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.
Team behind award-winning Higher Ground to open new Bar Shrimp seafood bar in Manchester
Daisy Jackson
Higher Ground, one of Manchester’s very top restaurants, is to open a brand-new seafood bar later this year.
With Bar Shrimp, they’ll be bringing a brand-new offering to town, with cocktails, beers on tap, British seafood and snacks.
Bar Shrimp will come from Daniel Craig Martin, Joseph Otway and Richard Cossins, who at this point are a well-oiled operational machine.
They’re the team behind proudly British bistro Higher Ground, which grows much of its own produce at its Cinderwood Market Garden and earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand within a year of opening.
The same team are also behind Flawd, the beautiful waterside wine bar at Ancoats Marina.
And they’ve cemented themselves as one of Manchester’s most widely acclaimed hospitality teams – even Rick Stein says Higher Ground is one of the best places to eat in the entire country, which is high praise indeed.
Bar Shrimp, set to open in Manchester this winter, aims to be a ‘relaxed and focused bar with delicious food’.
They say: “Whether it’s a beer after work, some food with friends or after dinner drinks late into the night, Bar Shrimp will be a dynamic space where the music and energy evolves throughout the evening where everyone and anyone can come together for a memorable experience.”
They announced the news this morning on Cerys Matthews’ BBC 6Music Show.
British seafood with a side of cocktails? Sounds alright to us.
A location, opening date and more info on Bar Shrimp will follow – stay up to date with their latest HERE.
The 5 best places to go for a matcha in Manchester
Daisy Jackson
Matcha fever has the nation gripped at the minute – it feels like half the country has turned its back on flat whites in favour of the popular green tea drink.
This pretty Japanese beverage might have been around for centuries, but it’s having a bit of a new moment here in Manchester and finding a whole new wave of fans.
With the global success of brands like Blank Street, you can barely walk down the street without passing someone sipping something green.
So we’ve decided to pull together five local spots in Manchester who are doing the very best matcha in town, from the very traditional to the very playful.
Know of somewhere we’ve missed? Drop us a DM on our The Manc Eats Instagram page HERE.
Ohayo Tea, Chinatown
Matcha bubble tea and soft serve at Ohayo Tea in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group
This adorable bubble tea cafe in Chinatown has a Shiba Inu dog as its mascot, and you’ll find his face carved into the walls, waffles in the shape of his head, and a giant dog statue bursting out of the wall.
Ohayo Tea serve a complex take on a matcha drink that plays into their bubble tea expertise – expect your matcha to come layered with tapioca pearls, cheese foam, pistachio foam, and plenty more options too.
These drinks come with instructions – tilt your branded cup (the Shiba is back) it to at least 45 degrees to get every layer at once, or, if you insist, use a thick straw to mix it all together.
You can also get matcha soft serve here with shards of honeycomb stuck to it. Delightful.
Just Between Friends, Ancoats and Northern Quarter
Matcha drinks at Just Between Friends, Ancoats. Credit: The Manc Group
If you’re someone who actually likes matcha to taste of matcha, rather than of all sorts of syrups and other add-ons, turn to one of the city’s best coffee shops.
At Just Between Friends – which has locations tucked into an old mill in Ancoats as well as right on Tib Street in the Northern Quarter – matcha is whisked properly with a traditional bamboo whisk, before being added to steamed or chilled milk.
The result is either a warm, smooth drink served in an earthenware cup, or a refreshing iced matcha.
You can wedge yourself into a window seat or even sit on the cobbled archway outside and imagine you’ve transported yourself to a Tokyo backstreet.
We’d love to tell you the opening hours and location of this pop-up matcha hotspot, but it tends to shift around Manchester a bit.
It’s worth tracking down though – Matcha Kyoto is importing speciality ingredients all the way from Kyoto and doing everything as authentically as possible.
With matcha whipped cream, matcha lattes, matcha desserts and matcha toppings it’s a dream come true for matcha lovers… Is the word matcha starting to sound like gibberish to anyone else at this point?
Track their latest movements on their Instagram HERE.
Sipp, Ancoats and Deansgate Square
Sipp matcha in Ancoats. Credit: The Manc Group
If you’re new to matcha, or just know that you like yours with a little sweetness and fun, you must get a sip of Sipp’s.
These guys are based in General Stores around town, with their own coffee shop soon to open in Chorlton, and they have a whole list of ‘Matcha Cloud’ drinks.
Their best-seller is the raspberry and coconut, which tastes exactly like a lamington, or there are always specials cropping up (currently, it’s a mango and passionfruit).
This is gateway matcha – and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.
Tsujiri, Chinatown
A selection of matcha items at Tsujuri in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group
Not satisfied with simply serving matcha you can drink, Tsujiri is a Japanese tea house using this powerful ingredient in cakes, ice creams, cheesecakes and more.
Tsujiri was founded all the way back in 1860, before bringing the finest matcha lattes and infused desserts to British shores.
In Manchester, you’ll find them in the heart of Chinatown, tucked up an anonymous flight of stairs, where there are cabinets full of green sweet treats like a matcha basque cheesecake, matcha sundaes, and classic iced lattes.
Georgina Pellant -
19th February 2023 
