There are only so many conversations you can have about bakeries in Manchester before it gets repetitive. Everyone loves Pollen, Companio, Siop Shop, The Flat Baker, Gooey, Long Boi's Bakehouse, Half Dozen Other, La Chouquette, Mayya. This is no surprise; they’re all very good bakeries. But when I set about thinking of how to make this list, it felt a bit useless to home in on places broadly established to be good, and that also stick to a certain formula that means you’re probably either getting a croissant (or French pastry in general), a cookie, or, God forbid, a crookie.
The list below is by no means exhaustive, and there are some things I’d love to recommend but can’t seem to locate. Take a vanilla slice, for example — who is making good vanilla slices? If you know, seriously, email me. But I tried to come up with a simple set of criteria: Places cropping up less often in your average top ten, places that aren’t regularly plagued with queues, and most importantly, places that I keep going back to, regularly. To me, that’s the true barometer of how much you like something. I’ve also kept within central Manchester (for now), for simplicity’s sake. I hope to be of use. If I’m not, well, you have my email.
Just Natas
I’ve been to the Arndale Market a lot recently — for a piece about its traders having their leases discontinued by the council. Each morning I saw the rows of Pastel De Natas at Just Natas get pulled fresh out of the oven, the custard still warm in the centre, dusted with cinnamon and arranged in quaint little boxes.
If you’re ever within a half-mile radius of the markets at around 10am, you should go get a nata while it’s hot, ideally with an espresso, and eat it in the sun in Exchange Square. The puff pastry is airy and crackly and the custard is perfectly set. They also do a few specials — a Manchester tart variant with raspberry and coconut, some topped with crumbles or granolas — but I like to keep it simple.
Lottie’s bakehouse
When Ho’s Bakery — which had served some of the best char sui pork buns for £1.50 on Faulkner Street — closed after 41 years in late 2021, I experienced something as close to grief as one can feel about a business. Yes, Wong Wong’s Bakery was there, literally just across the way on Princess St, and it's still there and it’s good. But I only really felt like something came close to what Ho’s had going for it when I got a hot char sui pork bun from Lottie’s Bakehouse, which opened last September in Charlotte House on the other side of Chinatown.
The buns have a light gloss and sweetness, the pork inside is preternaturally savoury and you still get the odd crag and crisp of rendered fat. They also have a pretty strong selection of patisserie: A take on a pastel de nata where the puff is laminated and thicker, almost like a croissant shell, and a Paris-Brest with pistachio crème.
Holy Grain
It’s easy to miss Holy Grain, with its spot up on Deansgate Mews. The inside is spartan, and there’s no front.
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