Teacup, Manchester

Service is too slow, staff are hit and miss and the menu is somewhat overpriced BUT the bagels are good (proper) bagels and the tea is nice!

Finally made my first trip in here after passing it and looking in enviously on several previous occasions. Brought a couple of out-of-towners in who enjoyed their pie, mash and mushy peas and toasted chicken and cheese sandwich respectively – a cup of detox tea and an Aretha Franklin smoothie also went down well as well.

I was eating light and had a “healthy” flapjack which was a little tough but oh-so-tasty, had to take half it home for tea later! Had a perfectly brewed pot of peppermint tea too…

Yes it’s a touch pricey but they can get away with charging a bit of a premium in the Northern Quarter as they were pretty busy when we were there. The service was excellent and the staff very friendly so if they’ve had problems previously (as in earlier reviews), they seem to be doing a lot better now. Lots of Mr Scruff merchandise (including plenty of his tea!) if you’re partial to that kind of thing.

Probably won’t make this a regular haunt but as an occasional treat this is well worth looking at.

Awww, well I liked Teacup! But, then again, it wasn't very busy during my visit so maybe that helped.

On the lookout for a breakfast venue, Teacup was recommended to me on Twitter, so off I toddled as part of my first foray into the trendy Northern Quarter.

The cafe is deceptively large and there were certainly a few 'creative types' in there, tapping away on their laptops whilst pouring tea from the chunky red teapots and nibbling on cakes.

My scrambled egg on toasted bagel was as scrambly and bagely as I'd hoped for, and my 'Arethra Franklin' smoothie hit the spot, too.

A good breakfast well had.

Oh my! I never expected Teacup to cause such controversy. So many mixed reviews, so I might as well chuck my two cents in too. I was here for Sunday lunch on a recent return to the North - I knew it had been open a while but for some reason I'd never got around to visiting, probably because from the street it looks much smaller than its Tardis-like interior actually is, so you could be forgiven for dismissing it as looking too busy or like you'd be in for a long wait.

Once you're inside however, you're in for a treat. The inside is a cute mixture of twee typical cafe fixtures (gingham and polka dot tablecloths, individual teapots, all that malarkey which seems fussy in your own home but adorable when you're out and about) and more modern touches, like the illustrated menus and selection of Mr. Scruff teas.

Sadly, the meatball menu that I'd heard so much about wasn't available on a Sunday afternoon, so instead I had a halloumi salad which was absolutely gorgeous. Perfect portion size, fresh ingredients and served with a zingy dressing and warm pitta bread. Follow that with a slab of their heavenly flourless chocolate cake, and I could have stayed all afternoon. The service was on the slow side but that may have been because my friend and I were too busy gabbing to pay proper attention!

An expensive treat...chicks dig it

Only been here once but i had a lovely hot chocolate and cake,
in addition to the scrumptious food and drinks they have, the decor and atmosphere is lovely - I may just have to make a return visit soon!

Tea Cup and Cakes is a cute little café nestled in the Northern Quarter’s back streets. Owned by Mr Scruff, his laid back musical style is immediately felt (and heard!) upon entering.

Its overall décor is in deep, warm brown with flecks of vibrant red and clean white throughout. High ceilings and plenty of space, it feels like a very pleasant environment. The space is inhabited with chatting creative types – meeting, daydreaming and gossiping.

It’s well spread out tables plus its light and airy atmosphere make it the perfect backdrop for any type of relaxed or serious chin-wagging.

Glass cabinets are filled with vintage tea sets and perfectly decorated cupcakes. Pretty polka dot cloths cover the many little round tea tables. The menu is written above the serving area on a chalk board, in New York-esq style. T-shirts on sale and hung on the walls pronounce ‘A balanced diet is a cake in each hand’. Here here!

I sampled the Big Chill fruit tea (containing lemongrass and licorique flavours) which was served in the cutest little red tea pot and a beautiful pure white vintage tea-cup. Also on the menu are a number of cold fruit drinks, all with a music theme to their names; indulge in a Raspberry Beret - an ice cream and summer fruits laced smoothie, or may be try out a Blues Brother which includes blueberry, banana milk and yogurt.

The food menu is extensive and will please both veggies and meat eaters alike - toasted beigels, bangers and mash, dippy eggs, veggie chilli, pies and a range of sandwiches. So if cakes and tea wont quite get you there, the rest of the menu certainly will !

The staff were attentive but not intrusive, and the service was fast, friendly and curteous. An altogether pleasant visit to a warm and comforting café!

now then am i big enough and old enough to accept that the new cup (teacup) is a changed entity? yes! yes i am a whole new place everything improved that i ranted about in the past-the difference between a bad business and a good business is accepting feedback and growing,well you guys have in everyway-i had a great time today and not one problem. amazing loveley staff the rest great too im happy to swallow my words and good luck guys hopefully fellow ranters will give them another chance. and in hard to please . xxxxx oh dear such young staff who presumabley rent in chorlton didsbury or trendy flats in town thus feel they are uber cool bohos above niceties like hello . they are just rubbish waiters in a overhyped sanwich bar. visually its great. coffee is great and mr scruffs merchandising good. thats were it ends.... if these clowns werent out all nite posing in noho and moho on their meagre wages and pretending to be real mancs we,d get some actual service ( eg giving us what we pay for )(before xmas).....dont go in here until mr scruff fires them all and hires normal people.

My first visit to Teacup was a few months back where I was delighted to find a cafe that served really nice cakes, and interesting sweet lovely things. The manager kind of ruined it by barking continually at the undeserving but decidedly fey indie kid staff, but generally it was ok.
Today the complete opposite. The staff (the cute non shouty manager included) were wonderfully friendly but the cake, whilst looking beautiful and inviting was gobbingly awful! I had a walnut and hazelnut brownie and my daughter a chocolate cupcake. The brownie was bland, dry, tough and dense enough to bruise flesh if used as a projectile. The cupcake was dry and again really dense. If these cakes are baked daily how the hell do they become that tough?! Both tasted like they had either been frozen and defrosted or kept in a chiller for days, either way really disappointing.
Teacup, you look beautiful and have such promise. Sort it out!

I was very impressed, my partner and I have travelled all over the world and always make it a challenge to find a good, clean, well priced coffee shop/tea room. The place was recommended to us by Gavin from Castle Galleries and we weren't disappointed. the food was good, well priced and the tea was lovely. the service, despite other reviews, was very good. however there was an air "everybody is new" about some of the staff. This may have just been a training day though. All in all I would recommend the place. it was a good brunch with really good tea. the place is clean, cute and the pastries/dessert stuff was great.

Service is rubbish. Staff are rude. Food is expensive for what it is. Quality is okay, but this place has become more than it deserves to be.

Oh I used to love this place, food overpriced but great with friendly service. But the honeymoon period is over!! i fee like an inconvienenct when I go there for coffee and a snack. If you don't mind attitude and someone asking if you're finished in the middle of your conversation and half through your coffee then by all means go there, I however prefer a bit of courtesy after spending £30 for a bit of brunch for 2.

I have returned several times, hoping this is just a storm in a teacup but looks like it's now the norm.

The service in this place is terrible. If you're looking to impress, try elsewhere. If you're flying solo, or with a close friend, then you'll probably be able to handle the arrogant/rude staff and the slow service. Personally, I'd try one of the other cafes in the Northern Quarter which true, may not look so pretty, but which probably give you a more honest brew, and service with a smile. If you do brave it, don't take one of the tables at the back - you'll risk being sat there until the end of time before one of the waiters takes your order/ brings your order/ tidies/ brings the bill/ brings the card machine.

Extremely rubbish service and a very grumpy staff member!

Hmmm. Having been in Cup/Teacup/Whatever the crikey its called these days, I can't say that I've noticed any of the things that have blighted the previous reviews.

On each visit, I've been pleasantly surprised at how cheery the staff are and how quickly they get food and tea into the gaping hole on the front of my head.

Maybe I have a kind face? Maybe they've read the bad reviews on here and decided to straighten their faces?

Either way, the tea is good and the cakes are ace. The prices aren't too bad either and, weirdly, for someone who is more prone to sulking in cafes, this place left me rather cheerful.

It's all spotted table clothes and painfully hip Manc' ambient music... but don't let that put you off. All cafes ache to be deemed cool or 'think spaces'.

This is a canteen for the discerning nibbler. If that idea fills you with dread, get yourself to the OK Cafe near Piccadilly instead where they'll serve a fried egg on a barm with tea so strong that it'll stain your eyes.

Teacup is a typically Northern Quarter hangout. Perfectly pleasant if you leave the cynicism at the door (but feel free to mock the Mr Scruff tat being sold in there).

Teacup has always been one of those places which is a bit hit-or-miss. The first time I went in, the cakes I ordered took an age to arrive, and then myself and my partner were forced to make a swift exit after a woman walked in and started screaming at the top of her lungs after being served the wrong kind of coffee!

The place has improved since being taken over by new owners (namely because the service is a lot quicker, and the food appears to be both tastier and fresher), and anywhere which puts an emphasis on serving different and exotic types of tea always gets a thumbs up from me. But crikey, do the people working there always have to look so bloody moody? I was practically sneered at the last time I was there for having the audacity to ask for a 'Flat White' and when I asked for a Root Beer from one of the blokes behind the counter, I might as well have told him that his Mum had died.

Teacup promises so much, but always seems to fail to deliver. Considering the vast amount of cafés operating across the Northern Quarter (including the very exciting looking Grindsmith situated just across the road from it), it seriously needs to buck up its ideas if it wants to survive.

Cup has become teacup, but there's no discernible improvement in:

service (rushed - staff fine but something missing with how the place is organised),
food offerings (go before 1pm as they often run out of the good stuff),
drink variety (lacking a wider selection) or
overall experience.

If you don't mind the canteen style atmosphere, dining with the indie kids of Manchester packed into a big empty and not particularly inviting space it's worth a quick refuelling stop, but then so are Wetherspoons pubs!

If you want a quiet space with a small group, or some reading time, I'm still looking for some great alternatives.

Despite several really tiresome visits to what I want to be a great cafe, I remain extremely disappointed.

There are a whole host of things I could rant on about...the arrogant plumpish older man whom I presume to be the Manager, has an attitude that cant help but provoke a reaction from even the most laid back of people (me!).

I really resent walking into an empty cafe at 10.45am, choosing a table in a nice 'people watching' position, to be asked to move to one in the window where I was blinded by the sun because 'It can get busy quick'. Fair enough, we were sat on a table for 4 and there was two of us, but we were the only ones in there, literally?!

Or maybe the time when we ordered, to be told there was a 20 minute wait for smoothies...then milkshakes...then basically anything but a cup of tea. We sat waiting in anticipation for our food (I'd taken friends who were visiting)...25 minutes later, we hadn't even got our pot of tea, and there were several table around us that had been served their drinks, despite coming in afterwards - nothing more frustrating!! After having to go to the counter to point this out...I was advised 'we're busy, sorry'. Another 15 minutes later, our food arrived....before our pot of tea, which happened to turn up a further 10 minutes later? The biggest insult was being told they would only charge us for a tea for one, as a pose to a tea for two?? Oh great, thanks very much for that kind gesture...Id rather have been offered nothing at all, what an insult!!!

As with other people...really simple things like no butter on the toast that came with my eggs...I mean Jesus, who the hell are the people working in the kitchen? Its outrageous!! Then upon taking a hot chocolate back de to the fact it was luke warm...rather than an apology, the rude Manager guy I mentioned before spoke to me like he'd just drank a bottle of vinegar and advised me that if I wanted my drink 'extra' hot I needed to state this upon ordering. I don't know about 'extra' hot, maybe just hotter than a tepid bath would be nice.

I can only assume this place remains busy because its a 'cool' place to be seen...however I'd rather stick pins in my eyes that go through another torturous experience at this place. Try 'Bread and Butter' just round the corner on Tib Street. Sadly, a lot smaller, but the foods great, as are the drinks, and more than that, the staff are friendly and approachable and the service is quick and efficient.

I sadly wont be visiting Cup again, and in a slightly sadistic way, hope more people follow me. Dwindling sales might just be the kick up the backside this place needs, to realise to be trendy isn't enough if you want to have loyal customers who return!!!

ARGGHHH!!! After a visit yesterday with friends from London, Teacup was an embarrassment. 2pm on a Saturday they had run out of pies, bagels, service took ages. Yes it was quiet busy but come on pies are a big part of the menu...how can you run out of both meat and vegetarian? We waited nearly 15 mins for someone to serve us then another wait for the food (we had ordered pies) to be told another 15 mins later that we were unlucky and even though we did see pies in the display when we arrived other people less disfigured than us had been given them first!
We almost left but it was now going up to 3pm and we were really hungry so we braved the weather and held out another 20 mins till food arrived. When it got here is was good.
If someone is reading this please sort it out - your menu is not so extensive - why the shortages on nearly everything we asked for? - we took our friends from London for a relaxing lunch here but it ended up being embarrassing and stressful, pies surely have a 3-5 day shelf life whats the problem? - things were improving here but this has made me reluctant to have lunch here again as its more trouble than its worth. Shame.
Pie-Droughts™ should be a thing of the past, Teacup brought them back to the Northern Quarter with a vigorous smack to the chops. Not good.

Here was my last review 4 weeks ago:

Good news. Things have improved at Cup (now Teacup plc!) Service and focus much much better food great v. busy now.
Been coming here for 4 years seen much change but now running better than ever. Last 4 visits have been pretty consistent.
Only complaint is that the person who chose to paint the walls brown should be strapped naked to a skateboard and pulled round Albert Square by a small plastic clockwork dog until the Police arrive - Brown walls? - makes the place look a bit oppressive, not cool.
Besides that the pies are better and cakes too. New staff more buzzy, rather than the last lot that looked like they were on horse tranquillisers.
Recommended for quality lunch and coffees.
Friendly manager too, makes families welcome.

I must be lucky because, be it Cup or Teacup, the place is yet to disappoint me. Up to now I've never had bad service, and the food has always been good. Admittedly, it is a hotspot thanks to its location, which means it is always busy, which also means that food disappears quickly.

I've been to this cafe many times over the last year and a half, and in its present form it is certainly better. Previously it was a cafe scattered across a shop floor. I don't recall ever being interested in T-shirts on the rails, but even if I were I doubt I'd be able to approach them because coffee tables were so close. These days there are neither rails, nor T-shirts, and I cannot say I miss them.

On the food side of things, cakes are lovely, as are the pizzas and pies. Sausages and mash I once tried were well cooked, so I truly cannot complain. And I also made a draft of the first chapter of my book in there, so to me Cup (Teacup, CoffeeMug, whatever you'd like to name it) has been a really good place to drink your afternoon coffee.