Federal Cafe & Bar
NA Program Strength is an editorial assessment based on publicly available menu data. See methodology.
9 Nicholas Croft, Manchester M4 1EY
Federal Cafe & Bar opened on Nicholas Croft in the Northern Quarter in December 2014, started by three friends around a simple idea: recreate the relaxed, all-day neighbourhood cafes of Australia and New Zealand in central Manchester. It quickly became one of the city's defining brunch rooms — an Antipodean-style spot for gourmet coffee, big plates and homemade cakes that has since grown into a small local group with further sites on Deansgate and at Circle Square plus a coffee cart in Altrincham. It is one of the UK's most social-media-visible brunch destinations, with millions of TikTok views, and holds a TripAdvisor Travelers' Choice 2025 award; it trades walk-in only, so there is no booking, and queues are part of the experience.
What makes it worth a stop for non-drinkers is that the drinks list is treated as its own craft rather than a sideline to the food. The centrepiece is a genuinely developed matcha program: an Iced Matcha (£4.50) that can be built with strawberry, blueberry or mango, a Matcha Latte made with oat milk, and a Banana Bread Iced Matcha (£5) finished with a banana bread cold foam. The tea and chai side is just as considered — a Spiced Chai Latte, an Iced Chai and a 'Dirty' Chai Latte pulled with an espresso shot (£4.30) — alongside a serious coffee offer of house Batch Brew and Cold Brew, espresso-based drinks and single-origin specialty beans, with a rotating wall of loose-leaf teas served by the pot.
Beyond the hot drinks, the cold and pressed range is deliberately broad. Freshly squeezed orange juice sits next to two house 'Fed' juices — the Berry Boost of strawberry, blackcurrant, açai, beetroot, spinach and kale, and the Raw Greens of kiwi, pear, kale, cucumber and apple (both £4.50) — plus gut-friendly kombucha, Bundaberg ginger beer, Living Things craft sodas and the Aussie-diner staple Cold Milo. Set in a bright, plant-dressed corner room in the heart of the Northern Quarter and open from breakfast through to late afternoon daily, Federal is one of Manchester's easiest places to eat and drink well without alcohol.
Non-alcoholic menu: what to order
- Banana Bread Iced Matcha (iced matcha latte, banana bread cold foam)
- Iced Matcha with strawberry, blueberry or mango
- Dirty Chai Latte (spiced chai with an espresso shot)
- Berry Boost (strawberry, blackcurrant, açai, beetroot, spinach, kale)
- Raw Greens (kiwi, pear, kale, cucumber, apple)
Menus change — see the current full menu on Federal Cafe & Bar's website.
“Federal goes above and beyond, though, with cold drinks including gut-loving Kombucha, ginger beer and the Aussie favourite Cold Milo.”— Emmeline BanksSecret Manchester →
Non-alcoholic brands they serve
House-crafted NA cocktails
Location
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