LGBT-friendly cafes and restaurants in Greater Manchester

Greater Manchester homes several vibrant and inclusive spaces for everyone, whether you’re looking for restaurants, cafés, book shops, tea rooms and everything in between. If you’re looking for LGBT-friendly spaces, we’ve put together just a few of the city’s favourites.  

As well as a thriving bar, the Molly House offers top class tapas. It touts itself as a place for the discerning, eccentric and alternative, with a reputation as a top class attraction and safe space. Serving up a great menu of Argentinian-Spanish fusion tapas, mouth watering burgers and sharing platters, alongside cakes, wine, bubbly or beers, it’s the perfect place to spend a few hours with friends. 

If afternoon tea is more your speed, Richmond Tea Rooms on Sackville Street has you covered. Their Alice in Wonderland themed café offers freshly prepared sandwiches, cakes and treats – all individually made in house with flavours and fillings hand-picked by their team of chefs. Why not pair it with one of their many events, with a calendar full of burlesque, drag shows and tea parties, there is always something fun happening at Richmond Tea Rooms.  

Based just off Oxford Road on Sidney Street, The Proud Place houses The Proud Trust and serves as a community hub for the wider LGBT+ population across Greater Manchester and beyond. With a long history behind it, it has several exceptional spaces including books, heritage and a zine library as well as community lounge and café. 

Feel Good Club on Hilton Street is open 7 days a week, providing a beautiful and friendly environment for coffee, brunch, lunch, cocktails and beers with an amazing selection of non alcoholic beverages too. By night, the venue host events aimed to spread joy, positivity and create a sense of community within the city centre. Their weekly events line-up includes everything from cabaret, spoken word, comedy and story telling. 

Popular with queer women and non-binary people is Nip and Tipple in the Chorlton area. Their friendly team prepare and serve drinks, cocktails, coffees and offer a welcoming atmosphere to everyone. Hosting regular events and exhibitions, from parties with special guest DJs and open mic nights to charity events and fundraisers. They are long time supported of the Albert Kennedy Foundation, a charity set up to support LGBTQ+ young people dealing with homelessness or hostile environments.  

Chapter One is an independent bookstore and café based in Manchester. The store began out of a family’s love for great books, amazing cakes and good coffee. Meet your friends in their café or make new ones with the chatty regulars. With a large selection of teas, pair your favourite book with a brand new tea flavour. With a large LGBT section and regular book clubs, it’s a great place to lose yourself in a good book for a few hours.  

HOME is an open and social space for the curious from all the communities, celebrating artists and work that is provocative, playful and contemporary, of Manchester and the world. This space often showcases LGBTQ+ artists, too, presenting lots of important queer-themed shows within its lineup. They also have a great café to visit once you’ve been to the theatre or the art gallery inside.  

Known as a haven for independent shops and shoppers, Afflecks Palace is placed in the Northern Quarter. Including queer-friendly, all-gender shops such as "The Queer Book Shop", "The Gay Pride Shop" and others, Afflecks contains a tonne of must-see retail stores with an inclusive space. Alongside this, they have a number of cafes and pop up restaurants that are highly frequented by Manchester’s LGBT community like Animaid Café.