The 13 best breakfast and brunch spots in Manchester

This Northern Quarter institution may have moved around the corner from its original Stevenson Square address but it remains the area’s destination of choice for hangover-banishing breakfasts. This is no ordinary greasy spoon – the interior features vibrant street art (credit is due to local artist Hammo) and spacious red booths, while the full English includes black pudding at no extra charge to those who dig it. Tea, filter coffee and hot Vimto are joined by beers and Bloody Marys behind the bar. Breakfast pint, anyone?

Medlock Canteen is one of the newest additions to the glittering skyscraper corner of Manchester known as Deansgate Square. It comes from the team behind Liverpool’s much loved neighbourhood bistro Belzan who can seemingly do no wrong with the North West foodie contingent – they just keep on getting things so right. Medlock’s interiors are giving modern diner chic with tiles in muted colours, mid-century shapes and wooden panelling. The main menu is a masterclass in simplicity that’s impressed critics up and down the country, but don’t snooze on breakfast where standout dishes include a duck egg hash studded with confit duck and a fried chicken eggs benny with hot sauce. 

This Northern Quarter stalwart serves all manner of breakfast classics and a very welcome all-day brunch menu. From carefully poached eggs to beans and sausage (veggie if you prefer), full breakfasts and even lemon cheesecake French toast if you’re feeling fancy, Ezra & Gil offers a great range for those seeking something hearty after a bit too much party. Or even if you just want something delicious to get the day off to a great start. 

Affordable, friendly and serving one of the best flat whites in the city: it doesn’t get much better than Idle Hands. This cheeky coffee and pie spot has a fab breakfast selection, but the hash brown stack is a must. Order a base of two triple-cooked homemade hash browns for a fiver, then go to town with as many toppings as you dare. Poached egg, bacon, homemade cowboy beans, avo, cheese, jalapenos, sausage: they’re all around £1 to £2. Order the lot and regret nothing.

You need to head to the unsung town of Stalybridge in Tameside for this breakfast but it is well worth the train ride and the station istelf has gorgeous views and a cracking real ale pub. Gladstone Barber & Bistro is just a few minutes walk from the station and here you will find a glossy, modern space which is, you guessed it, part barbershop and part bistro. The food here is Palestinian meets modern British, so expect the usual poached eggs and avo punctuated with Palestinian pizazz; think pulled lamb shawarma with your brekkie hash, falafel on your veggie breakfast and sumac hollandaisse drizzled over your eggs benny. There’s also a baklava French toast with pistachio and rose water. Run, don’t walk.

Prestwich continues to impress with its burgeoning restaurant scene and the brunch menu at All the Shapes is one of the area’s culinary highlights. It serves a good range of stuff, from granola to toast through to full English and, a particular favourite, the sumptuous Turkish eggs. It’s served from Thursday to Monday, 9am to 4pm, and the coffee is great too.

Dishoom might have evolved into a UK mega chain, but its breakfast offering remains tip-top. Familiar items like granola, the humble omelette or a bacon roll are given an exquisite eastern twist, with Asian spices firing up the flavours. There are plenty of vegan options too, including a full fry-up with tofu scramble. Served daily from 8am (9am at weekends) until noon, if you want familiarity, comfort, and the knowledge that it will be just as good as always, this is a solid bet. 

Just around the corner from the shops and crowds of Market Street, Moose is a fantastic place to get away from the city-centre bustle. The menu is extensive and will probably make more indecisive folk a bit stressed. Rest assured, though, you could pick something with a blindfold on and rarely go wrong. The fluffy pancakes, quite rightly, have a dedicated fanbase.

It’s all here at this bustling food market (named after Ivie Mackie, the mayor/alderman who opened the place as a meat market in 1856, fact fans). High-quality sausage sandwiches from Tender Cow, confit duck leg waffle from Rotisserie, mind-blowing pastries and flat whites from Wolf House Coffee... bagsy one of the huge tables and order from your favourite. A crowd-pleaser, but in the best possible way.

Manchester’s Northern Quarter isn’t short on quirk – both in its venues and those who frequent them – and Sugar Junction’s attention to vintage detail has to be applauded. Afternoon tea is its forte but the eggs benedict and florentine are great too, plus there’s delightfully indulgent coffee and pistachio or caramel biscoff French toast. The coffee is excellent and breakfast is served until 5pm.

Tucked away in West Didsbury, you’ll find plenty of choice at this café with a mildly hippyish vibe (and an excellent name, we approve). Ingredients are locally sourced and veggies will be in their element. The Veg Out breakfast is appropriately massive (chargrilled halloumi, homemade hash browns and all the trimmings). Other options include duck eggs benedict, an ace vegan fry-up and breakfast burritos.

Achingly cool decor is the first thing that hits you about Trove. Next is the food. Happily, this joint nails both style and substance. Expect all your breakfast staples, but with elevated ingredients: sausages are spicy merguez; french toast is made with croissant loaf and poached rhubarb; eggs royale is served with tea-smoked trout. Add a Bloody Mary for £5, grab a cake to take away and you’re set up for the day.

For a proper blowout, the Northern Quarter’s Pen and Pencil offers a bottomless brunch that just keeps coming and coming. So do the drinks. Given that, it would be easy for a venue to skimp on the quality, but be assured that is not the case here. The high standard of the food is maintained throughout the endless dishes landing on your table.