The freshest filter coffee, the nicest carrot cake or the best bacon butties - every café in Manchester has its speciality. Some are very good for curing a nasty hangover, others are perfect to chat with your bestie for hours. This blogpost is particulary about coffee houses that are excellent to work from.
If you don’t have a desk at home or you simply need a change of scenery working from a café is an awesome idea. Personally, I enjoy the company of strangers while sitting behind my laptop. Also a brew and a slice of cake will keep me motivated during a productive day. Nevertheless, not every coffee house is suitable as a office alternative. Some are just too noisy or hectic. Others won’t tolerate someone occupying a table for hours. So here is a list of what I think are the best cafés to work from in Manchester.
Takk – 6 Tariff Street -Northern Quarter
With its vintage school desks, two window seats and a long table in the centre the islandic inspired café Takk has the perfect layout. It offers enough intimacy but still you get a feeling of sitting in a shared work space. The atmosphere is friendly and relaxed, the music is not too loud, neither too quiet. Worth to mention is that Takk offers delicious speciality coffee which will keep you from falling asleep on your keyboard. Yummy cakes, brownies and cookies make the perfect mid-shift treat.
Cathedral Café – Cathedral Yard – Deansgate
Tucked away from the busy high street the Cathedral Café is a good spot to enjoy a cup of tea and get your head into work mode. Big windows assure you will get a bright spot in every corner of the room. Thanks to the calm and relaxed ambiente staying focused is easy. The café does not only offer exquisite cakes, teas and views on Manchester’s cathedral. Under the same roof you can marvel at a mediaevel bridge.
Chapter One – 19 Lever Street – Northern Quarter
This is one for the passionate readers, freelance writers and part-time poets. Chapter One really feels like a creative co-working space paired with cosy lounge vibes. Take a seat in one of the comfortable arm chairs or at a desk at the window. If you need a break from your screen just watch the world go by.
Ezra & Gil – 20 Hilton Street – Northern Quarter
Been to the library all morning? Sick of silence and your stomache is empty? Then head to Ezra & Gil in the Northern Quarter for a food-fueled and productive afternoon. Designated laptop areas and window front seats are perfect for cracking on with your to-do-list. Meanwhile order some delicious and healthy lunch to keep you going through that midday low.
Fig & Sparrow – 20 Oldham Street – Northern Quarter
This one I would call „The Allrounder“: Date? Go to Fig & Sparrow! Friends visit? Show them Fig & Sparrow! Deadline ahead? Go to Fig & Sparrow! To me, this little coffee place has just the right atmosphere for all sorts of reasons. The wooden booths invite to long conversations, colaborations, solo-cake-excursions. If you are lucky, you can grab one of the popular window seats. If you are even luckier the sun might come out and you can enjoy a little screen break al fresco.
There you have five of my favourite cafés in Manchester to work from. Please let me know your recommendations in the comments below!
