The Afternoon Tea Club Reviews Fresco Freddo

This week, despite the autumn chill, we decided to take a trip to Fresco Freddo's, Manchester's brand new gelato house for a cool twist on dessert.

Environment

Laura: I find pretty things in pastel colours hard to resist at the best of times but when they're paired with waffles, pancakes and coffee - it's pretty much a given I'm going to indulge. The space is very cute and simple with a small bench area for customers to sit inside if they wish. Cool modern dining with optional al fresco seating too - just remember to bring your coat!

Caroline: It's only small, but Fresco Freddo's cafe is the ideal space to enjoy a coffee and gelato on a warm summer's (or cold winter's) evening. Their smart and simple benches, offer a sleek practicality, whilst their choice of music provides a comfortable informality which is pretty much everything you can ask of a shop like this!

Food 

Laura: We've been here twice already so it's safe to say we're fans. I tried the cookie dough gelato on ourfirst visit and had a fabulous banana and nutella crepe on the second occassion. Those lovely warm crepes have certainly got me looking forward to Christmas!

Caroline: We love this place, we really do - everything is just so yummy. The first time we went, I tried their Strawberry and Chocolate gelato which was molto delizioso, and the second I opted for waffles. Freddo's gelato is seriously the best that I've had outside of Italy and their waffles, well what can I say? They're amazing - I'm off to Belgium soon so I'll let you know how they fare!

Service

Laura: Lovely staff - stamped my loyalty card for just a cup of coffee which was very much appreciated. Polite, helpful and friendly.

Caroline: The service is great, very friendly and accommodating staff. Also the addition of table service for in door diners is an unexpected but very welcome plus!

Overall Thoughts

Laura: Extra points should be awarded for the lovely member of staff on our first visit who gave me a free slice of wonderful orange cake with my cup of coffee. I think we've found our new hangout!

Caroline: I can't wait to go back here and enjoy some more of their delicious gelato - If you're in the Oxford Road area of Manchester, pay them a visit!

Cupcake Rating:

The Afternoon Tea Club Reviews: The Footage, Oxford Road, Manchester

Environment

Caroline: Footage isn't strictly a tea room or coffee shop, it's more of a pub/bar, but being one of our regular haunts, we couldn't resist giving it a sneaky little review. For sentimental reasons I'll always love Footage and for cheap pub grub you can't really go wrong. Environment-wise, Footage possesses a nice atmosphere, with comfy seats and a pool table making it the perfect place to hang if you're a student on a budget, or just a general lover of nice pubs. It's quite dark inside, but this only adds to it's ambiance, although be warned you'll probably be blinded when you step out of the door!

Laura: Oh Footage, the place we frequent when we pretend we're off to the library! It's not your typical cutesy tea room set-up but rather a pub that just happens to serve very nice cake. The converted picture house interior is used to its full potential with balcony seating and a large screen above the bar. Although it is rather dark inside, the blue fairy lights help to create a relaxing pub atmosphere but be careful as you may forget what time it is during your visit and it will evening before you know it and time for cocktails - actually that's not such a bad thing!

Food

Caroline: The food at Footage is very reasonably priced, and you can generally get a whole meal for less that £10. On this visit I opted for a filter coffee (99p) and a piece of their Chocolate Cake and Ice Cream (which I'm sorry to say I can't remember the price of - but it was very cheap!) The Cake, for the price, was very nice and the portion size was exceptional. However, because of the large portions it did become rather sickley after a while - but the beauty of large portions is you don't need to eat it all!

Laura: Don't let the super cheap prices fool you as the desserts at Footage rival some of the much more up-market eateries in the city. I chose a belgian waffle with ice cream and chocolate sauce and dear me, they've become my latest obsession! Absolutely gorgeous and a generous size too. As if that wasn't enough, the desserts are all 2 for the price of 1, meaning coffee and cake for you and a friend will only cost around £5 overall - Bonus!

Service

Caroline: The staff are friendly and service is prompt - exactly what I'd expect - well done!

Laura: The service is always great at Footage. The wait time is always extremely good and the staff are really pleasant.

Overall Thoughts

Caroline: I love Footage. It's studenty, but super affordable and lacking in pretentions - It does what it says on the can. If you're in the Oxford Road area, pay them a visit!

Laura: Footage has always been a firm favourite of ours and although it may not fall into the sugar coated coffee shop category, its casual and welcoming atmosphere makes it a great place with good food. Plus, as it's so cheap, there's no reason why you shouldn't use the 2 for 1 offer on your own!

Cupcake Rating