Black Sheep Coffee & Cocktails — Restaurant in Manchester

I am unsure on how to rate this place without being unfair. I understand that the staff at these cafes work very hard and I know they are exhausted when they are approaching the end of their shift.

Having said that, I pay full price regardless of the time of the day I order my drinks and therefore I expect a good service.

I ordered a cortado and a pastry in a ceramic cup. My drink, however, came on a paper cup. I asked the barista about it and I was told “we are about to close”. This is something I have heard before at other coffee shops so I wasn’t too surprised. The issue is that I ordered almost at 6pm and according to the opening times in Google, the shop closes at 8pm. I didn’t order anywhere near the closing time and it felt as if they were trying to kicking me out already.

On another note, the place didn’t feel welcoming at all. The stairs to the toilets were blocked by a couple of baby high chairs, the dishwasher opened with all the pots still in there, the back counter messy, the bin full… it wasn’t too bad but the vibe felt like “we had a crazy day, we are running short on staff and we are fed up”.

I don’t feel like coming back to be honest. Also, the coffee wasn’t bad but wasn’t anything to write...

This branch recently became my ‘local’ after frequenting the one at St Peter’s square for a while, and honestly the service here is just nowhere near as good.

I obviously won’t bait them out, but there’s one person working there who has been really rude to me in the past, getting noticeably annoyed when they had handed me my pastry on a plate when I had said it’s for takeout at the point of ordering. I politely reminded them that it was for take out and if they could put it in a bag and they rolled their eyes, and almost threw it at me..

I had been back a few times after this and had either experienced slow service or had the same person serving us which kinda made me feel awkward.

In terms of their food and coffee, the bagels are nice but I’ve often been handed cold ones with the cheese not even melted. Their pastries are lovely, and the range of coffee is really impressive and there’s loads I still want to try- but I really will just avoid this one.

The one is St Peter’s square is miles better and the staff at that one...

I like the coffee at Black Sheep and usually find their cafes to be really nice having been to their other branches, however the staff at the Deansgate branch were kind of rude. I tried to move the bar stool away from the door as it was cold, but one of the staff came over and just grabbed it off me, telling me off for it that it was for social distancing and that the stool can't be moved. I didn't know this but I do understand, however she could have just told me in a normal polite fashion instead of telling me off like a kid and grabbing the stool. I was pretty shocked by it. At least the coffee was nice and the prices were cheaper than Starbucks. The downside is there is hardly any space to sit compared to the bigger coffee chains. I would have given 4 or 5 stars if it weren't for...