Pret A Manger

A handy place for a non-​alcoholic pit stop in the Spinningfields area of Manchester city centre.
Pret cakes and sandwiches always taste deliciously fresh. I had a double berry muffin which was delicious but maybe a little too much berry content made it a bit soggy. My dining companion had a nice festive mince pie, which was good but very crumbly making it a challenge to eat.
One pet hate is the use of take out cups when staying in. Come on Pret — get some decent cups!

If this was any over Pret, it would have not got the 4 star it is rocking. However this is not any over Pret, the people running this place are great and makes my times popping in for breakfast something I can look farward too.
While they are always busy, they always make time to insure that they chat to you. and see how your day is going.

I love this Coffee shop its right in the centre of Spinningfields and in a great location with great views, theres loads of seating with tables outside, great to catch a coffee and watch people go by on a saturday morning, The staff are really friendly and pleased to serve, Im a latte lover so at £2.10 a great price!

This Pret is just fine and dandy. It’s walking distance from my office, far enough for me to stretch my legs but close enough to not become a pain.
Watching all the non-​working folk flock to Spinningfields on a sunny day is one of the most depressing (first world, Manchester based) problems ever. It’s packed at lunchtime, so be prepared. There’s always a bit of a queue, but these workers know how to move it along. Step up, hand your items over, pay, leave. It’s all done in a friendly manner but don’t expect chit-​chat. The sesame chicken noodle salad is delicious, though comes with a tonne of unnecessary lettuce, and the halloumi/​red pepper toastie is a real stand out, served with spinach and harissa crème fraîche.
Chains, as ever, aren’t the most inspiring places to eat but, when you’re hungry and working hard, you just want some food. A positive example in a saturated field.

Yeah it’s a chain, but you kow what, when I’m pegging it from the station and I haven’t been arsed to pack my lunch/​breafast (probab got a hangover to boot and need a good old coffee kick in the backside), then Pret saves my life.
Out of all the chains it’s pretty decent an I’m a sucker for the packaging and the fact they sell über lovely Sanpellegrino soft drinks and their own brand stuff has NO glucose-​fructose syrup in or sugar, so it’s much better for you.
Also they have these cute little bread baguettes that you can buy with you soup — crispy, crunchy and as near to proper bread that you’ll get outside a baker/​your own kitchen. Their sadnwiches and soups are made fresh and they have quite unusual and tasty filling — plus for dieters there’s single sandwiches and no bread salads that actualy taste of food — who’d have thought? Diet food that tastes of food?
It’s a chain so don;t expect the world, but it’s the best of the chains and I like — oh and it’s a great place to a) people watch all the hideous fashion mistakes that flock to Spinningfields and b) has free wifi you can totally nick.

Pret A Manger in the Islington area of London…
Barista (frowning): ‘Next!‘
Customer 1: ‘Flat white!‘
Barista: ‘Flat white! Next!‘
Customer 2: ‘Large espresso and chocolate twist!‘
Barista: ‘Large espresso, choc-​T, NEXT!‘
Me: ‘Er, can’t I stand back from the queue and stroke my chin while I decide like I do in Manchester?‘
This Pret A Manger…
Barista (smiling): ‘Hello there, what can I get for you?‘
Me: ‘I think I’d like a filter coffee please.‘
Barista: ‘Filter coffee, and do you have a Yellowcard?‘
Me: ‘I do, yes.‘
Barista: ‘Would you like any milk?‘
Me: ‘I’m good, thank you.‘
Barista: ‘Are you having a good day?‘
Me: ‘Yes, lovely thanks — I’m enjoying this uncharacteristic sunshine!‘
Barista: ‘I know, isn’t it wonderful?‘
Me: ‘Certainly after it’s been raining solidly for a week.‘
Barista: ‘Tell me about it, we’d best make the most of it while it lasts!‘
Ah, Manchester. Perhaps not quite where everybody knows your name, but even in the constant flow of suits that is Spinningfields’s Pret, right bang smack in the middle of the busy business district and a popular chain at that, they still take time to trade banter with you. Aces.

There’s already a handful of Pret A Manger’s sprinkled around the city centre and this one is no different. It’s best selling point is that it’s open from 7.30am Monday to Friday and has a great range of breakfast options for eating in or taking away.
There’s porridge with honey for Goldilocks and the three bears, hot granola with milk or soya for health fanatics, breakfast bowls with rhubarb or berry compote for sweet tooths, chocolate croissants and pain au raisins for busy business men and women, wholesome muffins for busy and health conscious business folk and pretzels for the eccentric. For those that need a shot of caffeine or to kick-​start the day, they also serve espressos, lattes and americanos — though I wouldn’t recommend any.

Pret a Manger is not only a lovely place to take a break from a busy environment. It’s not just a place that sales sandwiches, soups or sushi. It’s a magical restaurant (with their own kitchen built in over 170 shops), where you can enjoy the best food, freshly made for you, because Pret doesn’t believe in obscure chemicals, additives or preservatives. You need to love the staff as well. It is really rare when you go to eat in the same place every day, and you realize that no matter what the day is like, or who you order from, everybody is nice and ready to help you out, transforming Pret in a friendly restaurant, full of smiles. In order to convince you that Pret is the right place to go when you fancy a chorizo soup, a fancy sandwich or just a little snack, I will add that at the end of the day, unsold food is not kept or thrown away, it is donated to charity!

This Pret is no better than any other, which is the same as saying its absolutely awful. By awful I mean woeful. This can also be expressed as horrendous, terrible, or abominable. It is also possible to use the term abhorrent in place of any on the former list.
Situated in Spinningfields, Pret is perfectly situated to prey on businessmen and (mainly in fact) businesswomen, with more money than sense.
The sandwiches in Pret are not very nice. The prawn and avocado sandwich is particularly bad. These prawns are described as crayfish so as to appeal to a more trendy middle class target shopper. They are, nonetheless, prawns.
The egg mayo sandwich is one of few sold at a reasonable price. Unfortunately, your tastebuds have to pay instead of your wallet.
If the following foodstuffs sum up the type of person you are (yes im saying your identity is definable by food stuffs) then prêt is the place for you, otherwise go somewhere else:
Rocket, cous cous, avocado, feta cheese, organic sun dried fresh basil with the original dirt and mud still on it.
Oh and they sell sushi with no raw fish…

Opening in the new and shiny development of Manchester known as Spinningfields is Pret a Manger. Yes there a chain, I heard from a friend they are owned by McDonalds and yeh well, I’ve searched over there website and can’t find any truth to this so who knows. I went in and the food was lovely, it was of a higher standard than most places, there was lots of nice seating and the sunlight filled the room throughout from the lovely glass panels. Pret does sandwiches, wraps and baguettes with a nice philosophy of no additives, crap or over compensating factors such as low fat. It’s all sorted at the start of the day and what’s left goes to charity. I like pret a manger I like it a lot.

Pret a Manger is not cheap but it is certainly delicious. They sell a wide range of sandwiches and snacks. Most of the food is cold from the fridges but they also do a range of hot wraps the chicken wrap is particularly tasty. There is a considerable amount of seating in the shop so you can eat in but they do get very busy and you sometimes struggle to sit down. Pret a Manger also sell a range of delicious cakes the carrot cake is heavenly. It is a good place to go if you want a really tasty lunch to take away or eat in.

One of the best sandwich chains going. Often copied, but rarely bettered. Done away with the processed experience offered by other ‘fast food’ outlets Pret creates delicious fresh food direct to your door-​face, ignoring the short cut A roads followed by the preservative and processed society of other high street quick scran joints.
The majority of food (of course like many of the independent run sandwich shops) is prepared freshly in the kitchens in the morning. Unlike many however, anything left over at the end of the day is offered out to the homeless or shelter charities, rather than wastefully disposed of in street bins.
As a past vegetarian I always welcomed this place over others due to it’s fantastic vege range.
It’s not just sandwich fiends who are nurtured here: soups; muffins; croissants; cakes and deserts; proper crisps; coffees and smoothies et al are all represented in their finest, rather expensive admittedly, splendour.
There are several branches in central Manchester, although for some reason I always gravitate towards the Cross Street branch.
Treat your tongue and conscience to a Salmon Nigiri (sushi) and a chunky hummus salad and your karma will remain as buoyant as ever.