The 10 best places to get your pistachio fix in Manchester

Pistachio is having a bit of a *moment* right now – if it’s not green and nutty, Manchester doesn’t want to know.

This delicious ingredient, commonplace in Italian and Middle Eastern desserts for generations, has become the dessert It Girl of the 2020s.

Moving on from baklavas and gelatos, you’ll now find pistachio infiltrating lattes, cookies, cheesecakes, chocolate bars, pancake stacks and loads more.

Whether you like yours to still come in the shape of a nut, or are happy for it to be whizzed up into that ubiquitous pistachio creme, we’ve found 10 of the best places to get your pistachio fix in Manchester.

Half Dozen Other, Oxford Road and Red Bank

Half Dozen Other comes from the team behind Pot Kettle Black, with a huge bakery site over in the Green Quarter and now a cafe on Oxford Road too.

It’s at that latter site where you’ll get one of the best pistachio desserts in Manchester – a luminous green cookie, stuffed to bursting with dark and white chocolate chips and pistachios too.

It’s proven so popular, and so delicious, it’s now part of their core bakes range.

The Half Dozen Other team dream up brand-new bakes every single week to go alongside their staple croissants, and they’re all amazing.

Black Milk, Oldham Road

Oh hi there, is that you, looking for the best desserts in Manchester? You’ve come to the right place.

These guys are the OG (and best) creators of pistachio creme, sold in jars online, in store, in Co-op and in Selfridges (ooh fancy). They also make their own granola, including a pistachio and white chocolate flavour.

Black Milk has been a firm Manc favourite for years now, thanks to its outrageous cereal bowls (the bowl is chocolate), milkshakes topped with a slice of cake, cheesecakes constructed in a chocolate bowl, and giant pancake stacks.

You can get all of those with lashings of that iconic pistachio creme too – it’s a must-visit.

Sipp, Great Ancoats Street and Deansgate Square

Matcha girlies, assemble! Sipp is a coffee shop that’s doing some of the best iced drinks in town.

Based in the General Stores in Ancoats and Deansgate Square – and with their own coffee shop soon to open in Chorlton – these guys don’t mess around when it comes to delicious flavoured matchas.

They’ve got one on the menu that’s made with Black Milk’s pistachio creme – a green dream – or you can order their best-seller, a refreshing coconut and raspberry concoction.

Cocoa Cabana, Cutting Room Square

If you haven’t yet come across the Dubai pistachio chocolate bars, you simply aren’t spending enough time online.

These enormous bars are stuffed with pistachio sauce and knafeh, a crunchy, traditional Arabic pastry that is sort of reminiscent of when you use to make Easter nests with a Shredded Wheat in primary school.

Cocoa Cabana finishes theirs in a shimmering coat of edible gold (because why not).

This brilliant chocolate cafe also has smores platters, fondue, afternoon teas and loads more – see more about Cocoa Cabana here.

Alex’s Bakery, Deansgate

Tucked in amongst all the brilliant local names lining the side of Deansgate and Great Northern is Alex’s Bakery, which shot to fame for its cupcakes and brownies but actually nails every dessert you can think of.

Come for the cakes but stay for the brunches, which include pancake stacks and huge wedges of French toast generously drizzled in pistachio creme and white chocolate.

Oh god and PLEASE don’t skip out on their tres leches cakes – soft sponge cakes beloved in South America, which come in loads of flavours here. The tiramisu and pistachio ones top our list.

If you can’t make it into town, Alex’s Bakery also has a big online shop you can order from.

The Flat Baker, Ancoats

It would be remiss of me to not include the Flat Baker in any round-up of pistachio flavoured things.

This Ancoats bakery goes viral all the time for its pistachio-stuffed croissants, with steady queues at their little hatch on Radium Street and queues at the Christmas Markets that were so long they actually left the markets altogether.

Known for blending traditional baking with Brazilian influences, here you’ll find crispy pastries baked fresh daily – and it’s the home of the pistachio croissant.

In summer, they even serve pistachio soft serve in a croissant cone.

DGHNT, Mackie Mayor

The biggest and best doughnuts in town are being served in Mackie Mayor, by the legendary DGHNT.

These artisan brioche delights are baked fresh daily, with a constantly evolving cabinet full of specials.

One of the best – and thankfully most frequently-returning – is the pistachio tiramisu, where that pillowy brioche dough is stuffed with tiramisu filling before being coated in a pistachio cream glaze and candied pistachios. Yum.

Nur Cafe, Deansgate

There’s an Arabian cafe on Deansgate that’s a nur brainer (sorry) for authentic Middle Eastern pastries and sweet treats – and yes, that means pistachio aplenty.

It can’t stop going viral online for its sweet treats, from tres leches cakes to pistachio lattes.

There’s also really, really good baklava on offer here, plus full Turkish breakfasts, French pastries, spiced Saudi coffees, and shakshuka.

Ornella’s Kitchen, Denton

Italian restaurants don’t get much more authentic (or popular) than Ornella’s Kitchen in Denton.

This tiny little restaurant and deli has you’ll find proper Italian pistachio gelato, served in a soft Sicilian brioche bun.

And it makes its way onto the savoury menu too, in the form of a pistachio carbonara with crispy guanciale pieces that burst in little salty mouthfuls against the rich and creamy pasta sauce.

It’s pretty tricky to get a table here, but the good news is they’re moving into the restaurant space at Freight Island soon too.

Chai Cabin, Bolton

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This place will have been all over your FYP page if you’ve ever expressed any interest in food.

Chai Cabin in Bolton is serving up the creamiest cheesecakes we’ve ever had (we know, bold statement), plus the viral sensation; Dubai pistachio chocolate-covered strawberry pots, with that delicious crunch from the knafeh pastry.

They also do milkshakes, waffles, tiramisu, doughnuts and more. Honestly, this is a dessert-lovers heaven.

Read more

• The very best and booziest bottomless brunches in Manchester city centre
• Giuseppe’s – the tiny Italian bistro that proves Stalybridge is fast becoming a dining destination
• Five Manchester bars have just been named in the UK’s Top 50 Cocktail Bars

Featured image: The Manc Group