Brunch guide: The best eggs in Manchester
Let's be real here. When we're Googling 'best brunch', what we really mean is 'best eggs'.
The perfect poach. The salmony scramble. Ideally, the biggest possible accompanying portion of smashed avocado. With chilli as well?! OMG.
With this in mind, we've put our heads together to name our favourite places for the perfect egg-based breakfast or brunch in Manchester. So whether you like a classic eggs benny or something a bit more exotic (duck eggs with mushroom foam and a side serving of bourgeois guilt, anyone?), hopefully we've found the perfect oeuf for you.
Best eggs benedict in Manchester city centre
Our self-described in-house 'egg connoisseur' deems eggs benedict the best eggs in general – with salmon instead of pancetta, that is. Where to get these Benedictine bad boys? All-American diner Moose Coffee: "It's the shiznick." They offer about a million variations on the classic serve, too, from the 'New Jersey Moose' with fresh potato hash to the 'Tri-State Combo': two eggs, each served differently if you just can't make up your mind. 20 York St, @moosecoffee
This Northern Quarter coffee shop may as well be called Eggzra & Gil (geddit?!), it does so many eggcellent things with eggs. But it's their soft boiled duck eggs with sourdough soldiers that have our Events editor all het up: "They're such big eggs. The toast is so salty. It's like a dream." If your dreams consist of big eggs and salt, sounds like this is the place for you. 20 Hilton St, @ezra_gil
Brunch is served all day at this Australia and New Zealand-inspired cafe in the Northern Quarter, and we're a fan of pretty much anything they do with eggs because they pile 'em high. Smashed avocado features prominently, while their Halloumi & Shrooms dish loads poached eggs up with pan-fried halloumi, garlic and thyme roasted mushrooms, spiced tomato relish, hazelnut dukkah mix with rocket and optional chorizo on sourdough toast. Ooo(eu)f. 9 Nicholas Croft, @FederalCafeBar
Manchester's unassailably cool cafe/bar/destination Common calls its poached eggs "ghost bollocks" on Instagram, which, being the outsized children we are, we love. So we've gotta give 'em a shout-out for their eggs benedict/royale/florentine, plus their smashed avocado which features fried eggs rather than poached. Only a limited number of bollocks to go around, we guess. 39-41 Edge St, @common_bar
Barely needs a mention, as obviously Koffee Pot is the place to go in the Northern Quarter and indeed the entire city centre for a fuss-free, friendly and filling breakfast or brunch experience. It's hard to resist the full English, but if you want to keep things eggs-centric then get the shakshouka (eggs baked in rich, spiced tomato sauce with feta crumbled in) or salmon and eggs, which is what it says it is. 84-86 Oldham St, @thekoffeepot
Best brunch in Chorlton
Mooted a "close second" to Moose Coffee for eggs benedict, Chorlton's chilled hangout Mary & Archie also ranks highly in our staffers' eggstimations. Pair your bennies with a Bloody Mary for the ultimate weekend hangover cure. 11 Manchester Rd, @maryandarchieC
"They put this fucking delicious herby oil on them, so fit." That's one of our team there imparting the delights of Tea Hive Alexandra Park's plain poached eggs, made even better by the pocket-friendly price of £3.50. If you fancy something a little more complex, try their Chorlton branch's Eggs Tea Hive: Frost butchers’ smoked bacon, avocado and mushrooms sautéed in garlic butter, parsley and lemon, with two soft poached eggs served on a toasted muffin and topped with homemade hollandaise sauce. 53 Manchester Rd, Chorlton / The Pavilion, Alexandra Park, @teahivetweets
Best eggs in Hulme
Eggs Flo Jo are the house speciality at Hulme's nautical neighbourhood restaurant Kim by the Sea: that's poached eggs, wilted spinach and "this kinda lemony/white wine hollandaise on ciabatta, it's like a fiver and delicious and fills you up for ages". 49 Old Birley St, @kimbythesea_
Duck eggs in Didsbury
Beacons of eloquence that we are, several of our team chose Didsbury diner Thyme Out "because they use posh eggs". Posh eggs seems to be shorthand for duck eggs: try eggs cocotte (duck eggs, cream, mushroom, cheddar, wild mushroom foam, sourdough) or duck eggs benedict (there they are again). 147 Nell Ln, @thymeoutfoodco
Where have we missed? Tell us your favourite places to get eggs benedict in Manchester – or any other eggy dish, for that matter – in the comments below.