Pancake Day is approaching, the day that any remaining post-Christmas abstinence should be hurled out of the window for good in favour of hotcakes, flapjacks (the US kind), crêpes, griddle cakes and blintzes.
How you take them is another matter all together. For some, it's American style, loaded with whipped cream, ice cream or soaked in maple syrup, while others prefer the perfect simplicity of a thin, lacy pancake, crisp at the edges, with lemon and sugar (orange, sugar and cinnamon being a nice alternative too).-
And that's not even mentioning the whole diner-style bacon, eggs and sausage situation. However you fancy your pancakes this year, there are some blazingly good options in town...
Read more: When is Pancake Day in 2023?
Lazy Sundae
Lazy Sundae consider themselves Manchester’s ‘original soufflé pancake store’, and they are pretty impressive. The dessert shop has quickly made a name for themselves in the Northern Quarter through their Instagrammable treats and bubble teas, as well as milkshakes and ice cream floats in an array of unusual global flavours.
Browsing through the menu, I did have to search what a number of the items were, but felt pretty confident about ordering some of the crème brulee soufflé pancakes. The two pancakes came loaded with toppings, you’d think they’d have sunk under the weight since they’re as light as air, but they held up well. These jiggly, Japanese style treat is very cute, cooked low and slow for about 20 minutes to get the perfect pancake.
Unfortunately, Lazy Sundae aren’t open on Tuesdays, so if you are hoping to make a visit for Pancake Day, it will have to be the following day, with the store open from Wednesday to Sunday from 12pm to 10pm each week.
Read more about our recent trip to Lazy Sundae here.
Lazy Sundae, 110 Tib St, Manchester M4 1LR
The Botanist
Deansgate's The Botanist is bringing back its signature sell-out special - which goes viral every time it’s launched - for the whole month of February to celebrate Shrove Tuesday. And it really is something to get flipping excited about.
Offering a twist on its trademark savoury hanging kebab, the cocktail bar has created three combinations of miniature pancakes hung from skewers with a choice of three different toppings they’ll be stacked up with.
Choose from 'The All American' (£16.50) stacked with fried chicken and maple bacon and served with mini hash browns and sriracha mayo; 'The Rocky Road' (£9.25) with Biscoff and Oreo rocky road pieces, served with strawberries, chocolate sauce and vanilla ice-cream; and 'The Chocolate Orange' (£8.95) – with chocolate brownie chunks, orange brandy sauce and vanilla ice-cream.
The Botanist, 78 Deansgate, Manchester M3 2FW
Cocoa Cabana
Chocolate lovers listen up because there's only one place to head this pancake day if you're in need of a quick fix. Cocoa Cabana just off of Cutting Room Square in Ancoats is, as you might expect from the name, a shrine to all things chocolate - it's hot drinking chocolate alone spans 12 different varieties.
The dedicated chocolate cafe and bar in Ancoats is known for its indulgent hot chocolates, afternoon teas, brunch and more, but it also knows a thing or two about the art of buttermilk pancakes.
There's five stacks to choose from all priced at £12.50 and you definitely get bang for your buck here. Choose from Bacon and Berries, Biscoff and Salted Caramel, Nutella and Banana, Kinder Bueno, and the uber-indulgent Tiramisu special stacked high and dripping with chocolate sauce and mascarpone.
Cocoa Cabana, 7 Murray St, Ancoats, Manchester M4 6HS
La Vie Cafe
If sharing a snap on your Instagram is your reason for indulging in a pretty pancake stack this week, then head to La Vie, on Deansgate. Having opened in 2020, they offer the perfect pink and floral setting in which to enjoy your plate of pancakes.
Dealing in indulgence, this luxurious cafe is serving pancakes, crepes and - if neither are really your thing - waffles, too.
While their pancake menu isn't available online, their recent social media posts suggests that you can get Nutella, Biscoff or pistaschio flavoured pancakes this Shrove Tuesday, or if you're after something a little more savoury, they also do turkey bacon pancakes on their breakfast menu.
La Vie Cafe, 48 Deansgate, Manchester M3 2FE
Albert's Schloss
Albert's Schloss have a Pancake Haus that serve up sweet and savoury stacks from 9am to 12pm every day of the week.
On the savoury side are fluffy pancakes with maple bacon, Burford brown eggs and maple syrup, and those wanting something classically sweet, there are pancakes with vanilla berries and cream, drizzled with maple syrup. They are going to be running some special menu options on pancake day too, which will be available for extended hours, so you can still get involved in the event if you're busy in the morning.
There'll be the limited edition, "one day only wünder" Banoffee Pie, which is made fresh 'in haus', and features a stack of fluffy, thick pancakes topped with lashings of caramelised bananas, a scoop of creamy, artisan vanilla ice cream, and a generous drizzling of sweet caramel sauce.
Albert's Schloss, 27 Peter St, Manchester M2 5QR
Moose Coffee
Probably the nearest thing you'll get to a faithful reproduction of a North American/Canadian diner experience (despite being first launched in Liverpool), Moose Coffee is the real deal. So much so that of a weekend, if you've not booked in, you could be left out in the cold - luckily the York Street branch has a large terrace out the front for overspill, just pray for clement weather.
The pancakes are vast, fluffy and abundant, and available in straight-up sweet or sweet and savoury varieties. The 'Moose Stacks' (£11) come layered with either the house granola and chocolate peanut butter, banana and pecan or (best of the bunch) apple and homemade salted caramel.
If you're going savoury, you could do an awful lot worse than the Double Dutch (£11.50); a heap of pancakes studded with smoked sausage and streaky bacon, and then topped off with two fried eggs. Everything comes with bottomless maple syrup, of course, so should you require, you can lash that on too.
Moose Coffee, 20 York St, Manchester M2 2BB
19 Cafe Bar
Giant, fluffy American pancakes are the best, and 19 Cafe Bar serve up a stack of three with a huge range of toppings, including Kinder and Biscoff.
The breakfast and brunch restaurant in the heart of Manchester has gained a reputation for serving up the cities 'heartiest brunch and some of the fluffiest pancake stacks around'. And the best part? 19 Cafe Bar don't scrimp on their sauces - these babies are fully loaded, with the option to add more, if you've got a sweet tooth.
All of the stacks are priced at £11, with add-ons like ice cream and banana available from £1.50. We'll take a stack of the Oreo pancakes, please!
19 Cafe Bar, 19 Lever St, Manchester M1 1BY
The Shack
Head chef Austin Fletcher estimates that he'll be flipping upwards of 4,000 pancakes at Northern Quarter's Shack during the week of Shrove Tuesday. The High Street venue are serving up bottomless pancakes on the big day, as well as the following Wednesday and Thursday.
The four varieties that customers can choose from next week include OG pancakes layered with buttermilk fried chicken; Biscoff and berries topped with chocolate sauce, Biscoff crumb; Peach cobbler stack with Schnapps flambéed caramelised peaches and finished with cream, crumble mix and granola; and Chocolate and caramel rolo stack stacked with crush rolos, chocolate sauce, Southern Comfort salted caramel sauce and crushed Cadbury's Flake.
Before you go, some important T&Cs - it's strictly one plate per person at any one time., and once you finish your plate, you can order the next, and you can mix and match toppings as you go for the duration of the 90 minutes. It costs £12.50 per person for bottomless pancakes, and an extra £15 each if you wish to add bottomless drinks. The offer runs from Pancake Day (Tuesday February 21) to Thursday February 23.
The Shack, 69 High St, Manchester M4 1FS
Hampton and Vouis
Hampton and Vouis is the perfect place to head if you're a vegan looking for something tasty to enjoy this Shrove Tuesday. Their plant based pancake stacks are different to traditional buttermilk pancakes - slightly dense on the outside and soft on the inside. Vegan yet still delicious.
Their menu features four options priced between £9 and £10.50. As well as the Jammie Dodger Stack served with caramel sauce, strawberry jam, jammy dodger biscuit, berries & vanilla ice cream, there's also the Lotus Biscuit Stack, Biscoff and Bueno Stack and Nutella and Bourbon Biscuit Stack - the latter served with vegan Nutella, strawberry drizzle, chocolate crumb, bourbon biscuit and vanilla ice cream.
Hampton and Vouis only take walk-ins, open every day until 3:30pm, besides weekends where they're open until 4:30pm.
Hampton and Vouis, 31 Princess St, Manchester M2 4EW
Fluffy Fluffy
This pancake spot was originally called Fuwa Fuwa, which literally means ‘fluffy fluffy’, and so it's no coincidence that it serves up some of the thickest, lightest, fluffiest pancakes you'll ever have. Here, there are eight different pancake toppings to choose from including souffle, signature, strawberry, tiramisu, matcha, nutella banana, fruit forest and raspberry banana, with prices between £7.95 and £8.50.
The first 50 people to arrive at the venue on Whitworth Street from midday on the big day will receive one of the brand's famous fluffy fluffy pancakes for free - but get there early as when those fluffy fellas are gone, they’re gone!
The secret method to Fuwa Fuwa’s Instagrammable desserts is by whipping up egg whites into soft peaks - essential to their light and airy qualities - before being cooked low and slow on a covered hot plate.
You can read more about our visit to Fuwa Fuwa here.
Fuwa Fuwa, Carding Building, Whitworth St, Manchester M1 3NR
The Blues Kitchen
Located on Quay Street, the Blues Kitchen promises some of the best buttermilk pancakes the city has to offer - but they're only available on weekends.
Pancake fans can get a stack of three of their buttermilk pancakes served with bacon and maple syrup for just £9.50 on Saturdays and Sundays, making for the ultimate brunch spot.
If you do fancy getting out on Pancake Day though, the blues, jazz and soul bar is hosting a live blues, bourbon and burgers event, as well as a club classics on brass night in the concert hall. Find out more about that here.
The Blues Kitchen, 13 Quay St, Manchester M3 3HN
Cosy Club
This Pancake Day, Cosy Club Manchester, at Corn Exchange, has unveiled a limited-edition menu to eliminate the stress of making your own mix, with options including a DIY pancake experience and the perfect chocolate stack.
From Saturday, February 18 to Tuesday 21 , diners can enjoy Cosy Club’s signature Black Forest Gateaux Stack - a tower of up to nine pancakes, with indulgent chocolate brownie, raspberries, cherry syrup, and whipped cream. For a more personalised experience, guests can try the new Build Your Own Pancake Stack with three, six, or nine pancakes, and a whopping 15 toppings to choose from, including bananas, white chocolate bark, and salted caramel sauce.
Buttermilk Pancakes are available at Cosy Club Manchester all year round, with a choice of toppings ranging from streaky bacon, blueberries, and maple syrup to berries, banana, and yoghurt, priced from £8.75.
Cosy Club, Corn Exchange, 37 Hanging Ditch, Manchester M4 3TR
Bill's
Famed for its fluffy American-style pancakes, Bill’s in Spinningfields invites pancake lovers to stack em high and savour in a pancake feast to remember. Served usually until 11.30am, this year, Bill’s is serving up pancakes all day for friends and families to enjoy no matter the time.
This pancake day, guests can enjoy all you can eat pancakes all day for just £7.50 with delicious topping options, including a banana, strawberry, and blueberry fruit topping for those with a sweet tooth, and smoked streaky bacon drizzled with pancake syrup for those looking for something a little more savoury. Customers can add unlimited hot drinks from £3.50 or go boozy with bottomless prosecco from £18.50.
If you're up for a real challenge, Bill's are giving away a chance to win a year’s supply of pancakes to the customer who eats the most pancakes at one of their restaurants within 90 mins.
Bills, 3 Hardman Square, Manchester M3 3EB
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