Abergeldie Cafe, Shudehill, Manchester, M4

Finally I break my NorthWest duck. The Abergeldie is a fantastic place in Central Manchester. Huge portions. Great interior. What an atmosphere.

Look at that huge amount of stuff on there. I love it when an ebcb causes this kind of pile-up. They don't diminish the portions to create elegance on the plate, they just mound it all on there. Genius. Lovely chips. All sorts of sizes and textures which makes chip eating a voyage of discovery. Lots of pinkylovely bacon. And that egg is genius. Like a lunar crater.

NASA should be sending some sort of rover in there. What would they find?

Very nice condiment selection. Very elongated. Lots of verticals.

Medieval and red. What a brilliant combination. This is what Henry VII's bedroom would have been like if he'd be a Man U supporter.

Morning to you.

If it's alright with Terry Wogan it's alright with me. (Or is that just the toasted sandwiches).

Surely that's everything. What could the 'etc' be?

Comments

[Rachel]

I love what you are doing here, I love it - but I am increasingly dismayed and distressed by what I am seeing. Firstly, the chips. It's clear to me that all the chips you've sampled were frozen? I strongly disapprove of this. Once upon a time, we were not afraid of chips; chips were a part of ordinary life, and they were homemade and chunky, and made with delicious fresh potatoes. Unfortunately the last 20-30 years have given the chip a kind of taboo, forbidden, "cheap n nasty" status which seems to mean that if you decide you want chips, then the nastiest, cheapest frozen kind will be enough. Maybe it's so that you don't have to spend the time making them and thinking about the dark impulses you know you are about to succumb to .. and you can leave the scene of the crime as soon as you've guiltily finished eating them. All these establishments obviously have fryers, designed to cook at the high temperatures required (which, to be fair, is difficult at home). All the kitchens seem to be dealing with fresh, raw ingredients too. SO why oh why can they not buy a bag of fresh, locally grown spuds, prepare them themselves, parboil them and fry them in the traditional manner?
All I have to say about the baked beans is that so many of the portions look like a huge wet lake, which might slop over the side of the plate at any moment. Watery, runny beans are NOT ON. They need a bit of a gentle simmer to thicken and hold their own once on the plate. They should not take up half, or even a third, of the space available. Not unless you are having beans on toast perhaps.
Don't start me off with the eggs, which, with arguably the most aesthetically beautiful features of all the ingredients, are never showcased in the way they so deserve. Too often they look as if they were plopped into the frying pan or on the plate as a mere afterthought. In the worst cases, they are sadly half buried under a careless chip avalanche. It's not clear whether the yolks always reached you in the proud, unbroken golden state to which they are properly accustomed, but I so bloody hope so. Some of the photographs of half-buried eggs made me shudder a little.

[matt_c]

Have to agree with Rachel about that egg. It looks like a massive ulcer.

[Warren]

I enjoy the carelesness. I like that someone working in a cafe can knock up a breakfast in seconds, deliver it like its been shaken in a bag and for them to feel justified.

Cafe's change and so do our expectations. Frozen chips weren't always available, but had they been I'm sure most cafes would have used them for cost purposes. Then where's your tradition? In the frozen chip.

Cutting corners is fine in my opinion, so long as I'm still guaranteed the authentic cafe experience.

[Kath]

All I know is that I look at the photos ... and then I'm hungry!

[Londoner]

I am hungry ...and then look at the photos
*grumble*

[Duane]

Looks tasty to me.

[Chet]

An excellent site! I would climb over anyone for eggs and bacon at the Abergeldie.

The time has come to devote some attention to that other staple of cafe fare, the mixed grill.

Who's up for the challenge?

[Shawn]

Grease... grease... lots of grease. But hey, the weird thing is most of the time I find them appetizing.

[john potts]

I frequented your cafe around 1946 to 1952 my family had stall on the hen market next to pifco electrical coy.we sold rats mice rabbits puppies pigeons etc etc
the name then was lockharts cafe.i have been in your cafe many times since and found the food excelent also nice pleasant staff.

[Milford Urbana]

Just on my way over there for the following:-

Bacon&Egg Barm with Red Sauce
Sausage Barm with Red Sauce
Sausage&Egg Barm with a bit of Brown.

[Rieman]

Very nice site indeed. ARe you gonna do Brighton one day?

[Peter Jackson]

Fond memories of our visits to the UK. Must be why the England Cricket team are loosing here in Aust - no really great EBCB Cafes!Great website.

Peter J.
Adelaide, Australia.

[Monty]

Great work. There's a good fry-up to be had at Reigate Station in Surrey and of course, the legendary Market Diner in Brighton, otherwise known as GutBusters.

Rumour has it that you can see Sir Montgomery Cecil of http://www.unlimited-spurt.org at the Reigate Station Cafe at least twice a week. Route by train is London Victoria to Redhill to Reigate. Direct train every hour. Around 40mins journey time. Unfortunately, you can't fly there.

[Mamucium]

I know it's not really what you're looking for when you're going for EBCB but it should be noted that this place serves the best cup of tea in Manchester.

This is primarily due to the fact that are still using the same metal urn that has been in faithful service for the last 30 odd years and loose leaf tea.

The result is so startlingly good it has been known to bring small animals back to life and even quell hangovers (multiple doses may be required for the latter).

Truly a godly place if ever there was one!

ED

ps. Since you were there the place has had a facelift and is now a charming medeival green colour!

[joy]

i don't care if those chips are frozen. this gal is positively drooling here. i also agree about the condiment selection. vey fine.

[Bilbs]

Rachel, ya'gotta get out more.