Tasty toasties, cakes, seasonal drinks, and more all feature on the new 2024 autumn menus at a handful of popular high street coffee shop chains.
As summer draws to a close and the colder months edge closer, it’s not uncommon the high street’s best-loved coffee shop chains to unveil their limited-edition autumn menus around this time to help get us in the spirit.
Thankfully, Costa, Greggs, Starbucks, and Pret have all delivered so far.
Chicken and chorizo paninis, hog roast toasties, salt beef baguettes, salted caramel chocolate cakes, stem ginger cookies, and pumpkin spice doughnuts are just a selection of the mouthwatering foodie treats forming part of the new seasonal menus that you’ll soon be able to tuck into at each of the chains.
And of course, what would autumn be without pumpkin spice lattes? The cult-classic drink is now on the menu in both hot and cold format at Greggs, Pret, and its original home, Starbucks.
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Costa, Greggs, and more have unveiled their new autumn menus for 2024 / Credit: Costa
Over at Costa, there’s a wide range of new items having been added to the lineup for the next couple of months, with some of the highlights being the Brie, Bacon, and Chilli Jam Panini, the Chilli Beef and Cheddar Toastie, a Sticky Pecan Mini Loaf, and a spooky iced gingerbread ghost biscuit, perfect for little ones or as a sweet snack.
Alongside the newbies, Costa’s fan-favourite Hog Roast Toastie, Roast Chicken and Bacon Sandwich, and Chocolate and Salted Caramel Cake will also be returning, as will the massively-popular Maple Hazel drinks range.
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At Greggs, there’s a stunning selection of pumpkin spice treats to choose from, including the Pumpkin Spice Doughnut and classic Pumpkin Spice Latte, as well as other seasonal hot drinks like the Orange Mocha and Orange Hot Chocolate, and the much-loved Salted Caramel Latte, while when it comes to savoury options, there’s a new Mexican Bean and Spicy Cheese Flatbread, and an All-Day Breakfast Baguette to see you through the day.
The limited-edition menus are full of tasty toasties, sweet treats, and seasonal drinks / Credit: Pret | Greggs
Pret has also joined the pumpkin spice and salted caramel bandwagon for another year, with both lattes returning yet again, but some of the stand-out new additions to its menu include the Mushroom Florentine Toastie, the Beef & Horseradish Baguette, the Cinnamon Crown, and Spiced Apple & Pecan Muffin.
Starbucks is yet to fully unveil its new autumn menu, but is expected to do so very soon so make sure to keep your eyes peeled.
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However, what we do know is that the original Pumpkin Spice Latte is already back in all its glory.
Greggs and Pret’s new autumn menus are now available to tuck into for a limited time only, while Costa’s launches nationwide this Thursday (5 September), and Starbucks will be in due course.
Featured Image – Costa
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Andy Burnham’s favourite Manchester pub, restaurant, neighbourhood and Sunday roast
Daisy Jackson
Andy Burnham’s favourite pub, restaurant, neighbourhood, and Sunday roast have been revealed – and the man’s got taste.
Old footage of now-PM Andy Burnham chatting to content creator Isaac Likes has been doing the rounds again, and while the interview dates back to before Andy left us and headed down to the big smoke, his Manchester recommendations still stand.
From his go-to neighbourhood and favourite pub to where he heads for a Sunday roast, and even the song he likes to play when he gets behind the decks, Burnham gave us a glimpse into his ideal Manchester day.
First up, there’s the Northern Quarter, which Burnham reckons has to be his favourite neighbourhood in the city.
He said: “Got to be the Northern Quarter. It’s the place where it’s all happening.”
When it comes to food, he singled out Firehouse, sitting on the edge of the Northern Quarter, as one of his favourite places to eat. He also gave a shoutout to its sister venue Ramona, where he’s been known to get behind the decks.
Andy said: “On the edge of the Northern Quarter, Firehouse is a place I love to go. Ramona Pizza, I’ve DJ’d there – if the mayor DJs there it’s gotta be alright.”
For a proper pint, Burnham’s choice is a little more traditional, saying his favourite pub is the ‘proper old school’ Peveril of the Peak.
The beautiful tiled pub was recently named the best in the UK, just days before its legendary landlady Nancy passed away.
When Sunday rolls around, Burnham said he has a couple of options up his sleeve. The Wharf in Castlefield gets a mention, as does Edinburgh Castle up in Ancoats.
The Peveril of the Peak pub in ManchesterThe Edinburgh CastleFirehouseSome of Andy Burnham’s favourite places in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group
He said: “We love our gravy, we drink it by the pint in Manchester.”
Of course, no conversation with Burnham about Manchester would be complete without talking music.
Asked to name the best Manchester band of all time, he offered a few contenders – The Smiths, New Order, and, ultimately, The Stone Roses.
“The band I think are quintessentially Manchester is The Stone Roses. That was peak Manchester,” he said.
Manchester romcom Finding Emily is currently one of the best-reviewed films of 2026 so far
Emily Sergeant
A new romcom that is set, was filmed in, and actually romanticises Manchester is soon to be released overseas.
If you haven’t had the chance to see Finding Emily for yourself yet, the film is set in Manchester at the fictional Manchester City University and tells the story of a lovesick musician, played by Spike Fearn, who meets his dream girl named Emily on a night out.
Sadly though, he ends up with the wrong phone number for Emily, and so teams up with a driven psychology student, played by Angourie Rice, in a bid to find her.
Together, the unlikely duo spark a hilarious campus-wide frenzy that tests their own hearts and ambitions along the way.
The film – which is directed by Alicia MacDonald, based on a screenplay by Rachel Hirons, and produced by Working Title Films – is filled with notable local locations dotted throughout, from Manchester Central Library and Piccadilly Records, to Canal Street, the Northern Quarter, and even the Emmeline Pankhurst statue in St Peter’s Square featured for all to see.
Oh, and not to mention, if you keep your eyes peeled when watching the trailer, you can even see a small clip of Stockport band Blossoms playing a gig in there too.
Finding Emily was released here in the UK back in May, and received overwhelmingly positive reviews from fans and critics, including by The Manc Group team when we were lucky enough to see it at the Manchester premiere.
And ahead of its international release this week (Friday 26 August), those reviews have remained as glowing as ever.
In fact, over on major film review platform Rotten Tomatoes, the film stands at 95% on the ‘tomatometer’, meaning it’s one of the highest-rated romcoms of the decade so far.
That also makes it one of the best-reviewed movies of the entire year, in addition to its record score for the genre itself, as only two other films released in 2026 have retained scores higher than it – thrilling Hong Kong action film, The Furious, with a score of 98%, and the uniquely hilarious Olivia Wilde directed and starring, The Invite, with a score of 97%.
Unfortunately, box office projections for Finding Emily are pretty low for the weekend over in the US, as it has to contend with continuing big-hitters like Spider-Man: Brand New Day and The Odyssey.
But it says a lot that this fun-filled original romcom set in our incredible city is more critically acclaimed than those two blockbusters based on existing IP.
Critics say Finding Emily ‘makes a tried-and-true formula feel brand new’, and to us, that’s about as good as you can get.
Finding Emily is no longer in UK cinemas, so if you would like to check it out, you can currently buy or rent the film on Amazon Prime UK, the Sky Store, or the Virgin Media Store.
Emily Sergeant -
4th September 2024 
