Coffee House Cafe in Withington, Greater Manchester, is thought to be one of the cheapest in the UK, so Mirror writer Danielle Kate Wroe went to give it a whirl to see why punters keep coming back
Thanks to the cost of living crisis, there aren’t many places in the UK you can still get a fry-up for just over £5 – but one café strives to keep the prices down for its loyal customers.
Going out for breakfast is one of life’s greatest pleasures, but it’s becoming an increasingly expensive treat. A full English at The Savoy in London will set you back a whopping £45, while the Greasy Spoon option at popular chain The Breakfast Club costs £13.50.
So when I learned I could get a satisfying breakfast for £5.50, I leapt at the chance. Sitting in the Coffee House Cafe in Withington, Greater Manchester, is so quintessentially British and I absolutely love it. And, according to Travel with JP, who said it served a “fantastic breakfast”, said it’s the “cheapest full English in Manchester” and The Sun even claims it’s the cheapest in the UK.
It reminds me of being young and spending time with my parents and grandparents in down-to-earth places, and while the majority of the time now you’d likely find me at a boujee brunch spot with a mimosa in hand, or enjoying avocado on toast (typical millennial) I have a real soft spot for places like this, so with my dad in tow for max nostalgia, we headed down.
The staff are friendly, the place is absolutely no frills, and some of the customers have been visiting for years. Owner Pete Doherty, however, is struggling to keep things cheap for his clientele, and has been forced to put prices up over the years – but he recognises that the cost of living crisis means that everyone is looking for a bargain, and he wants to be able to provide that for his community.
I decided to opt for the ‘lighter alternative’ to ‘The Village Monster Breakfast’ that my dad went for, and it was more than enough food to set you up for a good day for just £5.50. On my plate, there were two sausages, two rashers of bacon, an egg, a portion of mushrooms, and beans. I decided to get a caffe latte to drink, and despite the fact I’m a self-confessed coffee snob, I thought it was lovely. And the cup was huge, so I was properly caffeinated!
Was it the best breakfast I’ve ever had? Probably not, but we need to protect these institutions at all costs because they’re the cornerstones of working-class communities up and down the country. And to hear that Pete is struggling to keep things afloat is heartbreaking.
“It’s getting harder and harder to run and I struggle”, he admitted. “Since Covid, it’s just got worse and worse. I’ve changed all my prices and I’m going to have to change them again. I’m not making anything at the moment, so I’m just trying to change the prices gradually but keep things low. It’s pretty impossible to be honest.”
He explained that a real mix of people come, from locals to hungover students, even sharing that there’s a family in India who come over to visit relatives and stop off in the caf every time without fail. And it’s easy to see why – the staff are lovely, chatty, and down to earth. He also said that the Marcus Rashford mural on the side of the building attracts a lot of attention, and there’s street art throughout the local area that people visit too, and then pop in the cafe for a cuppa and a bite to eat.
So why do punters keep coming back? They tell me it’s because it’s cheap, reliable, and the service is good, and Pete agrees. He tells me he’s been running the cafe now for 13 years, and the establishment has been open for 30, so it’s ingrained in the community. He said he’s conscious about what the people of Withington can afford, but he believes “there should be more help for little businesses from the government” to help places like this stay afloat.
He noted that in even middle-class Manchester suburb West Didsbury, places are “shutting every other week”, but he’s struggling and working to make ends meet for the sake of himself and the community, despite the fact he admitted it’s “hard to do”.
It truly is rare to get the bill from a restaurant these days and not slightly cringe, but at £8 for a full breakfast and a drink, I just can’t complain, and with the number of customers sitting in the place before the lunchtime rush ordering the exact same things as we did, I don’t think they’re complaining at all either.
The menu doesn’t stop at full English breakfasts either – they’ve got a variety of other things for customers to enjoy, including jacket potatoes with a side salad and homemade coleslaw, omelettes, beef, chicken, and cheese burgers, and even fish and chips. Unsurprisingly, they’re all incredibly reasonably priced, with burgers costing between £3 and £3.50, and a jacket potato with one filling setting you back just £4. You can barely get a supermarket meal deal for that these days.
My dad polished every last thing from his plate, saying it was “one of the best English breakfasts” that he’d ever had – probably to save my mum’s feelings. From the friendliness of the staff to the down-to-earth feeling, and the yummy food, I’d say that this is a fab cafe, and I really hope Pete can continue to run it successfully. My only regret is that I didn’t add a hash brown onto my brekkie, because they looked like crispy perfection.
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