brits who understand our history as a nation of audiophiles; they get our crowds and this city’s culture down to a tee.
Put simply, either through blind luck or divine intervention from the music gods, DMA’s are Mancs by proxy, and whether or not that means anything to them, it sure as sh*t means a whole lot to us.
Here’s to HE10, and we can’t wait for the next celebration in whatever form it comes.
The Manc -
6th January 2021 
