Refresh

Are you indecisive? Does your indecisiveness extend to food choices? Do you find yourself horribly overwhelmed by enormous menus? Then, my friend, like me you have met your delicious nemesis in the form of Refresh.
People travel to Refresh. It’s worth it. When I was introduced to this place by a long-​time customer, I was told, ‘I’m taking you to Refresh for the best sandwich of your life.’ Needless to say I was sold. I wasn’t sure what to expect, and as soon as we pulled up outside the delightfully tiny and quaint café, I knew we’d come to the right place. There’s only space for about three or four couples to sit in, but luckily we arrived just before the lunchtime rush. The queue began to snake out of the door as we waited for our order and I realised that it was a mixture of suits, locals, people with little ones… this was a great little slice of Didsbury life.
I was completely bowled over by the menu. You can get EVERYTHING here. Not only is it a deli with fresh baked bread, coleslaw, sundried tomatoes, olives and the like on offer, but you can get any sandwich, any salad, any cake, any smoothie, any ice cream, any biscuit, any soup, any wrap, any filling on any kind of bread, any hot pot, any curry… I think you get the idea, because if I see the word ‘any’ one more time I think I’ll go cross-​eyed. Anyway (AGH!) I chose one of the ‘warm salads’ over a sandwich in the end, and boy am I glad I did. My plate was piled high with chargrilled courgettes, peppers, red onion amid a bed of shredded carrot and lettuce with thin sliced cucumber. I ordered a side of homemade coleslaw as it’s my weakness, and it was delicious.
It’s incredible that only one person was behind the counter yet we didn’t have to wait long. Service came with a smile and was prompt and professional, and the food was nothing short of amazing. In fact my friend even ordered a chocolate dipped fruit flapjack for afters which we shared, and think about it — one rarely gets excited about a flapjack. It is what it is what it is. It’s one of those standard sweet treats. Well, this one was worth screaming about. I wanted to tell the world how good this flapjack was. From the nearby Didsbury rooftops.
Refresh deliver (metaphorically and literally), you can place orders by phone, they cater, they make bespoke cakes for weddings and birthdays and the like; they even sell fabrics, gifts and trinkets. Is there anything they don’t do? Well, no actually. They even stock Diet Sunkist, one of my favourite soft drinks which I can’t find anywhere. I didn’t want to leave. Even as I was leaving I was planning my next visit. Refresh is brilliant, and its huge amount of fans will be very quick to tell you this. Please go.

Refresh sounds more like a car freshner or a healthy fanatic place but Refresh is actually a cute little café on a cul de sac in a Didsbury neighbourhood.
There’s so much choice I just got bogged down with ah that sounds nice, and that, and that but I couldn’t have it all and I couldn’t decide. Everything’s freshly made with salad of the days and a deli bar which had things like stuffed peppers and risotto today. The cakes looked so pretty and of course tasted amazing. We went for a strawberry cheesecake, truly decadent.
There’s hot and cold drinks, juices, fresh smoothies and refreshing health drinks too. I spied a bottle of leffe in the fridge too. Refresh also meets your all your dietary needs, with all types of bread including gluten free and veggies are not short of choice.
I definitely recommend Refresh, was really nice to sit in the sun with the few tables outside the place and feast on my quiche, cake and smoothie. Yum

Ask any local and they will entirely concur that Refresh is one of the best Cafes in the neighbourhood. All you have to do is walk through the door and smell the aroma of cakes, pastries and hot drinks. They do the best home made cakes, chocolate, cheesecake, you name it, and get this — they do a proper cream tea with scones. Nothing beats a fresh hot scone and cream washed down with Earl Grey in my opinon.
If you don’t have a sweet tooth, then do not fear, because they do the most amazing (and fat) sandwiches, salads, risotto, quiches, pasta, just about every comfort food you can imagine at a great price and with great service.

we love this place, it does the best chocolate brownies ever which makes it an instant winner. the other range of cakes are truely scrummy too. the service is friendly and the shop is always beautifully clean and decorated for the season. they have a huge menu and everything we’ve tried off it we’ve enjoyed. servings are generous and the sandwiches are always especially fresh and tasty. they offer taylored catering for any event and i’m always hearing glowing comments about the food and effort they put in to making it really special.
just of the main stretch of Didsbury Village, round the corner from HSBC, definitey worth heading to for your breakfast and a treat.

Lovely little café. I can highly recommend the cakes, especially the cheesecakes. There’s few places you can get a traditional cream tea in Manchester. Great selection of cold drinks and a small selection of handmade gifts. Great place to stop by if you’re pushed for lunch in Didsbury or want to pick up a desert to take home for after dinner.

I love Refresh so much that I want it for my own. Not only do they do the most magnificently enormous sandwiches, all made fresh on the premises before your very eyes, but also they have some of the best cakes in Manchester. And that is a very high recommendation from me as I am on a personal search to find the best chocolate cake in Manchester. Their choice of sandwich fillings/​grilled ciabattas/​risottos/​salads is extensive and you always get service with a smile. This is undoubtedlty the best place in Didsbury village to pick up breakfast or lunch.
NOW OPEN ON SUNDAYS!!!

Refresh is a popular sandwich shop situated on the quiet Whitechaple street in Didsbury. If you’re looking for freshly-​cooked, delicious food to make you feel healthy and happy for the day you can’t go wrong here. The staff are among the friendliest and most genuine I have encountered, addressing regulars by name and going out of their way to please. As well as sandwiches, super smoothies, deep quiches, risottos, hot salads and pastas, the cakes are outstanding (!). If you’re going to grab lunch in Didsbury, without a second thought, do it here.