This is as good as it get's for your local bakery and cafe in the UK. Friendly staff, lovely…read moreenvironment and the best cakes you will taste this side of the channel. When you enter, you'll probably struggle to find seating as this local Cafe has become the hang out place for Mum'n'Kids, Pensioners and the odd student who likes a good coffee. The cakes and sandwiches which are made fresh on site are to die for! A must for any cake lover!

I absolutely ADORE Mama Bears Cakes & Bakes!!! I live in the US, and my boyfriend lives in the UK,…read moreand I wanted to send him something super special for our anniversary. After searching endlessly and fruitlessly for weeks online for someone who could make exactly what I wanted, accept payment internationally, and deliver it to my BF, I messaged Mama Bear's, and the owner is an absolute ANGEL. She worked with me to decide on exactly what to create. Even though the things I asked for aren't typically items that she makes, she told me that she was a "romantic" and would be happy to make a special order for me. She even ended up adding decorations on her own because she wanted to make it extra special! Such a lovely person to work with!!! Her husband hand-delivered the cake & chocolate-covered strawberries to my boyfriend on our anniversary and even passed along a special message. My boyfriend was totally surprised and absolutely impressed with the presentation of the gift itself. He also said that the cake and strawberries were incredibly DELICIOUS!!! He really tried to ration them out to last longer, but they were so good he couldn't help eating them within about a week and a half haha. Mama Bear is the greatest, and if you live in the area, you should DEFINITELY choose her shop! I'd be there for coffee and baked goods daily if I didn't live across the pond! haha.

As a fellow baker, I am always very critical. Not much to…read morecriticise here! From the moment we walked in and saw the fabulous photography on the wall to the minute we left with £15 worth of cakes I was a happy bunny. The lady who served us (a character all by herself!) was very helpful and packaged our cakes nicely so we got them (all) home in one piece. We over indulged in the white ganache tarts, caramel death by chocolate, a selection of chunky chocolate topped chocolate muffins, and a shortbread heart amongst some others. For my particular taste the ganache was slightly too runny, but i had a spoon so it was all good. The chunky chocolate topped muffins were varied from chunks of toblerone, crunchies, white choc etc. and were very tasty and moist, like proper chocolate cake should be, The shortbread was super - perfectly baked with a good amount of jam sandwiched in the middle. There wasn't much bread left on sale but it was about 3pm so we decided to go to the Barbakan.....

At 8am on the drizzliest most depressing of Manchester mornings this place never failed to put a…read moresmile on my face. I started off going in here to buy some breakfast when I'd overslept or when my bread was mouldy. I would always get a deliciously fresh croissant. They are freshly baked every morning on the premises and only cost 50p each - cheaper than a slightly crisp round the edges Tesco equivalent. If you buy a coffee then a croissant comes for free (before 11am I think). This is not a pretentious deli. It's certainly no Barbakan. It can't really afford to be in the location it is in (among takeaways and next to Aldi and Iceland). However, it does do very tasty sandwiches which are very popular with the office workers from nearby British Gas. The management are absolutely fantastic. The guy is always ueber-cheerful even if it is drizzly, depressing and 8am, and the woman (his wife?) is also friendly. They often gave my housemate a free pot of soup with his sandwich at lunchtime and seem to genuinely enjoy everything about this business, which rubs off on the customers. The only negative point is that they don't open until 8am, which meant I could only go there if I was already late for work!

I came, I saw, I conquered that banoffee cheesecake. I tell you, the sheer volume of treats they…read morehave here... Take a closer look at Deli on the Grove and you'll come face to face with a hybrid, a beautiful and dangerous one, kind of like the creature in that scary movie Splice. Only... less frightening. When I encountered this place for my second visit one rainy, grey weekday lunchtime following the depressiveness that is the nearby SafeStore (seriously, drag!) I witnessed a first. A Deli lunchtime. Yep, the queue was snaking, *snaking* out of the door. Those sarnies sure are popular! And no wonder when I heard orders being taken - everyone was making up their 'wich bespoke, choosing the bread and the ingredients. When my turn came I was served by the loveliest and friendliest of young girls, and amongst all the available sweeties (Vienna almond cake, take note Andreas R, New York cheesecake, pastries, puffs, tarts and sponges as far as the eye can see) the banoffee wonder stood out for me. I had to partake. So it was wrapped expertly, gooey mess that it was (I'd have screwed that up for sure), and served up alongside my kick-ass awake-til-4am black coffee. I happily whiled away half an hour picking away at my cheesecake and reading OK. Guilty. But what a lovely half an hour - my noggin was truly rested afterwards. Anyway, clearly you want to know about the cheesecake. Disclaimer: ELH's pet hate is refrigerator cheesecake masquerading as real cheesecake. Anyone can mix Philadelphia with icing sugar and throw it on top of some crushed Digestives. Baked, please. This didn't disappoint. Banana check? Ripe and flavourful. Toffee sauce check? Rich and ridiculous. This cheesecake was epic, and I continued to pick away at it on the 84 bus (which stops right opposite), despite my lack of cutlery and the fact that I never eat on buses. That's how good it was. SafeStore boredom begone - any excuse to nip to Deli afterwards and grab a delicious salad pot, a bespoke butty or a naughty cake. And have I mentioned how awesome their coffee is?

Seeing as though they've won some award given out by the observer I thought it rude not to check…read morethis place out. The place is beautifully decorated and they showcase their cakes in rows behind glass cases. It all feels very French, pretty and clean in there. The gentleman serving me was so friendly and he wasn't in a rush to serve me and send me on my way. I chose a cake which had layers of puff pastry and vanilla cream. It was placed in a fancy box and I was on my way. I had my 1 year old with me so by the time I got home the cake looked a little worse for ware. However it didn't detract from the taste, the pastry was rich and buttery but the cream was just sweet enough and light to make it work. I can't wait to try the chocolate salted caramel one next time.

Brought my from selfridges at Trafford Centre -Passionfruit Eclair (£3.90) - this beautifully…read morecrafted eclair by @_bisousbisous is to die for! Crispy choux pastry with a sweet tangy passion fruit filling. I really enjoyed every bite. I can't wait to try out more of their menu!

On first inspection this quintessentially British sandwich bar with its fixtures and fittings that…read moresalute the 70's, you might get the impression of it being just that.. they type of place you can pick up something lack luster to fill the hole in your grumbly tum! Oh how wrong you are... If you are one of the many frequent users of Sale Metro station right next door, or are waiting for a bus while watching a jawdroppingly gorgeous commuter walk past... you should pop in and get your lunch or any other snack-time need dealt with here! The large selection of sandwich fillings are made fresh by the devoted staff daily and will be built into the butty of your dreams in two shakes of a lambs tale. The service and butty's like your mother makes are definitely not devoid of taste! As you become totally enamoured while munching on your purchase, you can even ignore the bad grammar in its name above the door.... but who am I to notice something like that when you find a butty you can always trust in!

When it comes to drinks, I have tried only mocha, and it was just delicious!Rich and saturated…read moretextures. The shop also features loads of appetising cakes, candies and pastries. Generally I don't like chocolate cakes, but the one from Pattesserie Valerie made me change my mind! If you don't want feel guilty for indulging in chunky mouthwatering cakes, you can choose from small candies (also mouthwatering) for just 60p. Coffee prices are comparable with high-street shops, such as Starbucks. What I found strange is that some cakes don't feature prices.

A friend who lives near Oxford Road recently told me about a new Patisserie Valerie and I felt it…read moremy duty to test it out with her yesterday afternoon. Am a big fan of Pat Val since I first sampled its' delights about 11-12 years ago when it opened 2 doors from my then work in Kensington. When I first moved up north I was gutted there was no Patisserie Valerie in Manchester so was very happy when the big one opened on St Anns Square a few years ago. This is new branch is a very small shop and we were lucky to get a seat. It does the same cakes as the main shop but not as many. We went for a chocolate mousse to share and it was very nice. Quite rich and would not have had a full slice after eating a large lunch. We had a hot chocolate and this is the reason I've marked it down from 5* as it wasn't the same hot chocolate as I usually get in the larger store. It was very nice hot choc with cream but the one in the other shop is richer and thicker and to be honest, was a little disappointed not to have that here. Overall though it is a good addition to the Pat Val family.

Fantastic baps and bread rolls too! Great also because it's one of the few greggs you can park…read moreright outside, let's face it lot of greggs customers don't want to walk too far. It also has to be said the chicks behind the counter are pretty dam hot most of the time too!

Just what Manchester needed, an explosion of amazing baked treats and sugary delights. If you're…read morelooking for a little treat, a sugar-level boosting snack or even a dessert for after dinner - Milkjam is a spot for you to try! A 3-pronged venture from Gingers Comfort Emporium, Lush Brownies and Bakeorama results in a your 1-stop shop for your sugar fix and it comes in the form of amazing Brownies, heavenly cakes and incredible Ice-cream - words don't do it justice though, so you need to go visit! My only gripe is that I'm not over that side of town often enough, though my waist line will tell you thats a good thing! I had been excited for months at the prospect of MilkJam arriving and I was definitely not disappointed!

I brought my cousin here while she was in town and we spent a good few minutes just staring at all…read morethe options. The lady behind the counter was very patient, even though it was nearly closing time, and talked us through the options and her recommendations. We'd just pigged out at a Chinese restaurant so went for a light option - only joking, of course we didn't! We each had ice cream and a brownie. I tried to go for the more unusual options so ended up with the Chorlton Brewery dark Vienna beer ice cream (!) and a New York Magic Cookie brownie, which had crumbled digestive biscuits and dessicated coconut in it. They were both very good, I was really impressed with the ice cream in particular. It had a distinctive beery flavour while still being creamy and delicious. It's not exactly cheap at £5 for a brownie and ice cream, but so worth it for a treat and a fun place to take friends.