Hidden in a quiet alleyway in Manchester city centre is Annie’s, the restaurant and tea room co-owned by Coronation Street star Jennie McAlpine
One restaurant and tea room in Manchester has a celebrity owner in the form of Coronation Street star Jenni McAlpine, who has played Fiz Dobbs in Coronation Street since 2001.
Jenni, and her partner Chris Farr opened the restaurant in 2012 and have since gone on to win a clutch of awards for the venue including People’s Choice award for best tea room at the Manchester Tourism Awards for its range of Afternoon Teas.
This year’s Traveller’s Choice Awards Best of the Best Restaurants, which recognises the reviewers’ favourite dining spots of reviewers for 2024 across a variety of categories, also listed Annie’s in the top 10 too.
Manchester Evening News reporter Jenna Campbell headed to Annie’s to see if it is really worth the hype.
She wrote: “Entering Annie’s felt a little different. Stepping into what felt like someone’s front room – though most won’t have chandeliers and plush, button-backed armchairs – we noticed it was awfully quiet. The soothing hum of Michael Bublé’s vocals could just about be heard coming through the speakers, but there were no customers.
“The private dining area was sectioned off too and we convinced ourselves that it was closed. A nosy downstairs and we eventually found our way – and the other customers.
“It’s hard to describe but there was no discernible theme to the space. There were more armchairs though and a little fake log fire at the foot of the staircase.
“Twinkling fairy lights and fake flowers cascaded from the ceilings, while theatre posters hung from the walls and light beamed through the pair of art deco-style windows in the main restaurant space.”
Then it was time to choose what to order, with Jenna writing: “Food wise, they cover a lot of ground here. There’s afternoon tea, Sunday lunch and breakfast all before you’ve found the a la carte. There’s a pre-dinner option from £22 but the larger menu intrigued us.”
Describing the menu as “resoundingly Northern”, Jenna says that she had her partner opted for the Bury Black pudding (£8.75), traditional hotpot (£15.75), and cheese and onion pie (£14.50).
The black pudding was served alongside some deep friend halloumi, with Jenna remarking that it was “neatly arranged atop of a glistening piece of toasted bread and with a pot of chilli jam, it was simple but effective.”
While the hot pot was “beautifully presented”, with her dining companion remarking that it “tasted like home.” Jenna continued: “Really embracing our Northern roots, the cheese and onion pie (£14.50) was tested out too.
“About the size of my palm, this small but mighty number with its golden shortcrust pastry isn’t like the slab of savoury goodness I’m used with the cheese bursting through the seams, but it was quite simply terrific.
“Rich, oozing and moreish, it’s exactly what we should be eating now. Gravy, chops and Annie’s beans – the latter gave the dish a bit of punch – rounded off the mains rather nicely.”
Finishing with a Jam Roly Poly (£7.75), Jenna concluded: “I remember thinking as a child nothing could top the one we were always given on Friday lunchtime, but Annie’s may have knocked it off the top spot. The jam was sublime – the right balance between sweet and tart – while the suet pudding roll was baked to perfection.
One downside of school dinners however was the lumpy custard that I recall grimacing at when forcing it back. Thankfully, with Annie’s there’s not bumps in the road, and instead a velvety and smooth end to proceedings.
