Sweet spots: the best places for hot chocolate in Manchester

After beginning their cake-making journey at Manchester’s Artisan Markets in 2014, Alex’s Bakery ditched the stall for a store front and are now located in the Great Northern on Deansgate.

Black Milk is a hip, Insta-friendly dessert cafe in the Northern Quarter known for its towering ice creams, gelato, sweet bakes, pancakes and Goliath-sized milkshakes and sundaes.

This chic chocolatiers-cum-cocktail parlour follows in the footsteps of award-winning entrepreneur Sarah Gallacher’s West Didsbury ventures, encouraging more sitting and supping in the form of brunch, lunch and the “famous” chocolate afternoon teas.

Having made a name – and a following – for itself, Burton Road’s chic chocolatiers has expanded into larger premises up the street (as well as gaining a branch in town), incorporating a sit-down-and-sup tearoom alongside the takeaway coffee and cake counter.

Creams Cafe is a dessert parlour that was founded in 2008 by Adam Mani and Balal Aqil. With humble beginnings in Southall, West London, Creams Cafe has become the largest dessert brand in the UK with around 100 stores – including Manchester’s Arndale Shopping Centre.

Perched by the canal in the picturesque village of Diggle, near Oldham, Grandpa Greene’s is best known for its award-winning homemade ice cream. It’s also a warm and inviting licensed cafe with glass fronted terraces and indoor dining. 

With vegetables so fresh they could have been dug up from the field that morning, homemade pies and sausage rolls, and all manner of deli bits and bobs, The Hollies Farm Shop Lower Stretton is the perfect place for a special weekend food shop.

Kenyon Hall Farm is the perfect countryside day out all year round. From picking up a premium Fraser Fir Christmas tree and warming up with a hot chocolate, to tucking into a hearty farmhouse breakfast before going on an Easter egg hunt, it’s always a breath of fresh air.

Knoops Manchester is a chocoholic’s dream. Rather than just ordering a hot chocolate, choose the percentage, the origin and the milk for your perfect blend.

Luisco Chocolate is a quirky little chocolatier in the courtyard at Haigh Woodland Park. It’s the perfect opportunity for a country walk followed by a luxurious hot chocolate. You’ve earned it so enjoy. And you will – they’re the best hot chocolates in the area.

Much like Betty’s in Harrogate, a trip to Slattery in Whitefield can be a day out in its own right. This bakery and cake shop has been in business in North Manchester for over fifty years – and now houses a cafe, cookery school, and wedding cake showroom – as well as the shop itself.