Smoak Coffee — Restaurant in Manchester

If you're in Chorlton and you're not going to Smoak, what are you doing?

Smoak Coffee is hands down the spot. The coffee? Impeccable. Smooth, never bitter and roasted to perfection! Once you've had a flat white from Smoak, you'll start getting irrationally angry at bad coffee elsewhere... because suddenly you'll realise just how rare good coffee actually is!

And the bagels? Unreal. We're talking crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside goodness with fillings that are properly seasoned, GENEROUS and made with love. It’s the kind of food that makes you involuntarily say “mmm” mid bite.

The staff? Absolute legends! Welcoming, funny, fast moving AND they remember faces! They chat and they somehow make the place feel like both a cosy community hub and a cool indie hangout😊

It’s also a perfect remote working spot! The atmosphere is relaxed but not sleepy, ideal for getting stuff done when working from home starts to feel like solitary confinement.

And it’s dog friendly!

All in all Smoak is the kind of place that ruins other cafés for you, in the best way. Because once you’ve had the best there’s just...

A specialist cafe specialising in two things:

1. coffee
2. salt beef bagel

They have two varieties of coffee; Original blend which was created using ethically sourced coffee beans & single origin which are seasonal coffee beans. We tried both straight up, just as you should and they reminded me of proper Italian espresso.

Their premium beef brisket comes in whole. They make their own brine and soak it for 7-30days. It's then ready for their NY style salt beef bagels.

The sauces are made in house, alongside all their mezze options. You can really taste the difference in the products.

The chicken Harissa bagel was light and tasty. You had a nice subtle kick to the Harissa. You can choose plain or seeded bagels and cheese as an extra filling.

There are also options for breakfast bagels. The team was really helpful. They explain the menu to you and give you recommendations. There is quite a bit of seating and what I liked is if you have kids there are books and little games for them to keep them entertained.

All...

I've been to this cafe several times, so I can vouch that the coffee, bagels and vibe are as fabulous as almost all reviewers here have said, but that's not actually what I came on here to say. I know the owner, Jon, and think it's worth sharing that he's a very smart, lovely guy who gave up a well-paid career to spend more time with his daughter for a while and then do something he was passionate about. This business is his dream, and he is a perfectionist: passionate and frankly a bit obsessive about great food and coffee. Unfortunately the opening of his cafe coincided with the biggest economic crisis since the year 300 or whatever, but he just put his head down and worked even harder (with his lovely, brilliant staff) to make great food and coffee that would have people coming back for more. If you'd rather go to Costa, good for you - but know that this guy and this place is...