When you’re in the mood for a sweet treat, there’s nothing better than popping into a new bakery and sampling some of their delicious cakes, bakes, and cookies. Whether you’re local to Manchester or love trying the best bakes wherever you travel, Manchester is home to some excellent bakeries – from fresh sourdough to elaborate cakes. Join CrossCountry as we explore some of the best bakeries in Manchester.
Alex’s Bakery
Located in Deansgate, Alex’s Bakery is one of central Manchester’s sweetest spots, perfect for grabbing a sweet treat. Their displays are always packed full of decadent cupcakes, brownies, cookies, and more, with a wide range of flavours to enjoy. Alex’s Bakery is especially popular with locals as they are always adding new options to their range, including favourites like Jammy Dodger blondies and Bueno-stuffed brownies. Don’t worry – there are options for savoury lovers too!
With such a wide variety of bakes to enjoy, we recommend popping into Alex’s Bakery when you’re visiting Manchester. If you’re looking for a special way to celebrate a big day, you can also book an afternoon tea, including finger sandwiches and savoury treats as well as a selection of their famous sweeties.
Pollen Bakery
If you love a perfect slice of sourdough bread, Pollen Bakery might just be your idea of heaven. Pollen Bakery make their own sourdough bread using only three ingredients for their base dough, as they believe great bread shouldn’t be complicated. Specialising in sourdough and Viennoiserie, such as croissants and cinnamon buns, this is one of our favourite bakeries to stock up your kitchen for the weekend with elevated essentials.
For something extraordinary, pop to Pollen’s New Islington storefront on Saturdays to try their cruffins. Made with croissant dough, but taking the shape of a muffin, Pollen’s cruffins have flavours that change every single week to keep you coming back for more. Perfectly paired with a coffee, they are a real favourite of Manchester locals and some of the best pastry in Manchester – Pollen is definitely worth a visit.
If you’re in a rush, Pollen Bakery has another storefront located just six minutes away from Manchester Piccadilly station. Grab a cruffin and hop on board!
Fig + Sparrow
Also one of our favourite coffee shops in the UK, Fig + Sparrow is based in Manchester’s Northern Quarter and serves up delicious homemade bakes with their speciality coffee blends. Whether you’re picking up a cinnamon bun to enjoy on your morning commute or treating yourself to a creme egg brownie at Easter, Fig + Sparrow’s in-house bakers are sure to delight your tastebuds every time.
Fig + Sparrow has a calming interior with delicate pastels and is friendly to children and dogs, so you can pop in to enjoy a weekend brunch with the whole family. Located just ten minutes away from Manchester Piccadilly, you can drop by as soon as you’re off the train.
Hey Little Cupcake!
Open since 2010, the cakes and cupcakes from Hey Little Cupcake are undoubtedly some of the most vibrant and aesthetically pleasing in Manchester! With bright and bold colours, as well as fun character designs that simply must be shared on Instagram, you’re sure to find something beautiful (and delicious!) to sink your teeth into.
You can find Hey Little Cupcake in Spinningfields, perfect for picking up a sweet treat in between a busy day of work or whilst out browsing the shops. You can find all sorts of bakes, including brownies, cookies, cake pops, and (of course) cupcakes. Make sure to get your order in for special occasions, so all your friends and family can enjoy some of the best cakes in Manchester.
Bisous Bisous
For a flavour of Paris, Bisous Bisous offer some of the best patisserie in Manchester. Their delicate eclairs, tarts, and gateaux showcase a love of excellent baking. Bisous Bisous aims to preserve the art of French patisserie and to share it with a wider audience, and their macarons, cakes, and Viennoiserie do just that. You can drop into one of their shops for a tasty treat in the afternoon, or order delicately baked celebration cakes for special occasions – we recommend doing both.
There are Bisous Bisous locations in Deansgate and Chorlton-cum-Hardy – the Deansgate location is just ten minutes away from Manchester Piccadilly station on foot.
Teatime Collective
This is our pick for the best vegan bakery in Manchester, with their varied selection of plant-based and dairy-free bakes. Teatime Collective is based in the Northern Quarter and has been running for more than a decade in various locations, serving delicious cakes, cookies, and more to the people of Manchester. Some of the best items on their menu are the donuts, with a wide range of flavours and fillings to choose from. You can also pick up large celebration cakes with over-the-top designs to suit weddings, birthdays, and more.
If you’re looking for a bitesize treat to pick up, you can find all sorts of tarts, slices, traybakes, brownies, and buns in store for you to enjoy. Located in South Manchester, you can get to Teatime Collective in less than twenty minutes from Manchester Piccadilly.
How to get to Manchester by train:
Manchester is one of the biggest cities on the CrossCountry network, with Manchester Piccadilly being well connected to many stations around the UK, including Birmingham New Street, Bristol Temple Meads, and Cheltenham Spa.
If you’re planning to visit Manchester’s best bakeries, don’t forget to book an Advance ticket via our website or the CrossCountry app. If you need more information, you can contact us here.
Written by Abby