Best Bakeries in Manchester

Not that long ago, finding a really good bakery in Manchester meant knowing exactly where to look. 

These days, the city is packed with them, always in the most inconspicuous spots. Railway arches have become bakery destinations, former industrial units are turning out some of the city’s best pastries and sleepy suburban corners now attract queues before most people have finished their first coffee. What was once a handful of well-kept secrets has grown into one of the most exciting bakery scenes in the country. 

Frankly, Manchester has become a bit ridiculous for producing baked goods. These are ten of our favourites. 

Pollen Bakery 

If you’ve ever walked past Pollen on a Saturday morning, you already know what we’re about to say. 

There is nearly always a queue. And that should tell you everything you need to know. 

What started in a Manchester railway arch has become one of the city’s biggest and best bakery names, with people happily waiting around for croissants, sourdough and pastries that usually disappear quicker than planned. 

The Kampus site is especially good for a slow morning by the water, coffee in hand, pretending you’re only getting one thing from the counter. Good luck with that. Something laminated, seasonal and anything accompanied by their infamous croissant butter is an absolute must. 

Pollen is the bakery that made half of Manchester decide queuing for a pastry is a completely reasonable use of a weekend. Annoyingly, they were right. 

Companio 

There comes a point when you’ve bought enough bread from the same bakery that it stops feeling like a treat and starts feeling like a habit. 

This is probably how Companio gets you. 

It usually starts with an almond croissant. Maybe a viennoiserie. Maybe a loaf because you’re already there. Hey, why not push the boat out for some sourdough? Nothing serious. 

A few weeks later, you’re making unnecessary detours on the way home and wondering why supermarket bread suddenly feels so disappointing. Mention Companio to somebody who goes regularly, and you’ll rarely get a simple recommendation either. You’ll get a detailed

explanation of what to order, what time to arrive and what sold out before they got there last Saturday. 

Then one day you have that sudden realisation… You’re the one doing the exact same thing. 

Not enough to start naming a sourdough starter. Just enough to become slightly insufferable in the bakery aisle. 

Mayya 

Half the conversation about Mayya is explaining where it is. The other half is explaining why the journey is worth it. 

There are good recommendations, and then there are “Trust me, just get in the car” recommendations. In Mayya’s case, that usually means detailed directions to an industrial estate in Salford and somebody insisting you’ve not taken a wrong turn. Thank God for What.3.Words. 

Step inside, and the conversation quickly moves on from the location. Simit hangs from the counter, menemen arrives sizzling at the table, and every second person seems to be walking away with something pistachio-related. The Basque cheesecake isn’t exactly helping people leave empty-handed either. 

Suddenly, the industrial estate doesn’t seem like an obstacle. It seems like a very reasonable place to spend a Saturday morning. 

Siop Shop 

For our Welsh readers, this won’t come as much of a surprise, but Siop translates to shop. Which means the Northern Quarter favourite is essentially called Shop Shop. A strong start if you ask us, and that’s before you even saw the doughnuts. I don’t know why that makes us like it even more, but it does. 

Sitting on Tib Street, this Northern Quarter favourite has built its reputation on coffee, doughnuts and bakes that always seem to have a bit of personality about them. 

The doughnuts are the main event. Big, glossy, properly filled and usually much harder to resist than whatever sensible plan you had in your head before walking in. 

It’s got that lovely NQ feel too. And it’s almost impossible to remain a stranger, with their eclectic and ever-changing doughnuts giving you that perfect excuse to revisit. 

Long Boi’s 

Some bakeries belong to a neighbourhood. Long Boi’s feels like the neighbourhood belongs to the bakery. 

There is a certain smugness that comes with having somewhere like this on your doorstep, and Levenshulme has every right to feel it.

Attempts to keep Long Boi’s to themselves have been largely unsuccessful. 

If the bakery world has rules, Long Boi’s seems happy treating most of them as suggestions. Founded by former Pollen baker Jenny Oakenfull and run by an all-female team, it’s the sort of place where pandan lamingtons sit comfortably alongside everything bagel croissants. Putting an everything bagel inside a croissant shouldn’t work. Yet here we are. 

If you’ve ever considered a move to Levenshulme, Long Boi’s isn’t helping.

Gooey 

We’ve yet to meet anyone who walks into Gooey and orders sensibly. 

Everything here feels like it was made to be a treat, rather than a polite bite with their coffee. Expect huge cookies, soft doughnuts, cinnamon rolls, brunch plates and the kind of bakes that make “I’ll just have a coffee please” feel like a lie before you’ve even reached the counter. 

Their cookies are the obvious star. Thick, rich and exactly as gooey as the name promises. No false advertising here. 

Walk in for one thing and leave with a box. We’ve all been there. Some of us more than once. Always with no regrets. 

Barbakan 

Barbakan was making great bread before half the bakeries on this list existed. There are bakeries. There are delis. There are Polish food shops. Then there’s Barbakan. 

This beloved bakery sits in that rare category of place that feels both well-known and oddly overlooked at the same time. Everybody seems to know it’s there, yet people are still kicking themselves for not visiting sooner. 

More than 50 breads sit alongside cakes, pastries and Polish specialities, but the most impressive thing might be the mix of people inside. Some customers have been coming here for decades, and first-timers wonder how they’ve managed to miss it. 

La Chouquette 

Not everybody can disappear to the French Riviera for coffee and pastries at the drop of a hat. Fortunately, Didsbury has a fantastic backup plan. 

La Chouquette has spent years perfecting the art of French baking. Everything is made from scratch each day using traditional techniques, with baguettes, chouquettes, madeleines and pastries that wouldn’t look out of place much closer to the Côte d’Azur. 

The temptation to stand nose-to-glass in front of the display cabinets is entirely understandable. Somehow, that’s not even the best part. Once your takeaway box is in

hand, you’re only a short walk from Fletcher Moss, Didsbury Park or Fog Lane if you’re looking for somewhere to enjoy it. 

The French Riviera may be a stretch. For a Saturday morning in south Manchester, though, it’ll do very nicely. 

Half Dozen Other 

Some bakeries are about the sweet stuff. Half Dozen Other is where Manchester’s bread people go. 

The first time you buy a loaf from Half Dozen Other, there is a real risk of becoming annoying about bread. Suddenly, you’re talking about crusts, you’re thinking about butter on the way home, and you’ve already got your bannetons on Amazon Prime. 

But the pastries on offer in their brick-coloured shed bakehouse deserve just as much attention. Croissants, seasonal bakes and savoury brioche buns make it far too easy for a quick stop to turn into a full breakfast situation. 

Half Dozen Other doesn’t need to make a big song and dance about what it does. The bread does most of the talking. 

Wong Wong 

Your first visit to Wong Wong can be a slightly humbling experience. 

While you’re still trying to work out what everything is, somebody else has already ordered half a dozen buns and vanished back onto Princess Street without breaking stride. 

Char siu buns, pineapple buns, custard buns and egg tarts fill the counters, bringing a little taste of Hong Kong to the heart of Chinatown. The regulars move through the queue like they’ve been doing it for years. 

Give it one visit, and you’ll understand why. Give it two, and you’ll probably find yourself pointing confidently at the cabinet like you’ve been coming here for years.