Baking, breakfast and bistros: Burton Road has it all

South of Fallowfield, past Withington Village and into the land of West Didsbury lies Burton Road, a haven of bakeries and general homemade goodness. I’ll admit, I was getting bored of the cupcake fad, but something about And The Dish Ran Away With The Spoon, self-titled ‘purveyors of tea and cakes’, had me once again standing, eyes wide and possibly drooling, torn between the impossible choice of cakes on display. Making someone choose from such a delectable selection is bordering on torture, especially when it involves a white chocolate sponge topped with vanilla icing and a juicy raspberry, and a spiced ginger cupcake covered with cream cheese icing and ginger nut sprinkles. The only solution is to get both.

This isn’t the only dilemma you might face on Burton Road, as the windows of every restaurant, bar and bakery scream ‘Pick me! Pick me!’ The good news is that whatever you go for, you won’t be disappointed. Try Love2Eat for unpretentious, good food, cooked well. The Monday night ‘Supper Club’ includes a casserole, cake and a glass of wine all for £7. Rhubarb restaurant is another great choice, at £13.95 for two courses. The menu boasts pan-fried liver and black pudding, pork escalope with braised lentils and smoked bacon, as well as ginger sponge pudding with caramel sauce and Chantilly cream.

If you’re more into big breakfasts than fancy suppers, look no further than the Burton Road Bakery, which claims to have the best Eggs Benedict in South Manchester. You may think you prefer your breakfast in bed on a Sunday morning, but head on down to Folk and you won’t regret swapping your pillows and duvet for their ‘breakfast in bread’: everything we love about an English breakfast piled up lovingly in sandwich style. It’s cutlery-free consumption for you – and less washing up for them. Everybody wins.

Being away from the student hub, another of Burton Road’s merits is that you can actually tell when it’s the weekend. On Friday and Saturday night every bar and restaurant is packed, and Sunday morning sees an influx of young and oddly good looking folk rolling in and out of every open door.

…Is it something in the cake?