Cafe 19 — Restaurant in Manchester

Really unhappy with the service we received. My friend and I visited today for brunch. After noticing they have fried and poached egg on basically every dish. We asked if this could be changed to scrambled as none of us like fried or poached unfortunately. We were told this couldn’t be swapped or changed and that they do not serve scrambled egg. As this is a main item in many dishes and we weren’t going to be eating it I asked instead if this could be changed and we were again told no. We were going to go somewhere else for food when the waitress came over and asked when was the last time we tried egg because we might like it now. After confirming that we do not in fact like it, she then said that it could be changed but that we would have to share the changed item between us, as the cost would be more. As we had already waited a while to get in and be served we decided to go with this option and eat at the venue. The original waiter then came back over and said not to say anything to anyone about them changing an item as they are not aloud and seemed clearly annoyed that the waitress had done this for us… my friend then said she doesn’t live in Manchester so wouldn’t be telling anyone to which the waiter replied.. good. Shockingly rude service and can confidently say we will not be returning. There are plenty of better places to eat in Manchester with much friendlier service that are happy to attend to the customers needs. Federal cafe bar, is a much better choice from experience - similar but extended menu catering to all dietary needs and...

I do not recommend if you're hungry... We arrived 10.50am 18/04/2025 and joined the queue, no problem. The young brunette Irish lady told us around 15/20 minutes wait for a table, which was again no problem! We were seated at 11.08am and ordered within 10 minutes. A lovely youg slim brunette male served us; he is a credit to you. Biscoff pancakes, American breakfast adding sausage, 1 side of hashbrows and a pot of tea. The tea came out straight away, along side a jug of water. This meant we had drank the tea waaaay before the food arrived; I dare say before the food has even started cooking! We asked for another pot of water, which we received. 12.20 the food finally came... Pancakes wete a little dry and there was no biscoff between the pancakes, only on the top. People who were seated after us had finished eating, paid and left while we were waiting. I had to sit and eat my breakfast with my coat on because it was freezing in the cafe... We didn't order anything challenging to make so I'm not sure how that happened? The Irish brunette waiter (maybe Cara?) asked if we would like any sauces, to which we requested tomato ketchup; she didn't bring it... I had to catch the young slim brunette lad who couldn't have been more helpful. Top credits to him again. We paid the bill and left. There was lots of unfinished meals and half full plates going back into the kitchen. In all honestly i canr say much about the food, I've had better but I've probably had worse. Overall, I can't say I'd be back in a...

My friends raved about this place being really good and there's always a long queue. So I suggested to meet up with my other friends there since we've never been.

There wasn't a queue on Sunday at 1:30pm but it was still busy and I had to wait for a table. A staff asked if I wanted to sit outside which I didn't mind since it was sunny and not windy. My friends arrived and the staff came out soon after and we ordered. The Vegan Breakfast Bowl which I have been looking forward to wasn't available so I ordered Irish Breakfast (£11) whilst my friends ordered an Egg Benedict (£9.50) and Veggie Breakfast (£11).

Drinks came quite quick but the food took quite a long time. We waited almost 40 minutes so our friend went inside to ask. He came back and said he was told that there was a 30 minutes wait but somehow the next minute, our food (all 3 dishes) was miraculously brought out to us. However, the food was lukewarm to almost cold. My friend's toast was a bit burnt and I had extra toast. It seemed like there was a bit of confusion... The food was still good but on the dry side. We weren't offered any sauce and there wasn't any salt or pepper shaker on our table so our friend had to go inside again for them.

Generally, all the staff were friendly but I wonder whether because we were sitting outside and they have forgotten about us? Anyway, I still think it's worth visiting but probably better...