When it comes to pancakes, we already know that Manchester has some great options – but according to a new study, we apparently have two of the best pancake spots in the whole country.
In honour of Pancake Day, aka Shrove Tuesday, Betway has commissioned a new survey to list the best spots where you can treat yourself to your favourite fluffy, sugary treats up and down the UK – and two of our favourite Manchester eateries have just made the top ten.
Measuring popularity by a unique index score (generated by the number of hashtags each location has racked up on Instagram, as well as Google and Tripadvisor reviews), the survey includes American-style pancake houses as well as restaurants selling French crêpes to cover all bases.
The lower the overall index score, the higher the ranking and, with the results now in, it has been revealed that two Manchester spots feature alongside sites in Birmingham, Liverpool and Cardiff.
These are longstanding Northern Quarter cafe Evelyn’s (coming in at #8) and the ever-popular North American ‘comfort diner’ Moose Coffee (ranking at #4 and #10), which has multiple northwest sites and two in Manchester city centre – one on New York Street and a second on Piccadilly Approach.
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Image: Evelyn’s
Image: Evelyn’s
First opened in Manchester in 2013, Moose frequently attracts queues around the block and is known for its fluffy North American pancakes and Canadian-style breakfasts.
The menu here is heavily inspired by the founders’ travels in America and Canada, and owners cite iconic New York breakfast spots like Pershing Deli at the south end of Grand Central Station and Comfort Diner on 45th Street as key influences.
As a result, there’s a long list of Moose pancake stacks and benedicts served alongside classics like savoury, smooth and buttery comfort food Grits and fried potato hash – all available to eat in or, alternatively, to order to enjoy from the comfort of your couch (courtesy of Deliveroo).
As for trendy Northern Quarter cafe Evelyn’s, another longstanding fixture in Manchester city centre, you’ll find indulgent buttermilk souffle pancakes loaded with honeycomb butter and a spiced berry compote.
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There are specials for pancake day 2023 too, like Nutella and strawberry, date caramel and banana, and a spiced apple compote.
Alongside Manchester eateries, those in the neighbouring city of Liverpool also did very well with its native Bold Street Coffee (which has recently opened two new sites in Manchester) ranking at a prestigious #2.
As for the number one spot, that was scooped up by Ju Ju’s Cafe in Birmingham – an independent family run restaurant offering a selection of pancake options, from banana and salted caramel, berry, and crispy bacon and syrup.
Top 10 most popular pancake spots in the UK (index score created using figures from Tripadvisor, Google and Instagram):
Ju Ju’s Cafe, Birmingham
Bold Street Coffee, Liverpool
Barkers Tea House, Cardiff
Moose Coffee – Dale Street, Liverpool
Brasco Lounge, Liverpool
MUMS Great Comfort Food, Edinburgh
Bill’s Cardiff Central, Cardiff and Brew & Bake, Belfast
Evelyn’s, Manchester
Mesa, Glasgow
Moose Coffee – York Street, Manchester
Feature image – The Manc Group
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Get Baked owner offers lifeline to hospitality staff after sudden closure of Almost Famous
Danny Jones
The owner of viral sweet treat brand, Get Baked, has given a potential lifeline to local hospitality staff in Manchester following the sudden news of Almost Famous’ nationwide closure.
Confirmation that the Northern foodie favourites and dirty burger pioneers would be shutting down all of their sites across the country hit the likes of Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool like a freight train on a truly sad Monday mourning.
Although countless customers expressed their condolences online and bid farewell to the more than decade-old institution, the question of what is/will happen to their numerous staff was quickly put to the forefront.
With Almost Famous employees informing The Manc that they had been given no notice of the immediate closure and some still being owed wages, many have sadly found themselves in a crisis. Step up, Leeds-born baker and businessman, Rich Myers.
Yes, Yorkshire’s very own ‘Mr Sprinkles’ – who is slowly building a small but solid and superbly sweet dessert empire in the North – dropped a comment underneath our announcement post and kindly slid into our DMs to help get the word to those who need it most.
With Get Baked’s first-ever Manchester store set to open this year, Myers and his team are on the lookout for staff to make sure it hits the ground running.
That being said, upon learning of AF’s gutting closure, Myers messaged: “Hi everyone. We are opening a new site in NQ on February 28th, and want to do what we can to help any ex-AF staff get into new employment.
Although Get Baked is now planning to move to a different location in Manchester city centre, the opening date is still edging ever closer and we literally cannot wait.
The brand’s original home in Headingley has become internet-famous for its viral take on the legendary ‘Matilda cake’.
It’s unclear as to whether Get Baked have vacancies beyond Manchester but it’s still well worth expressing your interest if you don’t mind a job switch that revolves around sweet instead of savoury.
As for those who have unfortunately been let go by the long-standing burger joint, we sincerely hope that as many of them are snapped up by other local hospitality businesses as possible – and fast.
Almost Famous has been hit with a fair amount of criticism following the mass shutdown; reflecting on this and a raft of recent closures, one person wrote: “I feel sorry for the hospitality industry as a whole and Manchester. But not for AF if they treat their staff with such contempt!
A former employee added: “As a staff member who hasn’t received any direct communication from the business about the immediate redundancy of my contract and no payment of owed wages – the ‘top priority’ comment doesn’t exactly ring true.”
Featured Images — Get Baked (via Instagram)/The Manc Group
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Beloved Deansgate bar shares CCTV footage of customers stealing their… cushions?
Danny Jones
Beloved Manchester gin venue Atlas Bar has shared CCTV footage of two customers caught red-handed stealing their cushions this past weekend.
Firstly, don’t do that and secondly, what a random thing to steal.
Atlas on the corner of Deansgate has been an institution of the local hospitality scene for nearly three years, opening back in 1996 as one of the go-to pre-drinks destinations for those heading to the Hacienda.
Taken over and turned into the gin bar that’s popular day and night as we know it today back in 2012, it remains one of Manchester’s longest-standing independent boozers, so we were gutted and more than a bit puzzled to see them sharing images of patrons stealing property from their premises.
Sharing an understandably frustrated post, the bar wrote: “These two women decided that they needed to borrow (or maybe steal) two of our cushions last night [Sunday].
“We would be grateful if they brought them back soon! Hospitality is hard enough, without people taking what isn’t theirs to take! We would hate to have to involve the police.”
Now, we’re not going to play dumb and pretend people don’t nick the odd coaster or maybe even a pint pot from time to time – many of you reading might even be guilty of this minor sin (don’t worry, this isn’t an official investigation) – but we don’t think we’ve anyone try to sneak out with fabrics.
Petty theft it may be but it’s still theft nonetheless.
One commenter wrote: “Life is hard for hospitality at the moment and if they can afford to go out and drink they can afford to buy their own cushions”; another asked: “Are they expensive? – not the point I know but wondered why they would steal them.”
A third simply added, “What are people like? Fancy stealing a bloody cushion.”
As rightly pointed out by followers, there is plenty of stuff going against the food and drink sector as it is at the moment, so completely avoidable inconveniences like this are just as thoughtless as they are daft.
Atlas has been serving the local community for nearly thirty years, so we think it’s safe to say don’t deserve this kind of treatment, no matter how small it may seem to some.
Luckily for the mystery women pictured in the screengrab, the owners appear willing to welcome the pillow pillagers back to return the cushion without taking any further action and just be done with the whole thing.
Georgina Pellant -
21st February 2023 
