Open Kitchen Cafe & Bar @ PHM in Manchester

We used to come here regularly for brunch or occasionally a Sunday lunch when they did that, but it's gone downhill. Their menu is just a bit weird now. They have 50% off on Sundays, yet only for a small fraction of the menu which is a bit of a strange mix of sandwich and light bite options. You've got to do a lot of work to figure out what's on offer, not on offer, and what someone should order. They used to do fantastic breakfasts and brunches, but they've scaled these back to an unappealing one permutation of a breakfast sandwich (sausage, bacon and hash brown. Nothing else). No eggs anywhere on the breakfast menu these days. I might be wrong - they obviously know their market better than me - but it seems like they had a lovely food offer and they've lost it to offer an average lunch offer instead. Would love to keep on supporting this independent venue, but it's not what it was.

The menu offers standard fare for a museum's cafeteria. Service was friendly and the café itself wasn't too busy. I had the chicken curry, which could have done with a lot more flavour. The curry was accompanied by rice and a piece of inexplicably neon pink naan, which was probably the best part of the meal (very soft and certainly eye-catching!). Decent food here but slightly pricey given how close the museum is to lots of other eateries.

Just wanted to have a simple Sausage butty near where I work, hard to find so decided to check this place out. However they only had an all in one sandwich, not overly fond of bacon but ate it anyway, and for £8+, it's a very mediocre sandwich, no flavour to the sausage or bacon, wasn't offered nor pointed to any sauce, and hash browns should have crispy exteriors, but no, I've had tastier for far less. Coffee/espresso was fine although a tad more acidic than I would usually prefer. Typical city centre style cafe really, all expense, and lacking in actual substance and character.

taste no better than Tesco’s meal deals…

Good food, but I've been back and the quality has gone down and the price of the food has gone up.

Me and my mates came to the museum and went after to the cafe, the wait time for me was absurd, I am Muslim also so I can only eat halal e.g. no pork, alcohol and only halal meat. I order the veg pizza and wedges to find out the pizzas were finished and the only other option for me was the pasta wich was hard and the wedges were straight up just burnt. My mate waited 30 minutes after for his wedges so he asked for his money back. This is all from my personal experiences with this place but would never come back here, from the prices to the food its just not worth it.

Amazing value and very tasty lunch. Lovely chilled atmosphere in this sustainable and ethical cafe. We enjoyed excellent curries, pork belly ramen and soup. Meals were half price as it was a Sunday (same on Tuesdays). Kids menu, friendly staff. Too full for cake after!

Nice little restaurant, enjoyed my breakfast there, it was Tuesday so I got half price on my curry which is £5 now

Fantastic spot for brunch especially. Always excellent, always a little different with whatever locally-sourced produce they have that day. Decent coffee too.

Lovely healthy place in the People’s museum, nice large windows with a view on the river, and great staff . Also not too expensive.

I booked open kitchen for my works christmas do and from the very beginning the team were phenomenal. They were so accommodating, helpful with all questions that I had, and incredibly responsive. On the night, the team were incredibly friendly and attentive, with a particular shout out to Rebecca who was incredible! The food, a full three course Christmas dinner, was the best Christmas dinner i've ever had at a work do! I cannot recommend Open Kitchen enough and I'm already planning on going back for our next work do!

Wonderful cafe sited inside the People’s History Museum. Whether it’s just for coffee and cake, or a lunchtime meal, there’s plenty of tasty, mainly vegetarian, choices. Really good home cooked food, prepared and served with love, care and an ethical viewpoint. I had a soup and sandwich deal for £10 - and in truth, it was rather too much. But it was so good I did eat the lot ! Why go to an anonymous chain with bland food when you can go here? Definitely recommended

Delicious coffee & treats and quiet canal-side seating. A social enterprise supporting good causes. Attached to The People's History Museum, which is by donation. Highly recommended.

A lovely cafe selling great meals. I had risotto which was perfect size for lunch. and delicious. Food half price on a Tuesday too which was a bonus. Will definitely return. Thank you

Just came in for a quick hot drink, the lady that served me blonde hair shoulder length was so friendly and very good service, my hazelnut hot chocolate was 👌🏼

Great coffee, great staff. And good museum to potter, couldn't get better

Great food at good price, also lovely location on the river

Really good cafe and food with decent price! Has indoor and outdoor spaces, both have view over the canal.

I have been here loads of times. The food is always excellent and I love the ethos of the place. The staff are really friendly and helpful. Thanks for another lovely visit 👍

Great coffee and banana cake, lovely staff brought me more coffee while I waited for friends overlooking the canal.

Lovely cafe, lovely service and great food, nice for relaxing or studying!

Average coffee, forgot the cake. Average service.

Great service, fair prices and delicious food!

Lovely food, good value, friendly staff and interior is clean and up to date

Fantastic service and excellent spicy kedgeree. Really good value and lovely cafe.

Lovely cafe next to the best museum!

Very friendly staff and good place for a brunch!

Fresh and great service. A relaxing lunch altogether.

It’s rare to find places like this one that combines good food great service and true sustainability. Coffee, Veggie croissant and buns simply delicious. And courteous and friendly staff. I’d love to see more of this around the country.

Wonderful breakfast and delicious coffee. Such a great setting right by the canal. Highly recommend a visit

Very nice coffee and lovely people

In the May 17th 2023 timeframe towards the semifinal Manchester City vs Real Madrid, my son and I did have good bruch at Open Kitchen. Food is nice and it gets more and more crowded up to lunchtime.

Incredible range of vegan food which changes each day, great coffee as a staple and lovely staff offering prompt service!

Fantastic Quality of food and good value (PS try the cakes) Very Professional Service. kind to the environment.

Bar staff friendly and helpful, food was decent for price would recommend nice and quiet.

Friendly staff, food and coffee always good

Service and food were fantastic, will definitely visit again

Food was super tasty and the staff are always really welcoming.

Nice coffee, excellent place to stay

Lovely chill place with great staff. The soup is AMAZING too.

Good food and nice concept to minimise food waste and use profits for good

Lovely museum. Great facilities. Friendly staff.

very lovely atmosphere and interesting food choices

The food was really nice. Plenty of vegetarian options and lots of herbal teas! Service really speedy and staff were super friendly :)

We had coffee and lemon drizzle cake. The coffee was really good but the lemon drizzle cake was beyond excellent; so good we went for another slice. The young man who was serving was really pleasant and helpful. I absolutely recommend this cafe.

Had a sausage butty and coffee and it was very good. Great service and lovely atmosphere. Overall highly recommend!

I'm a very regular customer here and never disappointed! The food is always bang on, prices are great and the ethos behind Open Kitchen is something more people need to get on board with. Please visit if you can!

i have visited open kitchen a few times and have never been disappointed. the food is always amazing and you wouldn’t think that it was made from potential “food waste”. the staff are all really friendly and welcoming! the menu changes daily which gives you a chance to sample lots of different things! i've sampled some of the small plates, and on my most recent visit i had a roast dinner which was lovely and a great portion for the price too! they have 50% off food in january which is an added bonus. a must visit!

I love this cafe. Great place to relax and enjoy good food and great coffee. Very friendly staff. Highly recommend. Great coffee

Having visited and eaten here I have developed serious food insecurities. It rather goes against the grain, to sell overpriced, menial portions of food, in a building that is all about the struggles of the poorer end of mankind, to improve their lot. The poor working classes would neither be able to sustain themselves on the meagre portions here, nor be able to afford to pay for them. Having struggled tirelessly for better rights and conditions etc., it is also contrary to those struggles, to be dictated to by saying that they cannot eat meat on a Monday. Down with the King's new clothes and up the revolution!

What a gem of a place! They have daily changing small menus, reflecting their ethical and sustainable concept and the coffee is really delicious too. On a (rare) sunny afternoon in Manchester it's my go to spot to sit outside and people watch, iced latte (or wine!) in hand. I love that there's always vegan and vegetarian options and a choice of lighter bites and heartier dishes. Definitely recommend!

We were visiting the Peoples Museum and were given a 10% discount voucher for this café, which is located within the museum building. It is a large modern space with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the river. There is also some outside seating. We enjoyed two flat white coffees before visiting the museum.

I love Open Kitchen. Firstly its concept of sustainable produce and also the gorgeous food. Plus staff are so great and professional. Highly recommend.

I go to Open Kitchen regularly, mostly coffee that can drift into lunch and the occasional glass of wine! The coffee is excellent and the last lunch I had (dhal) was delicious. Lovely staff and great location for people watching.

Visited the cafe as had been made aware of 50% off during January via Instagram promotion Unfortunately the portrayal of food depicted on Instagram that we ordered did not turn out as expected. Even at half price it felt expensive for what was received, I certainly would not have paid full price and would’ve felt ripped off. When the manager came to take our plates he made a comment about how we had eaten quickly, I thought this was unnecessary and slightly rude, I wanted to say yes because it was a small portion and not correctly represented via social media, the whole reason we visited because the food looked decent Very disappointed and certainly would not return or recommend due to portion and customer service