Ode to Manhattan

This blog was born from the loss of one of my favourite coffee haunts in Sheffield, Manhattan Coffee on Ecclesall Road.  It closed suddenly overnight, though looking back over the past few weeks I could see the warning signs were there.

We first started going to Manhattan a fair way over a year ago, and I remember on my first visit being pleased to find a place that actually served jacket potatoes, being the sort of person who likes to avoid bread.

Manhattan provided comfy chairs, wireless internet, good food and great coffee.  We would spend many hours just sitting there watching the world go by and usually planning our next move on our rare quiet days off.  The odd coffee after work, the even less frequent coffee during my lunch hour (if I took my motorbike), and the regular weekend lunch and coffee or three.

Every Sunday the bikers would arrive and park up outside, and my other half would be eyeing up their machines and their gear.  I'd have a caramel latte, he an americano, and the staff would always remember our order, right down to no onions on my salad, please.

Recently, Manhattan's gained a licence for selling alcohol during certain hours but it seems this wasn't enough to save it.  After discovering their rooibos tea, they sold out a bit later and never restocked.  The menus disappeared off the tables, and then one day we drove past the owner loading paintings into a van.  Thinking it was just time for a redecoration, we drove on, but later realised it was the end of our favourite coffee shop.

And so our hunt begins, for somewhere else we can spend our days and our money, relaxing in Sheffield, whether we be wearing bike leathers or cycling lycra.  Does another place exist for this radiotherapist and barista?