The Shoegaze Cafe

The Shoegaze Cafe might not be here for a long time, but it’s certainly here for a good time. That is if your idea of a good time involves My Bloody Valentine, Tarkovsky and Ostalgie. And if those terms mean nothing to you, move on, square. 

If, however, you’re an intellectually curious Mancunian with a penchant for coffee and outsider art, take a pew. 

The Shoegaze Cafe is a temporary project from owner Henry, and it’s about as far removed from nu-Manchester’s shiny skyscraper mindset as it gets. It’s not about making money, algorithms or trending feeds. You have two choices of coffee: black or white, although you can add some Mexican honey if you ask nicely. No upselling here. 

You’ll find it on Tib Street in the Northern Quarter, and it’s a home-from-home for crate-digging alternative music-lovers, with a hazy, loosely-shoegaze-themed soundtrack. There’s a handful of seats where people variously sit writing, reading or chatting to each other while Henry tops up their cups with Folger’s diner coffee, plus a space in the back for live music and arthouse film screenings. 

At a push, you’d describe it as Manchester’s take on Café Bizarre, the New York coffeehouse where Andy Warhol first spotted the Velvet Underground, though the denizens of The Shoegaze Cafe are a good deal friendlier than Lou & co. 

It’s the kind of place that Manchester sorely needs. A look-at-what-you-could-have-won vision of the Northern Quarter, before hedge funds and corporate landlords swooped in. Sadly, it’s a short-term pop-up, until the right long-term tenant comes along, so head along quick. 

However, many local influencer types have picked up on it, so there’s a chance that public demand will turn it into a permanent fixture. Clickbait saves the world’s least clickbaity venue? That’s a level of doublethink even Orwell would struggle with. Still, better that than another sloppy burger joint or neon pink milkshake bar. Long live The Shoegaze Cafe.