Manchester’s specialty coffee arrived in a rush around 2013 and 2014, when a wave of cafés opened within a few streets of each other in the Northern Quarter, and the survivors of that wave still anchor the city. Two former rugby league players opened a café in a Victorian arcade; a roaster set up in a railway arch; an Australian brunch café became an institution. This guide follows them, plus the roasters and bakers who have joined since. The list is not ranked.
Pot Kettle Black, Barton Arcade and beyond
Jon Wilkin and Mark Flanagan, former professional rugby league players, had the idea for Pot Kettle Black in 2013 and opened in Barton Arcade in October 2014 with coffee from Workshop. The website still describes the mission as brewing the best coffee and cooking up vibrant, easy-going food, with brunch that nods to the Antipodes. A kitchen followed in 2016, a bakehouse in 2018, and today there are six sites, among them the arcade original, Angel Gardens, a kitchen takeover at ASAP Coffee in the Northern Quarter, a counter at Airport Terminal 2 and the Half Dozen Other bakehouse in Red Bank.
Idle Hands, Northern Quarter
Idle Hands was established in 2014, popped up on the approach to Piccadilly station in early 2015, spent sixteen months in temporary homes and settled at Dale House in the Northern Quarter. Its menu page makes one promise in capitals: no house roaster. Espresso and the brew bar rotate through roasters from around the world, and the kitchen makes pies, from vegan cherry and pecan to Biscoff, alongside brunch, natural wine and craft beer.
ManCoCo, Castlefield
ManCoCo is a micro-roastery and coffee bar in a railway arch in Castlefield, where coffees from identifiable farms and cooperatives are hand-roasted in small batches. The Coffee Academy runs three-hour classes for four people, from brewing basics to latte art, each with a roastery tour and a bag to take home.
Federal Cafe & Bar, Northern Quarter and beyond
Federal started in Manchester in December 2014 after founder Claudio’s trip to Australia, and its website calls it the city’s favourite Australian brunch café: great coffee, fresh food, warm service, walk-ins only. The Northern Quarter original came first; a second city-centre café followed in 2019 and a third at Circle Square after that, with Altrincham Market, Leeds and York beyond. Federal sells its own blend, half Brazil with Nicaragua and Ethiopia, roasted medium-dark.
Ezra & Gil, Northern Quarter and the city centre
Established in 2014 in the Northern Quarter, Ezra & Gil describes itself as a Manchester brunch institution and a neighbourhood hang-out: coffee, provisions, brunch. A second city-centre café opened in 2021, and a Liverpool branch followed in 2024. The website names no roaster.
Takk, Northern Quarter and the university
Takk has been a specialty coffee shop and roastery since 2013 and now lists two cafés on Instagram: Takk NQ in the Northern Quarter and Takk UG at the university. Its website has lapsed, so Instagram is the official source.
Ancoats Coffee Co, Ancoats
Roasted fresh, poured daily: Ancoats Coffee Co has been an independent roastery and specialty coffee shop since 2013. It runs a Brew School through Eventbrite and celebrated ten years in 2023. Its website was offline when we checked, so Instagram is the source.
Just Between Friends, Northern Quarter and Ancoats
Just Between Friends keeps two Manchester cafés, one in the Northern Quarter and one in Beehive Mill in Ancoats, plus one in Wilmslow. The website certificate had expired when we checked, so Instagram is the official source.
Siop Shop, Northern Quarter
A café and roastery, in its own words, with a one-page website and an Instagram presence it admits is loosely monitored.
What you need to know about Manchester specialty coffee
Which Manchester coffee shops roast their own beans? ManCoCo, Ancoats Coffee Co, Takk and Siop Shop all say they roast. Idle Hands deliberately has no house roaster; Pot Kettle Black and Ezra & Gil do not name theirs.
Where can you settle in with a laptop? ManCoCo’s arch and the Barton Arcade café are the roomiest. The Northern Quarter cafés are small and busy at weekends.
Where is the brunch? Federal, Ezra & Gil and Pot Kettle Black built their reputations on it. Idle Hands adds pies.
Photo credits
Photographs belong to the businesses and are reproduced from their official websites with attribution.
