#AD / At Nibble NQ

What I love about living in Manchester is the fact you have a mixture of fine dining and independent cafes in one city. The Northern Quarter is particularly home to the latter, housing small businesses in Afflecks Palace as well as niche shops and cafes. One such is Nibble, a small cafe located on Oldham Street run by the lovely Lauren Irlam, who has previously managed Northern Quarter’s famous Teacup and the Railway Kitchen and Bar. This is her first venture and the cafe is born from her love of good quality food without the fuss. I take my friend and fellow blogger, Lacey, to the cafe to explore one sunny Manchester day!*

Nibble Exterior

The cafe is easy to find but can be hard to miss as you’re walking along Oldham Street. Situated right next to Pop Boutique, there are a few tables and chairs outside the premises which is perfect for those sunny days.

Nibble Interior

The inside is very quaint with a breakfast bar on the left, tables and chairs on the right and the counter at the end showcasing salad items and delicious treats at the top. There is also a mirrored frame above the breakfast bar with daily specials, so make sure you check this out before ordering!

The drink

A pot of English Breakfast (£2.10) and a vanilla soy latte (£3.25)

There’s a good selection of drinks from coffees and teas to smoothies and fruit juices. There are also alternative milk options which are perfect for those of you who are lactose intolerant or vegan! I ordered a standard breakfast tea which came in this adorably cute mug! Lacey ordered a vanilla soy latte, which is made using a fresh vanilla pod and it is seriously the most amazing vanilla latte ever, or so I’ve been told (I don’t drink coffee). They also offer matcha latte, which I was seriously considering at the time.

The food

I ordered the veggie breakfast whilst Lacey ordered the vegan breakfast. Both were £7.50 each with the difference being that mine had eggs and halloumi, whereas the vegan breakfast had avocado and falafel. The other items included were Linda McCartney sausages, baked beans, grilled mushrooms and tomatoes and toasted bread with butter. Each item was cooked well, particularly the halloumi as it had a good bite without being overly chewy. My only slight comment was that I would have preferred my tomatoes grilled more. Lauren has deliberately chosen the Linda McCartney sausages as she’s aware that some people can’t eat Quorn. Everything else was perfect and there is a lot of food on the plate! Very, very nice!

Since this visit, home-made beans are now being used along with wild mushrooms. Fear not, meat eaters! They also have a more traditional breakfast with pork sausage, bacon and chorizo (huh, no black pudding?). . After something lighter to go? They also do breakfast barms for £4.20.

We also ordered some cakes to go as I had eyed up some on the counter earlier. These were £3 and were both vegan and gluten-free. Unfortunately, these did not quite live up as you can see the batter wasn’t quite mixed properly, or the ratio of ingredients was incorrect. Having spoken to Lauren about this, she had informed me that as she was busy she had passed the baking for someone else to do and they hadn’t quite got it right. No matter, I’m sure this won’t be the case next time!

Overall rating and comments

8/10. -0.5 for tomatoes not being grilled as much as I’d like. -0.5 for no black pudding in the meaty breakfast (minor, I know!). -1 for the mismade brownies. I am strongly for supporting local independents so I am perhaps slightly biased in my views. Speaking to Lauren, you can tell she cares about the quality of the food she is providing. Nibble also do catering and wholesale orders, so it’s worth considering for any events you have.

Since September 2018, they’ve joined the University of Manchester campus at the University Place building and are open Monday to Friday at this location. This means I can now pop over every weekday! You can also find them sometimes at the Makers Market in the Northern Quarter and Levenshulme market.

Would visit again?

Definitely yes.  They not only do breakfasts, but they also put together spectacular salads, sandwiches and soups, all seasonal!

Information

Website: https://www.nibblenq.com/

You can find Nibble at the Makers Market and Levenshulme market, as well as their physical locations in Northern Quarter and University Place at the University of Manchester.

Address: 36 Oldham Street, Manchester, M1 1JN

Address: University Place, 176 Oxford Rd, Manchester M13 9PL

What is your favourite breakfast food? Do you prefer sweet or savoury?

Leave your comment below!

* I was invited to eat at Nibble and did not have to pay for my meal. All opinions are my own.