Social Refuge

the tea here is serious enough to make you reconsider your default order. that's not something you hear often about a specialty coffee shop, but social refuge on great ancoats st seems to have thought carefully about both sides of the menu. breakfast and brunch draw people in, and the solo-friendly reputation means you're not going to feel awkward sitting with a book or a laptop for an hour. ancoats has changed a lot over the past decade, shifting from warehouses to one of manchester's more interesting eating and drinking patches, and social refuge fits that shift without trying to announce it. if you're coming in the morning, go for the coffee first, then decide whether the tea is worth a second visit. it usually is.