The best: Breakfast and brunch spots around Manchester

Know across generations of Mancunians for ‘creating and curing hangovers since 1978’, the Oldham Street stalwart offers one of the city’s best no-nonsense British Caff menus with a judicious dose of American diner indulgence.

Menu highlights include the Manc Muffin, Turkish Eggs, All-American Pancakes and their beloved fry up selection, prepared three ways per the crucially distinct variations of the British Isles.

Winner of Coffee Shop of the Year at the 2025 Manchester Food & Drink Awards, Another Heart to Feed uses fresh local produce and ethically sourced speciality coffee beans to guarantee one of town’s best brunches, with Melbourne’s world-renowned cafe scene as its muse.

The menu brings together breakfast staples from around the world, with highlights including dhal eggs, Shakshuka, Matcha French toast and smoked salmon, as well as the option to enjoy two eggs prepared your way on toasted sourdough.

Located on Goods Yard, the award-winning London import serves a mixture of classic and innovative dishes across their breakfast and brunch menus, from fresh fruit, grain bowls and fry ups to jalapeno cornbread with fried egg, chorizo and potato hash and chargrilled lamb parsley chop, all of which promise culinary elevation via globally-inspired flavours.

Over on Ancoats’ thrumming bistro-lined plaza, Elnecot reinforces its well-earned status as a specialist in high-end ingredients with a refined array of morning staples, with highlights including the breakfast sandwich, crispy pork belly with hash browns, Savoy kimchi, fried eggs and chilli jam, and a full English featuring ‘Grandad’s sausages’, Bury black pudding, fried eggs, smoked streaky bacon, sourdough and all the trimmings.

Vegan options available.

Inspired by Kiwi and Aussie neighbourhood hangouts, Federal is instantly recognisable by the lengthy queue usually seen trailing down the street from its doorstep. Now with locations on Deansgate, Oxford Road, the Northern Quarter and in Altrincham, the region-wide favourite showcases quality and freshness with ingredients from sustainable and ethically sourced suppliers.

Breakfast and all-day brunch menu highlights include lemon curd porridge, acai bowls, Turkish eggs and halloumi and mushrooms on sourdough toast, as well as free-flowing, hand-brewed, single-source, seasonal origin coffee.

Leaving it as late as is reasonable and then some, the laid back and intimate Tib Street favourite Evelyn’s keeps brunch going until 5pm, with menu highlights including duck hash, shakshuka and the obligatory avocado toast, alongside vegan options ranging from superfood bowls to house wholenut granola.

Drawing its name from the cycling vernacular for a rider going flat-out, the former bike repair shop and cafe has blossomed into a beloved neighbourhood brunch spot with a reputation for its homemade doughnuts, premium spins on brunch staples, breakfast brioche rolls and expansive lunch fare – they even do their own Filet-o-Fish – as well as occasional evening dining events hosted by guest chefs.

Another restaurant which mercifully stretches its brunch menu beyond the afternoon, with a variety of topped pancake stacks available all day, Ezra & Gil serve everything from simple yet elevated sausage sandwiches and three types of eggs benedict to a classic Full English and vibrant vegan porridge, with slight menu tweaks between its Hilton Street and Peter Street premises.

Pollen, based in Ancoats and Kampus, enjoys an enduring semi-viral presence across social media round-up reels for its pastries, cakes and breakfast buns loaded with sausage, egg, homemade hash browns and more, alongside an array of inexpressibly decadent Viennese pastries.

Next door to the legendary Vinyl Exchange, the speciality coffee house Fig & Sparrow brings soothing Scandi simplicity to the Northern Quarter while promising a restoratively tranquil brunch in an unrivalled people-watching location. Alongside exquisite coffee and an endless assortment of loose leaf teas, diners can sample a range of all-day breakfast plates including traditional English breakfasts, brioche french toast in a berry sauce and whipped goat’s cheese with truffle oil, topped with fresh figs, hazelnut and thyme.

Another widely loved mainstay that infuses Up North with the sun-drenched serenity of Down Under, Pot Kettle Black offers an easy-going brunch with diverse, generously portioned dishes to delight every taste. Their all-day menu features parmesan and truffle scrambled eggs, bruschetta focaccia, biscoff french toast and more, with a dedicated eggs benedict bar at their Angel Gardens premises.

For anyone on the hunt for one of Manchester’s best pastries, Pot Kettle Black’s baked selection comes courtesy of Red Bank gem Half Dozen Other.

While it may share a name with the deliriously popular Chorlton tapas bar, Stockport’s Cafe Sanjuan has long since stamped its singular presence onto South Manchester’s culinary landscape with its authentic and irresistible Colombian-Caribbean breakfast cuisine.

Alongside speciality coffee imported directly from Colombia, Sanjuan serves a sprawling variety of bright, traditional dishes including cheese-topped sweetcorn pancake cachapas, breakfast burritos, stuffed empanadas, pulled chicken and sausage sandwiches and a Full Colombian, which swaps out the Richmonds and Heinz for habanero sausages, mixed beans and perico scrambled eggs.

Leading with a seasonal menu where everything – everything – is made in-house, South Manchester’s bustling artisanal cafe and eatery Blanchflower serves an extensive selection of achingly pretty breakfast and brunch plates on weekday mornings and until 4pm every weekend.

Bakery dishes include Blanchflower maple granola, seasonal fruit, orange gel and yoghurt, and brioche French toast with either blood orange curd, vanilla and almond whipped mascarpone or crispy cry cured streaky bacon with blueberries and maple syrup. Other highlights include the Blanchflower Fry, smoked salmon and buttered spinach eggs benedict and Merguez sausage and potato hash with harissa pepper and onion with a fried hen’s egg.

Open since 2015, the cosy Prestwich brunch spot, bar and local ‘gathering place’ provides a relaxed hangout built on a casual atmosphere, with speciality coffee on hand throughout the day and a brunch menu featuring granola, avocado toast, classic breakfasts and even breakfast tacos until 3pm from Wednesday to Monday.