SK15 Cafe Bar & Bistro — Restaurant in Tameside

A must-try!

Located in Stalybridge’s up and coming town centre, SK15 is a perfect addition to the town’s bustling food scene.

When you walk in, you are greeted by a palate of really pleasant light green, which gives you a calm feeling. There are booths, which are really roomy and nice to sit on. The atmosphere is calm and pleasant, while the staff are really nice and enthusiastic.

Drinks: If you order any drinks, check out the homemade raspberry lemonade! It is so invigorating and refreshing, a perfect feast for your tongue! It’s great to pair with Sunday Roasts (more about that in a minute).

Starter: I ordered the Soup of the Day. I don’t remember the name, but it was some sort of tomato soup mixed with a warming kick of chilli. The soup itself was comforting with a spicy kick, and it was paired with warm bread. The bread itself was crunchy on the outside, and soft on the inside - the perfect bread, great for soaking up all of the soup! It was also paired with nice butter, which was delicious.

Sunday roast: Now, let me explain the roast. You have a choice of: 28-day aged roast sirloin beef (served pink). Garlic + Thyme roasted chicken supreme. Slow cooked pork belly. All served with: Garlic and rosemary roasted potatoes. Maple glazed carrots. Tenderstem broccoli. Honey + mustard parsnips. Braised red cabbage. Carrot and swede puree. Grandad’s stuffing. Unlimited proper gravy! I ordered a few other sides as well: Truffle mash. Chilli Tenderstem broccoli. Now this roast is a must try. I ordered the chicken. It was nice and tender. The truffle mash was really smooth and buttery, the Chilli Tenderstem broccoli was crunchy and spicy, the carrot and swede puree is a underrated gem (one of my personal favourites - really tasty), the stuffing was unlike any other (you wouldn’t find this quality at Toby’s), the carrots and parsnips were tasty (a perfect contrast of sweet with the savoury Sunday roast), and the roast potatoes - mmm! So crunchy and flavourful!

Dessert: For this course, I wanted to go off with a bang so I picked two desserts that I was really excited for. Chocolate garden pot - Edible chocolate garden pot filled with dark chocolate ganache. Glazed cherry cheesecake - A fruity cherry cheesecake coated in a dark cherry glaze, sat on a shortbread disc. Now these were delicious. Usually, if you order something with cherry in a normal restaurant, it would taste artificial and not very nice. However, the cheesecake was really light and refreshing. It tasted quite natural and really flavourful. Kudos to the shortbread as well. The chocolate garden pot was creatively presented, like a normal garden pot with a cute carrot on top. But surprisingly, every part of the garden pot (including the pot itself) was edible. The dark chocolate was strong so I added some cream and it was a game changer. The cream itself isn’t fluffy like whipped cream but smooth and silky, and it almost tasted like milk. In fact, I was eating the cream with my spoon as well, it was that nice!

Overall, if you are looking for a good spot for a proper Sunday roast in Stalybridge, this place is for you!

If you want to know about all the top spots to eat out in Manchester and beyond, make sure to follow The...

I found myself with some time on my hands in Stalybridge around 14.30 and fancied Coffee & Cake... I found this place and wanted to give it a go. I entered and I got told: "Please wait to be seated". I like that. Plus points. Before being seated I just announced I just wanted to sample the Dessert menu. I got told: "We don't have a dessert menu, sorry". First alarm bell. You call your place Café Bar & Bistro and you don't have anything sweet? Poor. Minus points. "Maybe you can have pancakes?" they said. No, not really. Not the same thing. And turns out they don't even have Croissants, Pain au Chocolate or similar. Even "Café" in their name is quite loose...

I settle for just a Double Macchiato. "We don't do that." I didn't have the strength to tell them that they did, in their current menu (just misspelled).

I just say: Make a double espresso and add a spoonful of froth on top. £3.50 😱 And they present a card machine. 😔 If I wanted a Pay Before experience to get disappointed I'd have gone to give money to the coffee chains mafia. I get told to sit on an uncomfortable stool near the door (despite all booths being empty). To have your bum on something padded you apparently have to spend more money... 🤷🏻‍♂️

Coffee arrives after 15 mins (and the place was empty! Imagine the wait if it was busy!!!) and it looks decent. But it's only looks. Unfortunately it's too watery. It feels like a single shot pulled longer than a double. Plus it arrived without a spoon so I go to the bar and ask for a teaspoon. Server removes the teaspoon from the ice bucket and gives me that. Apparently every other spoon in the premises was in the dishwasher. 🤦🏻‍♂️ (And if you handle ice with a spoon, even the BAR of the name is shaky at best).

£3.50 Oh well... Shame because I've just moved in the area and I would have been a regular for sure.

If you look at the prices you think you're in Chelsea? Soho? No, it's just downtown Stalybridge. 🤣

Anyway... I really really would love to try the food, but this experience has tarnished my drive to through money at them.

So long...

This was our 3rd visit to SK15 today and once again it did not disappoint, it was full to capacity when we arrived and we was worried we wouldn't get a table but we were seated (8 people) within minutes. We were sat in a large back booth which comfortably fit us all and we were asked if we wanted a high chair for my youngest, the waitress was very helpful she brought crayons and colouring sheets for my children and even moved and parked up my pram for me. It was very busy but it felt relaxed and under control, the music is nice and like our other visits it felt warm and inviting. The space and decor is beautiful and well thought out. Lots of room to move around. We all ordered, we are very picky eaters and the order was a lengthly one but the waitress again was helpful and attentive. Drinks came promptly and they do freshly squeezed orange juice which I had been craving from my last visit. The food arrived and was as ordered, and again to an exceptional standard, my French toast could have possibly have been the best I have ever had, there was not a thing left on the plates. We were full and felt relaxed enough to have another round of drinks and soak up the atmosphere. We had a nice chat with the manager when she came to bring over our bill, she was really bubbly & chatty and you could tell she genuinely cared about us having a good experience, we got on to a conversation about the food and the French toast and she told us a heart warming story about her and the owner and how the place came to be, she asked if everything was to standard and was really friendly and attentive to our youngest who was getting a little fidgety. They have baby changing facilities and the toilets are nice touch. As we left the manager came over again to open the door for us as we had the pram and she wished us fair well. I honestly cannot find fault from start to finish 10/10 service, 10/10 food 10/10 atmosphere. Will definitely be back....