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.
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 newcomers to check out for 2023 too.
Keep reading to discover the best places for pancakes in Manchester.
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Cocoa Cabana
If you’ve got a sweet tooth, Cocoa Cabana is the absolute best place to head for pancakes in Manchester.
For Pancake Day, they’re going bottomless – it’s £12.50 for as many as you can eat, the only rule being you have to finish one stack before you order the next.
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Flavours include tiramisu, Biscoff and caramel, and Kinder Bueno.
Lazy Sundae
Head to Lazy Sundae ice cream parlour in the Northern Quarter for its famous soufflé pancakes.
This pancake day, you’ll find specials topped with either honeycomb, banana and miso caramel or Nutella and strawberries.
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A popular order in Japan and, increasingly, across the globe, opt for personalised toppings like wafers, chocolate sprinkles, fruit and ice cream to make this special, puffed-up pancake your own.
Ice cream flavours are vast, and there’s a good range of sorbets for vegans and the lactose intolerant to enjoy too.
Ducie Street Warehouse
If you think you can manage to eat your body weight in pancakes then this might just be for you.
Ducie Street Warehouse has got unlimited servings of pancakes priced at £13.50 for 30 minutes off non-stop servings.
Their pancakes can come loaded with everything from Nutella and maple syrup to mixed berries, cinnamon sugar and more.
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Hampton and Vouis
Image: Hampton and Vouis
This cute little cafe next to Albert Square is very easy to miss, but well worth seeking out.
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 (pictured above).
There’s also a Lotus Biscoff stack, a special apple crumble and custard stack, and a Biscoff and Bueno stack. All come with vanilla ice cream on the side.
This pancake day, the Hampton and Vouis chefs have created a number of specials too. Think crab meat and smashed avocado, poached egg and lemon butter sauce, or pistachio ice cream topped with lemon syrup, white chocolate and pistachio.
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Fluffy Fluffy
Fluffy Fluffy. Credit: The Manc GroupFluffy Fluffy. Credit: The Manc Group
There are more fat, fluffy, wobbly pancakes to be found at Fluffy Fluffy, formerly known as Fuwa Fuwa, on Whitworth Street.
These are traditional handcrafted soufflé pancakes topped with flavours like matcha tiramisu, raspberry banana, and blueberry.
The Botanist
Image: The Botanist
Already famous for its hanging kebabs, The Botanist has created a pancake-friendly version to celebrate Shrove Tuesday.
Stacked high, you’ll get six miniature Scotch pancakes dressed with either marshmallows, strawberries and lemon drizzle or hot chocolate sauce and chocolate brownie chunks.
Available from 28 February to 2 March at all Manchester sites, be quick – before they’re all gone.
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Moose Coffee
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.
The only thing that could make it more authentic is if the staff split the bill for you unrequested.
The Koffee Pot
Image: The Koffee Pot
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 new premises on Oldham Street.
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It’s known for its fry ups and breakfast tacos, 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.
It’s basically a full English in a pancake stack, and who doesn’t want that?
19 Cafe Bar
Image: 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.
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.
This trendy cafe in the Northern Quarter has a solid brunch menu, including indulgent buttermilk souffle pancakes loaded with honeycomb butter and a spiced berry compote.
There are specials for pancake day 2023 too, like Nutella and strawberry, date caramel and banana, and a spiced apple compote.
Washed down with a coffee or a brunch cocktail, you can’t go wrong.
Kong’s Chicken Shop at Dogbowl
If you like a bit of fried chicken with your pancakes, it’s got to be Kong’s. Some of the best in the city, chicken here is rolled in a secret spice mix then double dredged for extra crispiness.
This pancake day, head down to Dogbowl for American style buttermilk pancakes served with either chicken, bacon and maple; berry compote, candied pecans, whipped ricotta and mint; or Caramelised banana, pecans and salted caramel ice-cream.
One of Manchester’s best restaurants is opening a ‘bread kitchen’ in Exhibition food hall
Daisy Jackson
A Michelin guide restaurant in Manchester is branching out with a new project, and this time it’s all about bread.
The team behind Another Hand will be taking over one of the kitchens in food hall Exhibition, launching Jaan, which will specialise in Persian cooking.
The new bread kitchen will focus on Wildfarmed House Flatbreads, which will come with an array of seasonal toppings.
And a lot of the produce heading to the Jaan kitchen at Exhibition will be taken from what’s not used at Another Hand around the corner.
For example, a whole sirloin that’s used for Another Hand’s ex-dairy sirloin dish will provide meat trimmings that will be turned into Jaan’s beef tartare.
The tail and trim from Another Hand’s seared trout will head to Jaan to be used in a fire-roasted sea trout fatoush salad.
And the two restaurants will share other bits of produce too, like a squash that will go into both a Winter Squash small plate at the main restaurant and a scorched summer squash dish at the food hall.
Another Hand’s famous flatbreads will be the staple on the menu at Jaan, which is moving into the beautiful kitchen on Peter Street hot on the heels of the departure of Rigatoni’s.
Jaan is a new Persian bread kitchen from the team behind Another Hand restaurant in ManchesterJaan will specialise in flatbreads
Since it launched in 2022, the restaurant’s become known as one of Manchester’s best, even earning a place in the Michelin guide.
It’s famed for its sharing plates, as well as the team’s efforts to drive sustainable practices, sourcing produce from across the north west.
Most ingredients used in the restaurant have travelled no more than 40 miles, and the bread comes from Holy Grain while the chocolate comes from Dormouse, both right next door.
Jaan will be moving in to the Exhibition food hall in Manchester
They hope that Jaan will help their sustainable credentials even more, allowing them to use up almost every scrap of produce.
Small plates will all be served with house flatbreads, and toppings will include smoked aubergine, whipper butterbean, black garlic cheese bread, ex-dairy beef tartare, and ras el hanout spiced lamb.
And larger plates will include slow-cooked lamb shank with ancient grains, grilled octopus and nduja, and chermoula chicken rice.
Chef patrons Max Yorke and Julian Pizer said: “We feel extremely privileged to be offered the opportunity to cook alongside Osma and Baratxuri at Exhibition Manchester.
“Over the last few years our small 24 cover restaurant has generated a large waitlist and we are excited to showcase our new concept to a wider audience.
“Most importantly, as we make more steps to improve our environmental standards, our food waste systems showed an obvious area in which we could develop.
“By opening a second kitchen in such a fast paced venue we can take unused produce from Another Hand and even further reduce, and hopefully eradicate, our wastage.”
Jaan Persian Bread Kitchen will open within Exhibition on 8 May, joining Osma and Baratxuri on the venue’s restaurant floor.
Gary Neville lines up Michelin star chef for his Stock Exchange Hotel restaurant
Daisy Jackson
Gary Neville has announced a new restaurant within his five-star Stock Exchange Hotel, which will open almost a year after the previous eatery announced its shock closure.
The magnificent dining room at the heart of the hotel was previously home to Tom Kerridge’s The Bull & Bear, which closed at the end of 2022.
It was then replaced by Stock Market Grill, a restaurant by the award-winning Schofield brothers (who operate officially the best bar in the UK) – but that was open for only a matter of months.
Thankfully, the Manchester United legend and property mogul now has grand plans for the Stock Exchange’s restaurant offering, roping in two-time Michelin star chef Niall Keating.
Niall will be launching Tender this summer, a luxury dining experience ‘named after the tender care put into crafting each dish’.
There’ll be gourmet food for everyday dining within the hotel’s historic dining room, which will undergo a renovation before Tender’s launch.
Its menu will offer weekday brasserie lunches, a la carte dinners, afternoon teas, Sunday roasts, a chef’s table and a special tasting menu.
The Stock Exchange Hotel is home to one of Manchester’s most beautiful restaurant spaces. Credit: The Manc GroupThe Stock Exchange Hotel is home to one of Manchester’s most beautiful restaurant spaces. Credit: The Manc Group
Niall Keating at just 33 years old has already earned two Michelin stars, making him one of the youngest two-time Michelin star chefs in the UK.
His CV has included stints in kitchens at the best restaurants in the world, including Restaurant Sat Bains and Benu in San Francisco (a three Michelin-star spot).
He then headed to The Dining Room at Whatley Manor Hotel, where he earned his first star in 2017 and a second in 2019, as well as a prestigious Green Star in 2021 which recognises sustainability practices.
Speaking about today’s announcement, Gary Neville, owner of Stock Exchange Hotel, said: “We couldn’t be happier to be partnering with Niall Keating for Tender and bringing his culinary expertise to the hotel.
“His vision to create versatile and accessible dining options is exactly what we’ve been looking for, to allow everyone visiting Tender to find the right experience for them.”
Niall Keating added: “From when I first walked through the doors of the hotel into the dining room, I knew this was the place for me and that we could create something really special.
“I immediately felt connected to both Gary and General Manager, Tracy Harrison, and I knew what I wanted to create at the hotel and restaurant. I want a space that feels vibrant, warm and energetic, that brings to life the history of the stock exchange roots of the hotel, while providing an upscale and comfortable brasserie dining experience.
“In addition to the main dining room, we will also be opening ‘The Bank’, which is a beautiful private space for up to 12 guests, where we will be providing a truly exceptional dining experience.”
Gary added: “We will also shortly be announcing a series of events and live music experiences, including a weekly music plan, within Tender, that will really bring the venue to life, making it the heart of Stock Exchange Hotel.”
Tender restaurant at the Stock Exchange Hotel will officially open on 5 June.
Its opening hours will be Wednesday to Saturday, midday to 10pm, and Sundays midday to 7.30pm.