Ten of the best full English breakfasts in Greater Manchester

The full English breakfast is a British institution. No matter where you are in the world, you can tell there are other Brits about when you see cafes and restaurants advertising full English breakfasts and Sunday roasts.

A full English breakfast is one of the most satisfying ways to start your day. A proper full English consists of eggs, bacon, sausages, tomatoes, mushrooms and toast with more recent additions including baked beans, black pudding, potato cakes or hash browns.

A bad full English is made from poor quality ingredients and is swimming in grease. A good one is a thing of beauty and can set you up for the rest of the day.

Enjoy with friends and family – or if you’re still out the morning after the night before.

Albert’s Schloss

This Bavarian bier palace on Peter Street is a top spot for brunch. The menu features a full Cook Haus breakfast (£12), Salmon Royale (£10), wild mushroom and spinach toast (£9), and the Schlossage Sandwich with a bratwurst patty, crispy Black Forest ham, omelette, Gouda cheese, Frankfurt sauce and pickled chilli on a pretzel bun (£7) as well as a full cooked breakfast (£12).

Breads, pastries, cruffins and kronuts (£4) are all baked in-house every Saturday and Sunday, and drinks include freshly squeezed juice, coffees and teas as well as a selection of breakfast cocktails (from £5) from a Screwdriver to a Garibaldi (Campari and orange juice).

Quarter House

A laid back bar in the heart of the Northern Quarter, Quarter House is known for serving up some of the best BBQ food in the city – as well as a brunch menu at weekends until 3pm.

The menu includes poached eggs with pulled smoked brisket and sriracha hollandaise on toasted sourdough and own-recipe fried chicken with baby spinach and kimchi aioli as well as the One Night Stand: a beast of a platter which includes three rashers of bacon, three pork sausages, three eggs, three hash browns, tomatoes, mushrooms, sourdough toast with butter, trays of classic smoked pulled pork and oak smoked pulled brisket, plus fried chicken and gravy. The ultimate hangover cure?

Playfoots Monton

This little independent cafe bar in Monton serves a banging breakfast. It consists of sausage, bacon, egg, beans, mushrooms, hash brown, black pudding and a toasted slice of bloomer. And it’s probably the biggest and best quality full English breakfast in Greater Manchester.

Moose Coffee

Another American-inspired diner, but this one feels less preppy and much more Canadian Mountain lodge. It was very busy when we arrived and we had to come back half an hour later just to get a table. As a result we waited a bit longer for our Lone Star Moose breakfast but when it arrived it was huge – easily the biggest serving of all the places we visited. Not only was there also griddled potato hash (a little dry unfortunately) but also a minute steak – fantastic – although the gourmet chipolata sausages were my favourite thing on the plate. Great value for money considering the amount of food you get would easily feed two.
Price £8.50
www.moosecoffee.co

Home Sweet Home

A very speedily served breakfast in this comfy little kitchen but no fried eggs here. They were scrambled but pretty good – light, fluffy and well-seasoned. I wanted my bacon crisper and I was unsure about the sausage patty as I’m a bit of a traditionalist and would have preferred the classic banger. Aside from that, a very good mushroom – possibly the juiciest of the competition, lovely toast, and not too many beans on the plate. And a very nice brew. Now what’s on the cake counter today?
Price £8
www.homesweethomenq.com

Trof

Very cool serving staff all wearing beanies looked after us on our visit. We waited over twenty minutes for our full English which was served in a tin bowl which we are prepared to overlook as the breakfast itself was that good. Outstanding sausages (from Frosty the butcher, obviously) made to their own recipe, fresh bread direct from their own bakery, lovely free range eggs with runny yellow yolk laid in Cheshire (where else?) and tasty earthy mushrooms. What’s not to like?
Price £8.50
www.trofnq.co.uk

Malmaison Manchester

This is one of the best hotel breakfasts and then some – and you don’t even have to be a guest. Don’t let the price put you off as it’s beyond good value for what you actually get. Not only is the full English (with some rather special leek sausages that warrant a special mention) included, but also a visit to the continental breakfast buffet with a selection of cereals, fruits, cheeses, charcuterie and pastries. Also included are fresh juice, toast, tea and coffee. The Big Mal Breakfast will set you up for the day and have lunch covered too if you’ve got a serviette and a bag to hand (come on we all do it).  They stop serving at 10am so don’t leave it too late.
Price £15.95
www.malmaison.com

The Laundrette

Sometimes it’s hard to say what makes one breakfast better than another, but I think balance has a big part to play, with all the items on the plate in proportion, not too much of one thing or too little of another. No fancily-named ingredients and no supplier name dropping, just really good sausages, bacon, eggs, mushrooms, tomatoes, black pudding, beans and toast. A bit like one you would make at home but better. Find them on First Street or venture to Chorlton.
Price £9.50
www.thelaundretteuk.com

The Koffee Pot

Take one British institution – the full English – and one Manchester institution – The Koffee Pot. It’s a match made in heaven. The Koffee Pot is our winner for food, the comfort, service and value. The full English here is what I would describe as a builders breakfast – not in a derogatory way but in that it does exactly what it says on the tin. No frills, everything you crave when you want a proper fry-up with some Bury black pudding thrown in for free if you want it. The place is always filled with creative types and the vibe is lovely and Bohemian but with that Manchester edge. The staff are lovely, the food arrived in just over five minutes, and it only cost £7, so it’s amazing value. The Koffee Pot scored full marks in every category and was our clear winner.
Price £7
www.thekoffeepot.co.uk

Tell us where/how you eat your breakfast below…