Pot Kettle Black

So I went for Brunch at Pot Kettle Black

Location: Barton Arcade, Manchester Angel Gardens, Manchester

What I ordered:
Brekkie Bun
Mimosa
Cinnamon Bun

Overall I'd rate my experience here a 4/5.

The atmosphere was really homey which I loved!

The Brekkie Bun made of a potato brioche bun was filled with a sausage patty, bacon , fried egg , cheddar cheese & sweet red pepper sauce. I wanted something to satisfy my breakfast roll craving and this did the job. The pepper sauce was a nice addition to it.

It was my first time trying a mimosa and it wasn't too bad.

The cinnamon bun was nice too. I do prefer cinnamon buns to be warm rather than cold but apart from that, it was a nice way to end brunch.

The staff was all really nice and I believe this place is also dog friendly.

Was eyeing the Banana French Toast on the menu so if I got the chance, I'd definitely go back.

TL;DR - Fantastic coffee and food, but since going to table service it's lost some of its charm.

I've loved PKB since it opened. Sure the coffee is great, but the real delight was in having served on a little silver platter with a biscuit and glass of water - something so simple, I'm amazed more people don't do it. The venue is gorgeous and the staff are always friendly and helpful - it was a regular stop for us when in the city centre.

But recently, things have changed. They've made the unit larger - which is a good thing because of its popularity, but they've also moved to table service (rather than order at the counter as was the case before). This may be good if they're moving more into the food end of the market, but for those of us who want a quick coffee it's spoiled things - you have to find a table and, at busy times, try and get the attention of someone to serve you... it's a small thing, but I think it's been detrimental.

I still love PKB and would happily hand over my money in exchange for their food and drink, but it's no longer a spur of moment coffee stop and I think that's a shame.

I have always heard of this place but I have never visited today was day and I was not disappointed. The decor is really nice and subtle excellent for chilling out with a coffee- and these guys take their coffee very seriously - I had my new favourite coffee drink of a piccolo this came with a small glass of water and a biscuit stick all serve on a mini silver tray I think all the drinks come this way and I must say I am impressed.
I wouldn't say I am an expert at coffees but I do enjoy a quality taste and this is by far one of the best coffees I have tasted

I will be visiting again!

Lovely little indie cafe in the quaint Barton Arcade in the heart of central Manchester. The breakfast menu is to die for, although a little pricey. Tea comes on a wooden tray adding a nice touch to the meal. The stuff is super friendly despite the place being busy. Although the atmosphere is fairly relaxed, in my case the service was quick, so I have nothing to complain about!

I've had to knock a star off which isn't something I particularly like doing as, if you read my reviews, you'll see I love to shout about brilliant businesses and experiences.

PKB is still great, the coffee is lovely, the cakes are great and the menu is a breath of fresh air! So why the 1 star deduction?

WIFI!

I work remotely, which means I spend a lot of time in coffee shops and cafes and wifi is all but essential for me to do my work - simply put if a place doesn't have wifi I rarely visit unless it's a social occasion. Last time I went in to PKB I couldn't get any of the wifi networks to work - the old one and the new one both wouldn't work. Quite frustrating, which ultimately led to me spending £5 on a coffee and cake that I had to rush down to shoot off to somewhere else that could satisfy my wifi needs!

I didn't want to go to Starbucks like I usually do when I wanted to do work today so I got on Yelp and looked for a cafe to check out. I saw a review of Pot Kettle Black and while the reviews were pretty positive, what got me interested with the place was the pics of the hot chocolate.

So I got my book and walked over... The place is on deansgate and not that hard to find. The place is super cool, has an industrial feel with the wooden floor with a mixture of metal furniture. There's a lot of comfy seats to the place so it's not uncomfortable. There's a big table in the middle and plenty of power sockets.

They have the typical coffee offers and three different types of hot chocolate. The hot chocolate was only £3. They all have food and sweets, but didn't try any of it. I got the orange hot chocolate and it came with water, a chocolate wafer biscuit, and of course the chocolate. The hot chocolate was not too rich or too sweet and had a nice orange flavour. The only thing I wanted was a hotter cup of chocolate.

While I like the place a lot, it was really cold so make sure you have a coat or scarf to stay warm. The staff was really nice and welcoming.

Overall the place was cool and will come back and try the other hot chocolates and drinks.

Much like Emily B., I can't really make up my mind about Pot Kettle Black. I've been on a few occasions - meetings, coffee with my mum etc. - but it never stands out as 'the place to be' for me. Perhaps it's because I don't like coffee, or perhaps it's something else.

The interior is nice, located in the beautiful Barton Arcade, and with plenty of natural light. I like the white tiles and general clean feeling, and the higher seating gives freelance workers a good opportunity to set up for the day. There's good wi-fi available too but can be a bit tricky to connect during peak times.

I've had a good smoothie here which was packed with plenty of fruit, but usually go for a standard pot of tea. The cakes here are much more exciting, with a recent salted caramel brownie keeping my mum and I energised for a few hours worth of shopping! Service has always been friendly enough but a bit scattered; there does seem to be a lack of communication, with some staff wandering around for a while with items before their colleague points out the right customer, but they usually get there in the end.

I'd probably come more often if I was a freelancer as it does widen the options in this part of town, but it's not drawing me back on a regular basis at the moment.

I've heard alot about Pot Kettle Black over the past 12 months or so, and have desperately wanted to try here for a while now, luckily my search for a barbershop brought me to the Barton Arcade, and hence Pot Kettle Black.

PKB is an independant coffee shop, surrounded in Deansgate, close to St Anne's Square and the Arndale Shopping Centre, by so many big brand coffee companies, PRET, EAT, Starbucks, Costa, all have stores within minutes of a walk away from here, so Pot Kettle Black must be doing something right to be able to afford, what I guess is a high rent in the Barton Arcade, and being able to stay open, and I agree that they are.

They is lots of plug sockets here, with one at near enough every table, and with the main central table being flooded with them, which is especially good to sit and work for a few hours, if you can work on your computer, and it is a nice, relaxing atmosphere to be able to do that too.

The staff here seemed a little poor, I was waiting for a minute or two at the till, while the staff carried on their conversation, and I even talked like I was being served, only to be ignored. When I was served, the staff seemed a little quiet and it was hard to here them, having not offered any flavouring syrups, I decided to go for a plain latte. My drink was £2.80, which I find pretty pricey considering the size, and that it is an independent chain, but I do understand they can't do it too cheaply, as I'm sure rent is high at the Barton Arcade, and simply they need to do that to pay for all the plug sockets!

The coffee was quite strong, but still I did enjoy it, and it was good quality, I do understand why they didn't want to offer flavouring syrups, as it would "make people not appreciate the coffee" as my barista pointed out, it cost £2.80 as I said, and was served with a biscuit (sadly not gluten free) and a glass of water.

I was a little upset to see that PKB had wasted an opportunity to offer gluten free, they claimed to me to offer gluten free brownies, but they were not separated, and they was a high chance of cross-contamination, so I had to avoid that. They told me they would not be able to offer it anyway due to having a small kitchen, but they plan to make the kitchen bigger in the future, and they may offer it. In my opinion, they could clean the surfaces down (as they should anyway) and simply bake the gluten free first in the morning, and put them in plastic bags, that could result in minimum cross-contamination, and seem more inviting for coeliacs to visit, as it is really nice to have something with your coffee, which isn't a prepackaged and non-fresh wrap or brownie.

They do have a couple of signs in the surrounding areas of Deansgate and St Anne's Square, which let you know it is nearby, with a few humorous messages, and free wifi is also available here, which I feel is great as it adds to the place being great to work from, and it also requires no long sign-up, which makes it not worth connecting to the wifi at all, and with codes on every table, you don't need to worry about bothering the staff for the password, hence can connect easier and quicker.

I was a little disappointed with the service here, especially to warrant paying £2.80 for a drink of that size, and it also would have been nice if they did remove the biscuit, knowing I'm gluten free for health reasons, but the coffee is quite nice here and good quality, and it is a nice place, so I do feel 3 stars is a fair rating for Pot Kettle Black.

UPDATE: A recent visit here left me leaving both disappointing and hungry, It started off so well offering gluten free soup and bread, however I was quite upset that is appeared to be overpriced, even being charged £1.50 for an extra two slices of bread for food that was barely average. I also ordered an iced coffee which sadly was terrible, to the point I had to send it back and I mentioned this to my waitress, however one thing which annoyed me was that she still tried charging me for it. I was upset to have to order a drink and send it back, let alone had to kick up a fuss as they tried to force me to pay for something, which is unacceptable and poor customer service so sadly I feel the need to demote Pot Kettle Black to a single one star due to poor levels of drink and food quality and service and pricing issues.

I've been to Pot Kettle Black twice now and I don't know how I feel about it.

It's a really smart joint, tucked away in Barton Arcade, and the staff are great. It's a nice place to hang out and kill time. I'm just not sure that the coffee is very good. On my first visit it was okay but on my second it was quite unpleasant, very bitter. Maybe this is personal taste but I don't think a flat white should be overpoweringly bitter and should be a bit more of a people pleaser?

I won't be rushing back over other places, but as I said it's a convenient place to kill time sometimes so you never know.

Returning to an old haunt to find it the same and better

This cafe has now been open for almost a year and they've settled in to being a prime coffee spot, with a fantastic atmosphere, selection of food and great service as always.

PKB was always a well-oiled machine but there's something so lovely about the ease of service, the consistent quality of the drinks, no matter who's pouring them, and the general attention to detail. The guys have made tiny adjustments--the "outside" seating, the music selection, the food and its presentation--and have made something that was already very, very good into something faultless.

Pop in for a drink, grab yourself soup or a sandwich, a brownie or a slice of cake, and prepare to sit in here for hours.