The Foundation Coffee House in Manchester

This was one of the most disappointing meals and places we’ve been to in Manchester. We ordered orange juice, filter coffee, croque madame croissant, hash potatoes and vegan classic. We received the orange juices and a semi warm filter coffee in okay time, but had to wait 40 minutes for the food, which meant we had no drinks with it. We paid overprice for a small plate of cold potatoes with half a mushroom. It seemed like some leftover. The vegan classic was dry, some boiled spinach and nothing with any particular good taste, besides of the dry vegan sauces, but they needed ketchup. This was not homemade, just some anonymous ketchup bottle. The croque Madame croissant would have offended a French person, it was disappointing as croque madame, decent just called a croissant with egg/ham/cheese though. We received no apologies for the delay, were not offered any new drinks after such a long wait and glasses/cups being empty. No eye contact from the staff. We were asked to pay when we ordered. If we hadn’t, I would have complained. The price was not fair for the amount of food and quality of food and service.

Couldn't know how the food was. As I stayed there for the paper game/ work 😁.

Expensive but came here as had a nice atmosphere and wasn’t too busy. Plenty of choices on the menu and free water station. No complaints and would return for sure.

Great place for English breakfasts. Nice place, extremely kind and professional staff. I tried their version of Eggs Benedict, very good. Advised

Overpriced Northern Quarter brunch spot as to be expected. Service is fine. The quality of food is good but not matched for what you pay. Smoothies were fresh. Main gripe is the noise level, it's unbearable when it gets slightly busy and the acoustics just amplify it all. Makes eating here unpleasant.

Great place to work from and relax.

Went in today after a horrible coffee and food in chapter one books was greeted by a friendly on the door had a mattcha coffee and salmon bagel and cream cheese it was busy but plenty of seats and not a long wait would recommend

Busy Sunday morning and we had to wait 20 minutes, but the communication from the staff was 10/10. They were a member of staff down but still got us in quicker than expected and took our order without any delay. Food was incredible and good quality. Coffee was top notch and you could taste the difference using organic coffee beans. Would definitely come here again for brunch

Truly dreadful. AVOID. Coffee dreadful, I asked for a flat white. It was awful. I asked if I could have a cappuccino instead. They said I'd have to wait a long time as they were really busy and that I'd have to pay for a cappuccino. My daughters hot chocolate wasn't drinkable. We also had a cake which was so sweet it tasted of nothing but sugar.

Lovely space with fantastic coffee and food. Will definitely be back next time we're in the area.

Went here for brunch recently. We were told there was a wait time for the food. We ordered the food, and paid for it, but discovered that the menu prices were not right, they charge VAT separately. They need to be honest with this as I didn't expect to pay more than what was stated on the menu. The food arrived, we had a few issues with certain items being undercooked but the staff sorted it. It wasn't the best experience of Brunch I have had.

This café has a large spacious interior with plenty of choice of seating. We had a light breakfast of granola, toast and green tea. The prices were okay, but we were annoyed that they didn’t take cash.

A nice cafe to work in. Lots of others working alone in there as there’s plenty of space.

Great coffee. Felt comfortable sitting working on my laptop - plenty of space to others.

These guys deserve all the 5 stars! Such a great coffee shop and an amazing place to bring your laptop and work in peace. The vibe is very cool and laid back, I had 2 coffees, both were great and appropriately priced (incomparable to Starbucks TBH). I was there for a few hours to work and have some coffee before my train and this was a perfect spot. The staff do not judge or bother you if you’re just working, the music was a little louder IMO if you’re planning on having any meetings, otherwise great service and cozy atmosphere. It’s pet friendly, it was so great to see cute dogs within the space. Would recommend 10/10

Great find, five minutes walk from Oxford Road railway station. All day brunches, workshops and remote working facilities. Great coffees and fresh produce.

Great coffee and location. Large coffee shop with plenty of seats. Staff were very good and helpful and enjoyed our visit here.

Coffee was very tasty, and just as good on our return visit!

The place neet, the drinks even better. I had a biscoff shake. Best thing I've ever had.

Awesome place, great food, cool place to hang out

Why on earth have the minimise and change the menu?! Gone so downhill Never again!

Perfect place to co work, good WiFi and lots of space. One of the best full English’s I’ve ever had too.

Excellent place to meet and have brunch, coffee etc. A warm welcome and helpful staff. Can get busy but worth the wait. Highly recommended

friendly staff and truly delicious and excellent hot chocolate

You get what you pay for. Very flexible with

Their ice tea is the best I've had

Good food, good cocktails, slow service

Great food Great drinks Great atmosphere BLOODY AWFUL SERVICE!!!

A take away latte £4.20 Expensive and not worth the money

Always a great coffee and lovely people

I ordered a kind of bread and it came different, if I knew it was different from what I ordered I wouldn't buy it. I didn't ask to come a similar one. It's not cheap to come a bread that I'm not going to eat and blonde attendant with blue eyes turn your back and leave

The food this time wasn’t right . Slimy scrambled eggs piled on top of bread with avocado piled on top . Quite a small plate. The tea arrived first the server must think she’s a gangster cause she just popped the milk cup inside the empty tea cup and bunged it on the table spilling the milk inside . We didn’t ask for milk but now we have milk in the tea cup . Worse more the milk cup base was sat inside the tea cup hardly a clean hygienic way to serve drink. No apology and totally oblivious . Then arrives the food . We mentioned the mushrooms are missing the server wanted to take away all the food and we said we are eating now just get the missing mushrooms ! The young man reruns marching through like an mma wrestler spouting out a story about how the mushroom always gets missed out on orders and he will bring it soon . It arrived 10 minutes later ! Then the gangster number one returns to commandeer the ketchup . We had to add a bit more ketchup …I asked is this the only bottle yes I’m afraid so . She grabs it and marches off . I am absolutely disgusted by the food and more importantly the service is from the gutters . Hiring untrained staff with the No manners is a disgrace . Management be ware . This is not what people pay for when they wish to be served in a hygienic and comfortable environment . A really bad experience . If you wish to hire this kind of staff then just pack up and move elsewhere . Not a cafe that deserves to be in the northern quarter . Not anymore ! This is the third time we get this type of belligerent indifferent and rude service . A real pattern hence why the review .

Good food Horrible orange juice - not 'Freshly Squeezed' as it states it is out of a plastic carton and tast cheap - good coffee

We like the food, however, every time we go we’re told that there is at least a 40-60 minute on food (even when there is several empty tables). Today we went and we were told that they had to prioritise a hen do that took place earlier in the day (it was 13:30) and they weren’t serving food. The food is alright, but we won’t be trekking over there again anytime soon, as it gets boring hearing the same thing each time and having to wait for an extended amount of time for a simple barm.

Very nice place great atmosphere coffee is good as well.not tried any food yet but should imagine it's as good as the drinks.

Very noisy but delicious coffee. I had an oat milk latte and a tea ☕️

Fabulous Bank Holiday brunch, OF Avocado Smash with Chorizo and Halloumi, and a delicious creamy cappuccino on the side. Very busy kitchen but well staffed.

coffee always bangs and the staff are so nice!! <3

Came here to do some work, was the perfect place to go, coffee was brilliant and was able to get straight into my work without any real distraction. Was also great to see others doing the same which gave it the right atmosphere for me to concentrate.

Best tasting breakfast I've had in a while. Took a while for coffees and food to come but it was very busy

Very noisy al, the food could have been better. Salt was probably missing and imagine I am a person who uses very little salt when cooking

Such friendly service and not bad prices for indie

Great coffee and a nice interior. What let's it down is the service, everytime I go in there it's like the staff are actively ignoring me, I'd try to make a joke or some conversation but just get a blank look back.

My regular go to place during the week. I come here to do my studies. Love the ambience, love the food, love the polite and friendly staff, love everything about the cafe 👍🏻 In terms of Food, the Sticky Toffee French Toast was so delicious 👌. No words. Will be coming back soon next week again. Thanks Foundation.

I came to get take away food. The customer service was pretty poor and the staff on the door might benefit from going through customer training. However, the worst was the food that I have ordered! For £12 I got the smallest salad portion I have ever seen that consisted of a bunch of rocket, with 2 halves of the aubergine and sprinkles of feta cheese and random couscous. It felt like the leftover food from the weekend has been put together. No chicken was available on a day (which is fine as I don't mind), but also there was no seasoning whatsoever! This salad should have cost me much less! If you want some lunch food, avoid it all costs!

Absolutely love this place. It can get super busy but it's not hard to see why. Great location within NQ, always a good vibe, helpful staff, all round goodness (oh and Porridge to die for!)

I absolutely love this place Best place to start my day Food and coffee are excellent Friendly service, spacious surroundings

I just had a coffee and a berry bliss whilst working from here on a trip from Belfast. The staff were very friendly and I'd highly recommend it for a cracking coffee and a spacious place to work.

Easily the best oat latte I’ve ever had

My first visit to Foundation Coffee House was during my second year at university. I had recently taken up yoga and was attending a vinyasa class across the street. As I left the class, I was greeted by the imposing façade of Sevendale House. At the time, I felt like I was in Brooklyn Heights or another trendy part of NYC. It has enormous ground floor windows and a sort of stoop set into the building. I was in the mood for coffee, so I went inside. And it's been my go-to ever since. Whenever I'm in the Northern Quarter, I know I'll be able to get into Foundation. The décor hints at NQ's industrial past, with exposed pipes and wires in the ceiling. The shop itself is very spacious and homely, with white tiled walls and small tables. The food here is decent. It'll certainly fill the void if you fancy one of their bakes. However, the chief selling points of Foundation are the coffee and the service. The coffee is strong, and the staff are all very friendly and accommodating. If food is what you're looking for, it might be worth delving a little further into town. But for a relaxing atmosphere, nowhere compares to Foundation.

Even if we had some issue with ordering our food and had to change order twice ,the service was excellent and they offer us a discount for the inconvenience. Staff is so lovely and food really really good! I don't know her name but the girl who serve us was amazing!! I'll deffo visit again!

Sixteen of us walked in, after a very enjoyable Romiley WI walk around the Northern Quarter. We easily found seats, after a bit of reorganisation by us, in this spacious, lively (women owned - apt for us 😉) coffee house. The service was EXCELLENT and nothing was too much trouble. We will definitely be back. Thank you.

Great coffee and service; the barista Maria gave us a great coffee bean recommendation. Will definitely come back when I am in the area.

Great coffee, good food. Great place to bring your laptop!

I’ve been in here so many times & MARIA- wow she deserves so much, her efforts, her charisma, she stands out against the other staff from a mile! Please make sure she gets her recognition

I've been here a few times now, sometimes on a weekday and sometimes it's a weekend and it's one of my favorite spots for sure! The thing that really makes this place is the staff!!! Such resilient and kind people(rare combo lol). I always feel welcome and special here. Namely Maria who is so dedicated and hard working but also so sweet and just makes it look like it's so easy when I know it cant be as it's always so busy in there and some of us coffee thirsting peeps can be so grumpy lol so yes the service is exceptional, the great atmosphere is made by the great staff(also big love to Keeli and Julianne) and the master chef from Australia in the kitchen (forgot name sorry) - also makes it look so easy and the presentation is just always like something you see on tv That is another reason why i recommend this place - you see those busy places and you know it must be so stressful to work there (I used to work in pub kitchens) and sometimes it makes me not want to eat in places like that but actually here the kitchen is quite visible and before I started talking to the staff more I'd always notice the kitchen looks like a healthy environment so that's definitely a big reason why the food is good and the place runs smoothly too anyway these lovely people and all the other staff there have been so kind to me always even tho i can be awkward and not so so regular I just feel appreciated there and always looking forward to my next visit.

Lovely coffee shop and great to do studying/ work. The lady that took my order behind the till was slightly rude and unhelpful when I was unsure on my order which left me feeling un welcome. Maybe she was having a bad day (I work in retail and can resonate sort of) I would go back again however but maybe to a different location!

Coffee is amazing. Here most days, great place to work on weekdays. The banana bread is top tier. Just wish the seats were a little more comfier. P.s. Maria and Dan make the best coffee, had to follow them here from 200°

I really enjoyed the whole experience of excellent coffee, great staff and the working space is incredible

It’s nice coffee, nothing special but the staff are increasingly abrupt.

If you are a coffee lover then this is the place for you The coffee is outstandingly good And the food was delicious

We were staying at the Easy Hotel and there was a half an hour wait for the Ezra cafe so stumbled across this place round the corner and so glad we did. Really spacious, all the staff were really kind & lovely. I ordered a breakfast bowl with sausage & bacon and it was just delicious. - so tasty with a perfect poached egg. Our party of 5 also had eggs Benedict, eggs royal and a toastie and all commented on how nice they were. Drinks were also really good. Highly recommend !!

Ok but when u order to go you have to put all the lid and all that is stuff on the counter at the front with a big queue behind you. Not exactly great when the coffee is four quid a throw. Whitworth Street is better.

Great coffee shop wish there was one like this local to me.

Really great caramel latte with Oat milk. Easily replaced Starbucks

Good staff, very welcoming and polite, coffee was delicious although the security was kinda rude

I want to say that while visiting the coffee shop for breakfast this morning, a staff member named Dan took my order at the till counter. has provided excellent client service. because he has a natural ability to grin, converse, and make clients feel comfortable. Employees like Dan, in my opinion, should be cared for and appreciated by the organisation. PS: Everyone on the staff is kind and helpful.

waited 30 minutes for our lattes! not so fast service

Good place for a quick coffee break! Classic breakfast dishes and delicious sweet treats. Small portions, great for a morning snack. Vegan and vegetarian options are available. Large space, plenty of different seating. Urban modern interior, office vibe. Perfect space to study and work. Best for solo and couple dates. Satisfactory service. Would be nice to be acknowledged by staff. Order came wrong but got a fast fix. Instagram Links: Coffee Shop @FDNCoffee Reviewed by @cesamargaux

Nice coffee and ambience with spacious baby change/disabled. Let down by general unwillingness of staff to help and they weren't understaffed.

Been using this place regularly now multiple times a week for the last 5 months. Not one bad coffe, meal or vibe. What more can you ask for! This is my go to place to bring people who have not been to Manchester for a coffee.

Amazing selection of different drinks! Atmosphere was warm and quaint, Staff were super friendly too, Especially the Irish girl at the till, She was very dilligent and patient in explaining all the differences between the coffees. Would definately come again!

I have never been so welcomed to a business where it genuinely feels like home. I have been coming here for a few years and I can see the constant improvement to accommodate to the rapid growing needs whilst still maintaining a deeper connection to the staff. In building my own business, I would be extremely proud to have a group of staff like the ones here and a service to this standard. If you read this review, trust me. You will thank me later!

Usually when i enter coffee shops i expect the staff to be kind and friendly but this was not the case earlier today. A particular girl who works at this branch was utterly disrespectful and rude. ( I highly doubt this is the sort of individual you would like representing your brand. ) When asked why a simple coffee was taking 20 minutes the two boys working seemed bothered however, there was no apology just a blunt and rude reply from her. I have worked in coffee shops and it does not take this long especially when it was very empty. She was then tasked in bringing the coffee to the table and this lead to her yet again being rude and short with myself and my boyfriend - I am unsure whether she understands what customer service means... perhaps a stuck up university student who only cares about herself? Why has she been hired? All in all, it was ok. Truly nothing special and it is a shame because the other members of staff were nice. My advice.... sack her before the entire brand reputation is ruined.

Super unfriendly and rude staff, been coming here for years without any issue and the last two visits the servers been most unwelcoming

Coffee nerds who know what they're doing. Highly recommend

Sat down for food, promised it would take 20-30 minutes. Drinks took 15 minutes to come. We waited for an hour before they told us they’d forgot our order of food. Tried to charge us for drinks when we wanted to leave. Blamed it on a faulty printer they were aware was missing orders. It’s a shame as the food does look good.

I’ve always left a good review, been going to Foundation for years, hosted business meetings and team building events there, client coffees, staff 1-1s because of the service, the space and quality of the coffee. (I even bought coffee during lockdown from you!) But having to change my review based on yesterday’s interaction; Girl in blue dungarees and white top couldn’t have been more rude taking my order (in front of other customers too). Unfortunately that’s my last time at Foundation. Only saving grace is that she seemed to have an issue with everyone else

Great food & coffee with space and a good atmosphere to work or study.

We came to Foundation Coffee as part of a day out. The drinks were nice and reasonable price. Whilst we attended in summer we did not expect the inside to be so warm with no air conditioning and this made the cafe very uncomfortable. The inside was sticky and we moved tables twice.

Good coffee, though milk was under aerated and foam wasn't smooth. Ample space on a Sunday afternoon.

Cleanest plates I've ever eaten off of, best grilled ham & cheeses I've ever had.

We go as a reasonable sized friend group, within the group we have a vegetarian with a soya allergy and someone who can't have gluten. The staff always do their best to check their allergies, and makes sure we have options. The food tastes amazing. I also am I love with their coffee slushies. The staff are always warm and friendly with us. And my friends with walking aids are never made to feel awkward. It is just always such a nice experience. We always leave feeling really happy.

Visit here on Tuesday just after 4.30pm. Ordered 2 soft drinks. Got to 4.55pm and the server says they are closed and snatches our drinks away. I didn't have a problem in leaving but the way in which we were treated was shocking!

Friendly service and nice pastries, generous with meat and cheese fillings.

Food was lovely and reasonably priced. When we came in we weren't sure what to do as in if we had to wait to be seated or help ourselves. We walked half way into the building to find someone to ask. So maybe having something to clearly state what to do so we didn't have to stop the young lady from working 😅👍

Excellent service, damn fine coffee and a good selection of vegan cakes

I love the breakfast bowl, BUT, sometimes it comes with 1 egg, (2 star breakfast) and sometimes it comes with 2 eggs (4 star breakfast), so I gave a 3. Because also it's kinda wierd that it changes so much each time I order it.

A good place for ME time. Nice coffee.

Very lovely food. I like the simplicity of the menu - not overly busy menu but everything done well. Coffee first class too.

I get my iced coffee here! Haven’t found anywhere else in town where they do iced coffee! Highly recommend for food or drinks!

Wonderful place to grab a coffee, delicious hot chocolate. Lovely place to bring your friends or your laptop and settle in for a long time.

Come on down to Foundation Coffee if you love overpaying for bang average coffee served to you by salty, miserable staff on dirty tables that you have to wipe yourself.

nice interior and atmosphere, good food and friendly staff

Expensive (£4 for juice!!) and too noisy for a good WFH environment.

In a previous review, in 2019, I commented about the slow service. This weekend, I visited Foundation for the first time since then, and the service issues are all resolved. So, we just wanted two coffees and no food, and the drinks were brought promptly to our table. I don't feel that I can give more than 4 stars simply because it was a brief visit and we didn't sample any food, etc. But we enjoyed our brief stay.

The staff are always friendly and accommodating with me, and my group. I'm a vegetarian with a soya allergy, and a friend of mine can't have gluten. Where possible the staff are happy to make changes for our dietary requirements. The staff are always so nice and make me and my group feel welcomed. The coffee is actually all kinds of amazing too. We tried a coffee slushie, and a coffee and tonic.

£4 for a cold, plain croissant … Coffee is okay but can’t get head around costs. Certainly other places you can go with better value for money.

Great breakfast however the coffee wasn't the best. Not awful, just not the best. Loud room which needs to have the acoustics sorted but overall a great dining experience.

Perfectly fine food and smoothie but just appalled by the service. No need to be all smiles and grins but just a bit of decency is good. Me and the man behind me were waiting awkwardly for 6 minutes to be served and the barista wasn’t even making anything. She was just wiping the counter and rudely ignoring us. After she eventually stubbornly took my order, there was exactly one man behind me. So explain why it took two workers 20 minutes to make a smoothie!!! Ridiculous. Not even an apology for the time just slammed down after 20 minutes and that’s that. So rude. Also £10.50 for a smoothie and a croissant is insane but that not the baristas fault.