Vegan-friendly
Lacto
Ovo
Western
British
Non-veg

Serves meat, vegan options available. Reopened here Jul 2018, this is a coffee shop with vegan choices marked on the menu, and a few vegan cakes and pies which change daily. Open Mon-Thu 07:30-18:00, Fri 07:30-23:00, Sat 09:00-23:00, Sun 10:00-17:00.


Venue map for Idle Hands
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16 Reviews

First Review by CapybaRus

fruityjuicyluce

Points +196

Vegan
21 Mar 2024

Refreshing fry up

The fry up we had left me feeling satisfied and not bloated/gross. It was super refreshing.

Felt like I actually had something healthy but tasty and filling. They didn't skimp on the avocado either.

Would love to go back and try their pies

Pros: Affordable , Tasty, Healthy

Cons: A few options

VRebecca

Points +1405

Vegan
02 Sep 2023

Not many vegan options

However, what I ordered (vegan fry up) was really good!

ximenesuk

Points +29

Vegetarian
10 Jul 2023

Brilliant vegan breakfast/brunch!

The last time we visited Idle Hands it was a wee cafe on the station approach. The vegan breakfast was fabulous and we vowed to return. The cafe is now in much bigger premises. But thankfully they still serve a couple of great vegan breakfasts. They don’t use meat-substitutes so their “fry-up” is a tower of veg, cowboy bean, proper hash browns, avocado mash and other delicious things. My wife had the avocado mash on sourdough toast - be warned the two slice version is huge! The mash was a mix of avocado and greens, it was topped with fresh pickles. Both breakfasts were delicious and filling. The vegan pies looked good but I was a bit full to justify a slice!

HolBates

Points +756

Vegan
12 Mar 2023

Great vegan brunch

Lovely iced coffee and great beans for the vegan brunch options. Staff helped out with what cakes were vegan that day.

Keelan1985

Points +110

Vegan
11 Nov 2022

Cracking coffee!

I made time before attending a conference to pop to Idle Hands. I’m so glad I did, it was well worth walking passed what felt like hundreds of coffee chains.

The coffee was delicious and the vegan chocolate covered hob [censored] was tasty (and massive!).

Pros: Plenty of vegan options, Friendly staff, Welcoming atmosphere

BryanWoltjen

Points +330

Vegan
12 Oct 2022

Arty, light and spacious

Vegan fry up was a great and healthy mix of delights but it would be great to have more options, there's really only two listed (a fry up and the ubiquitous avocado on toast). Where are the vegan pancakes? Where are all the bagels? WHERE IS THE JOLLY TOFU SCRAMBLE FOR THE LOVE OF CHEEZES.

Coffee is very credible, and otherwise a nice place in an area notoriously devoid of vegan breakfasts.

Pros: Hash brown fry up greens, Neat space

RuthBerry

Points +50

Vegan
12 Mar 2022

A must for coffee and pie

Lovely shop & staff and the pie was amazing

aheeley01

Points +401

Vegan
12 Mar 2022

Hearty brunch!

I ordered the vegan hash brown stack and it really didn’t disappoint! Tasty food and great coffee and a good spot for people watching!

Pros: Tasty food, Good atmosphere

Cons: Only a couple of vegan options

ValentinDonev

Points +380

Vegan
16 Aug 2021

Lovely cozy place

Delicious vegan cookies and lovely latte

Pros: Amazing service

davem

Points +44

Vegan
20 Jul 2021

N¼’s best coffee

Great coffee, with a range of vegan options if you want a ‘mylky’ one.

Pros: Great espresso, No, really great espresso

Cons: Toilet artwork better in their original venue

KellyB-H

Points +293

Vegan
05 Mar 2020

Funky and flexi

Good if you are with a group of friends who include carnists. Limited range of meals and cakes but I have always enjoyed what I have had.

Pros: Good for everyone , Nice vibe, Good quality

Cons: Limited range, Can be hard to get a table

LittleAliceFell

Points +1835

Vegan
07 Feb 2020

One of my fave NQ spots!

I’m surprised by some of the previous reviews as I am a big fan of Idle Hands and a very regular frequenter! I work remotely from here often - Idle Hands has a lovely relaxed vibe, with friendly and helpful staff, who are amazing when dealing with allergens/dietary requirements (I’m VE & GF).
Vegan options are clearly labelled on the menu, and there are ALWAYS vegan cake/pies available (unless they’ve sold out)! Plant milk is always available - they recently ran an Oatly promotion where all drinks ordered with oat milk were free! They also constantly rotate their coffee blends, which is great for fellow coffee lovers.
Super inclusive and the bar seating area by the windows is an excellent people-watching spot 😅 Would recommend this cafe to anyone, vegan or not!

Pros: Good amount of tasty vegan options, ALWAYS have vegan sweet treats!, Great vibe & helpful staff

blinki

Points +924

Vegan
26 Oct 2019

All about the pie

I love the brunch here. It’s a bit expensive so more a treat than every day but it’s really good. There’s usually vegan soup and sandwich options for lunch. But there thing is more coffee and pie than food. The pies are great and include vegan options as is the coffee. It tends not to be too busy and it’s a nice place to sit. Staff are friendly and service is pretty quick.

spigoglys

Points +36

Vegan
15 Jul 2019

Great coffee, chilled vibe

Relaxed, trendy coffee shop in Northern Quarter, good vegan options for breakfast or brunch, vegan pies and cakes, and they clearly know their coffee.

Pros: Nice atmosphere

Veganolive1

Points +4437

Vegan
09 Feb 2019

Vegan Options But Better Places To Go

Idle Hands is a coffee shop, who on their website enthuse about their passion for coffee and food and I have been meaning to visit for ages, as they have vegan options on the menu.

We ordered two vegan fry ups, with an extra potato hash brown for me instead of beans and two coffees. I was disappointed with my coffee served in a small cup, the flavour was good, but it arrived quite awhile after my husbands, so it was lukewarm. I find so many places serve coffee way ahead of the food, so I had drunk it all before my breakfast arrived, a much bigger cup or a mug would be much better.

The food was tasty enough and very healthy with all the greenery like spring greens, broccoli and red cabbage, all unusual ingredients on a vegan breakfast, would be nice to have the option of sausage or black pudding, but saying that it was quickly demolished as we were starving.

I noticed a couple of sweet treats on the counter when I was paying, so you can pop in for coffee and cake too.

I am not sure I would rush back though, as with so many places offering vegan breakfast, competition is high and I think there are much better breakfast options in the city.

Pros: Vegan options, Vegan cake

Cons: Coffee is far too small especially for the price

CapybaRus

Points +308

Vegan
28 Oct 2018

wouldn't go back

No vegan cake (2 options both sold out), some simple items on the menu are vegan but overpriced I feel (£7 for mushrooms on toast?), the only nondairy milk was almond... We just got a coffee and it was not a nice blend. I have given 2 stars for effort. With so many places in town, I won't be trying here again




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