I've been to pollen for take out pastries, coffee, and adore their sourdough, but I've never…read moreactually sat down to eat anything more than pastry ... until I did. whenever I've passed this branch, its always been busy, people queued outside on weekends, all tables full inside and outside, and generally busy, so I was a little worried I wouldn't be able to get sat down when I went. It was a Sunday morning, and I could only get there long after opening due to my transport arrangements so I was worried ... but thankfully I was easily able to get a table to sit down and eat .. I'm lucky most of the people of Manchester don't wake up early on a Sunday. So it was a little quiet but inside was almost full when I got there ... which was nice. It was a decent day and I was kinda close to the window so could see the marina and all the people exercising and walking their dogs and it's with sitting and just chill. So with sitting and eating, I wanted to get something good. it always looked amazing when I was waiting for my drink to take out, but I'm always one to have eggs Benedict whenever I can, so I figured I might as well try theirs ... and it did not disappoint. It came with ham hock, 2 eggs, brown butter, hollandaise, and crispy kale on their own sourdough. Im not usually one to have kale ... but they made it amazing. I finished every last bit and wanted more ... it was hands down, one of the best eggs Benedict I have ever had. To accompany the eggs benny, I also went for a coffee, as you do, and an orange juice, which was so nice. Hands down will always recommend people to go to pollen, if not for their sourdough and coffee and pastries to go, but also to sit and eat. Love this place

This place is quite popular! There was a long line (or queue) but it went pretty quickly. I was…read morehappy they had an iced black, since I prefer ice coffees. There is a homemade Yuzu drink that I'd love to try next time. Outside has a few more seats than inside. They can run out of food, so I'd make sure you get here on the early side if you want food. It's a pretty casual spot and loudness level depends on the crowd. The food tastes very good!

Absolute horrible service please my vegan vegetarian and religious brothers sisters & friends…read moreplease avoid they vegan and vegetarian but they don't have any concept or precisely they know people sentiments So went for breakfast with my partner for special occasion and ordered vegan breakfast with vegan sausage instead gave us meat pork sausage on asking they said they don't do vegan sausage....we have to send all breakfast back and had to leave but ride and Racist manager made us pay full price we didn't want to spoil our day we paid and left but in future all other customers be aware....

Best cafe & bakery in Levenshulme. All of the bread, croissants etc are amazing, the crube is…read moresomething you need to get as well. Eating in is just as good with all the brunch options that are available, well worth it.

When it is someones birthday that is close to me I like to order them a cake, and this is the place…read moreI get it from most of the time. The lady that makes them is called Natalie and she is fantastic at designing and making cakes. She makes them to whatever specification you want. It doesn't even have to be birthday cakes, it can be weddings, celebrations, leaving cakes, whatever you want. She is friendly and helpful and quick too. She has a great selection of cakes to choose from in case you are stuck and I believe she has got a good business here. Take a look at her website for more information.

I must second the last review of this shop, the lady behind the till(Natalie) is absolutely…read morefantastic. She makes absolutely beautiful cakes and will do them at relatively short notice. I love cake so a visit here always ends overindulgence. A really pretty shop with top-class cakes and cupcakes ....yum! Oh I want one now :)

This is one of the best bakeries in the whole wide world. Who cares about dieting when you have one…read moreof these places on your doorstep? I sure don't! The thing is I have a weakness for vanilla slices, you know the ones with pastry and custard in the middle like a sandwich? Well they are my obsession. It is pretty bad. So whenever I have a craving which is basically every weekend, I have to go here and get me a vanilla slice. But then I come out with a box of different cakes as well as my slice and a sandwich possibly a pie and a drink! A whole meal deal. Let me tell you another thing about this place. It is so cheap. When I went the other weekend, it was a case of cakes, pies for two and it came to £3.00. For me that is seriously cheap, when I have Mr Greedy to cater for. Everything here is homemade from the bread to the pastry. I love this place so much it is that popular they have two shops. I would prepare for a wait though, or even get there early as it is ALWAYS busy.

Its great!…read more I moved away from Saddleworth a few years ago, but everytime that I go home, I go to Buckleys to get a sandwich. Not only that, I am yet to find a chocolate brownie that is anywhere near as good as the ones that they sell at Buckleys!

Amazing food. Fresh bread and staff are really nice. Will definatley be returning. Thanksread more

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.....

Aaaah Helen Bakery, the hidden jewel in Manchester's foodie crown. A diamond in the rough. A place…read moreepitomising the don't judge a book by its cover theory. The last decade has seen a steady development of what I call Curry Mile 2! The stretch of Stockport road through longsight, Levenshulme and Stockport is beginning to attract more foodies and resembles the famous Rusholme foodlevard more and more. Like the Curry mile it's never going to be a Michelin 5 star experience. But if amazing food is what you're after there's plenty on offer here. Ever since Nawab opened its doors 12 or so years ago the aforementioned argument has taken hold. Let's talk about Helen Bakery though, which in fact won't take long. Much like Abbaseen down the road there isn't much variety. This is a specialist food place. The former do incredible Chapli Kebabs (I hate using the word kebab because it demeans the quality of the Chapli but hey ho. Real foodies will know that the word kebab is not JUST linked to donner grease and understand the difference between a Kobeda, a Shish, a Chapli et al) and the latter do Naan breads. And let me tell you, the Naans at Helen are incredible. There's basically two varieties. The simple naan (4 for a £1!! YES I know. Given the quality his is day light robbery) Then there's the "Special naan" (at 80p also a steal) which is garnished with sesame seeds and a hint of olive oil. There are a selection of meat offerings to go with the famous naan breads but so tasty are the said carbolicious treats you'd wanna eat them on their own. So stop Yelp wandering and go get some Naan of yo nan!

One of the reasons why I gained so much weight is because of the sweets, and carbs! Yes, it's true,…read moreI have to admit. I'm a carbaholic! Places like Ho's Bakery doesn't help because they have fabulous Asian pastries. My friend Marvin brought me here, and we bought major carbs for our trip back to the U.S. Small bakery shop, old fashion, but best egg custard in Manchester,

Roll up to Ho's Bakery in Chinatown for good quality Chinese buns to take out. There's another one…read morein Manchester and one in Leeds - is Ho soon to take the country by storm? Maybe. One bun at a time. This little bakery tucked into an old arched building has nothing but freshly baked goodies (a few savoury snacks too like pasties) and for that we love them. I've never tried the bubble tea myself but friends have raved about it - they have all different flavours so it is definitely on my to do list. But I can tell you that their cakes with cream, fresh fruit, things like that are so so delicious. The prices, whilst steeper than a donut in Greggs, are still pretty good for what you are getting so don't let this put you off.