The Mess Cafe

Someone from this business manages this listing.

217 reviews

#2 of 192 Coffee & Tea in Manchester£, Cafe, British, Healthy

+44 161 946 9496+ Add website

Hours

Mon

8:00 - 16:00

Tue

8:00 - 16:00

Wed

8:00 - 16:00

Thu

8:00 - 16:00

Fri

8:00 - 16:00

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Ratings and reviews

5.0

217 reviews

#2 of 192 Coffee & Tea in Manchester

RATINGS

Food

Service

Value

Atmosphere

Details

Someone from this business manages this listing.

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PRICE RANGE

£3.00 – £10.00

CUISINES

Cafe, British, Healthy

Special Diets

Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options

meals, features

Location and contact

6 Harper Road, Lancaster Campus Sharston, Manchester M22 4RG England

+44 161 946 9496

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Is this a cafe?

Yes

Unsure

Details

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About

We specialise in serving up seasonal brunch & lunch dishes, sourdough toasties made fresh each day, home-baked cakes & locally roasted specialty coffee. Open Monday to Friday: 8-4 But there’s a purpose behind our coffee and food. Many of the team members who serve you have come from a background of crime, addition or homelessness and through The Mess Cafe they are turning their lives around.

PRICE RANGE

£3.00 – £10.00

CUISINES

Cafe, British, Healthy

Special Diets

Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options

Meals

Breakfast, Lunch, Brunch, Drinks

FEATURES

Takeout, Outdoor Seating, Seating, Parking Available, Street Parking, Free off-street parking, Highchairs Available, Wheelchair Accessible, Accepts Mastercard, Accepts Visa, Free Wifi, Accepts Credit Cards, Dog Friendly, Family style

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5.0

217 reviews

Excellent

200

Very good

Average

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Terrible

Diane T

Stockport9 contributions

Great food and atmosphere

May 2021 • friends

I highly recommend a trip to the Mess Cafe for breakfast or lunch. The breakfast has everything on there so be prepared to not eat for the rest of the day! The lunch has a great menu to choose from and the atmosphere is very warm, friendly and inviting. Overall a lovely experience.

Written 23 May 2021

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

carol s

1 contribution

New menu

Sept 2022 • family

Visited with my parents to check out the new menu. Dad had the Mess burger which was a good looking and tasting burger, Mum had the weekly special Thai beef noodles which she thoroughly enjoyed and I had the Turkish eggs which were exceptional and poached perfectly. All the meals were delicious and as usual the atmosphere was relaxed and friendly and the staff attentive and chatty. Big thanks, especially to Joe, for the amazing food! If you've never been to this little gem of a place then give it a try, your taste buds will be delighted and your spirit lifted. Genuinely lovely place with genuinely lovely people. As a bonus, if you're able, via a contactless machine by the door you can pay it forward (£4) for the adjoining community grocery store and help out someone who may need some extra support. I see something else I love about this place every time I go ❤️

Written 6 October 2022

barrieeckford

11 contributions

Cafe: cost of the food menu

Oct 2022 • couples

My wife & I have been quite regular supporting the Mess Cafe for around 6 months now. We preferred to join & support the ethic of the Mess facility by choosing to travel for coffee other than using others on the high street. On Tuesday though, we chose to have breakfast there, travelling 4 miles to do so. My wife liked the 2 egg on on toast, no butter with a flat white coffee; I with bacon on bread, no butter with a flat white. The cost came to £14.80p, after showing my membership card. We feel that we will not be attending the cafe any longer, unfortunately. Incidentally, the staff are attentive & proficient. We wish the goncept well.

Written 20 October 2022

Maria B

Sale854 contributions

Another delicious dinner, with the usual excellent service.

Oct 2022 • family

I called in for lunch at one of our favourite places to eat with my sister & grand daughter. As usual the food was delicious, the service was excellent, & the value for money was very good. The Mess burger, grilled chicken gyros & their child's chicken nuggets & chips were all thoroughly enjoyed. We are looking forward to our next visit already!

Written 28 October 2022

Hive Stores Altrincham

Altrincham452 contributions

A WONDERFUL HIDDEN GEM!

Sept 2021 • couples

Being baristas 6 days a week in our own General Store & Beverage Bar, we regularly visit other coffee shops and cafes on Mondays, the 1 day a week we are closed! The Mess Cafe is the one place that we keep coming back to every few weeks. We cannot convey in words how wonderful the whole experience is at The Mess Cafe! The staff are all really friendly and attentive. We have been served by Noah on numerous occasions and his customer service is exceptional. Noah is always happy and positive and has a certain persona that is instantly uplifting. The quality of the food and the espresso based drinks are both top quality. So much so we always stay for a second coffee after breakfast/lunch. We will definitely keep coming back here, as like our own business The Mess Cafe is slightly off the beaten track, making it a more enjoyable place to relax and catch up with friends. They are a community focused charity too, so you know the money spent here is going towards good causes! If you are in the Manchester area, definitely give The Mess Cafe a try.

Written 6 September 2021

Angela

9 contributions

Exceptional quality breakfast

Jan 2023 • couples

First mouthful “This is good”, a second later “This is really good!” Avocado eggs on sourdough with great flavourings and quality salad. All ingredients locally sourced from named suppliers. Cafe also supports local community. Very glad I came.

Written 4 January 2023

Suetrac

9 contributions

Lovely atmosphere

Jan 2022 • none

My friend and I called in for brunch during a walk. I had smashed avocado feta cheese and poached eggs on sourdough bread. It was delicious and the staff were friendly and polite I found the whole experience uplifting I will definitely be returning and introducing my friends and family to this hidden gem

Written 31 January 2022

Kevin B

2 contributions

You Won’t Believe when you see where it is and you’ll never forget how good it is x

Jul 2023 • solo

Even better than I had hoped. In need of early morning brunch I rocked up at 0800 and was served a magnificent plate of Smashed Avocado alongside a large Americano. Friendly staff and very comfortable seating. Somehow perfectly stylish.

Written 18 July 2023

Maria B

Sale854 contributions

Another delicious visit.

Apr 2024 • friends

Another delicious dinnertime treat at The Mess with my sister. I ordered the Halloumi mushrooms, costing £9, & my sister ordered the gyros with steak, at £9.50. We were both impressed with the quality & amount of food. Excellent value for money as usual. We will return to try even more of their tasty treats. The staff are so good! Efficient, friendly & nothing was too much trouble. Thank you for providing such a lovely, welcoming place to catch up & enjoy excellent quality food.

Written 5 April 2024

Maria B

Sale854 contributions

Lovely food & great service.

Aug 2022 • family

I had a very tasty dinner here recently with my sister. Very friendly staff, delicious food & great value for money. I ordered the poached eggs, on smashed avocado & toasted sourdough bread, & my sister ordered the club sandwich, & we shared a portion of chips. We were both very happy with our choices. We hope to return again very soon to try some more items off their menu. 👍👍😘👌

Written 21 August 2022

Charles L

1 contribution

How much?

Dec 2022 • business

I could not believe my eyes! I heard about this place because of the Community Grocery, but was shocked to see the prices on the menu. How can you charge that much when people are coming to get the groceries and are struggling. The food was nice, but I won’t be going again!

Written 4 December 2022

Sam H

Hi Charles, Thanks for taking the time to share you thoughts. Rather than going down the route of a greasy spoon cafe, we wanted to ensure we provided high quality dishes with locally sourced ingredients. As a result, the prices of our main courses (£5-£9) need to be slightly higher than you might find at a fast food chain, but deliberately cheaper than any other specialty coffee house/cafe in Manchester. You may not be aware but all week we offer our Community Grocery members 10% off food and complimentary hot drinks. We also provide our members with free breakfast options on Friday mornings and special Member Monday deals where we'll add extra discounts off our menu. If you decide to come again we'd love to make all these discounts available if you are a member of the grocery. :)

Written 20 March 2024

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

JAMIE B

1 contribution

Best bacon and sausage butty this side of Stoke

Oct 2022 • none

Being a native Midlander stuck in the North its been hard to get a good bacon and sausage sandwich. My search is now complete. these are delicious, white toasted, good sausage and delicious bacon, not over cooked. I actually dream about this sandwich. The staff are superb, and service is second to none.

Written 10 October 2022

ann

Manchester1 contribution

Would not recommend

Mar 2023 • friends

I don't normally do reviews and set up account just for this review as I don't understand how this could be number 1 on trip adviser.We wasted nearly 2 hours on waiting on our food sending it back waiting then just leaving. We ordered mess burger ,vegan breakfast and chicken gyros. The chicken gyros was lovely however my friend had a long brown hair through her burger it was actually through the meat also the vegan breakfast on the hash brown there was clearly egg yoke on the underside .when we tried to complain the staff member couldn't speak English. I was absolutely embarrassed would not recommend this place at all.it was chaotic and poor quality

Written 27 March 2023

Sam H

Thanks for taking the time to share your review and we can only apologise for the very poor experience you had with us. It sounds like you visited at a time when everything went wrong at the same time! If you happen to read this reply, we would love to welcome you back and prove that this was an isolated incident. Sorry again on behalf of all the team.

Written 20 March 2024

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Rebecca C

1 contribution

You must visit!

Sept 2023 • business

I've visited The Mess cafe both as a customer and also on a volunteering day. Firstly as a customer I'd highly recommend visiting - the building, food and coffee is just as great as any city centre cafe; a real gem in South Manchester! I also came and did some volunteering for the community grocery through my work. What an amazing experience! We had so much fun and the work the grocery do is so valuable to the local community.

Written 22 September 2023

Amy T

Leadenham4 contributions

Unexpected location for a lovely cafe

Mar 2020 • none

Wow!! Unexpected location for a lovely cafe. Good choice and quality. Went with friends, 2 had full English, 1 veggie breakfast and a toasted tea cake. All food was nice presentation and quality. Coffee was nice too. Decor is great, can’t believe this absolute gem is hidden in an industrial estate, it’s like a sanctuary hidden among parked cars and tin buildings. It would be equally at home in the city center. Great Staff, Big gold star guys! Thanks for a lovely morning- travelled home feeling refreshed and relaxed.

Written 11 March 2020

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THE MESS CAFE, Manchester - Updated 2024 Restaurant Reviews, Menu & Prices - Tripadvisor