In Ancoats, a tiny café is serving up what might be the cheapest coffee in Manchester, with espresso starting at £1.50 and flat whites priced at £2.50. At a time when grabbing a daily caffeine fix feels increasingly like a luxury, 7ZZ has set a strict price ceiling, keeping every drink and pastry on its menu under £5.
The small blue-fronted shop, marked by a round sign featuring a sleeping bear in a coffee cup, operates from a compact space with a wooden service counter and a minimal seating area on the pavement outside. Alongside the £2.50 flat whites, the traditional espresso menu includes Americanos for £2, lattes and cappuccinos for £3, and mochas or hot chocolates for £4.
Matcha and Ube specials
Beyond the standard coffee offerings, the café’s specialty menu focuses heavily on vibrant matcha and ube beverages. Rather than charging premium prices for these trending ingredients, 7ZZ keeps them strictly within the £5 limit.
The menu features several layered options, including an iced strawberry matcha for £4.50 and an iced coconut matcha cloud topped with pink cold foam for £5. For those preferring ube, the purple yam is available in hot and iced lattes for £4, an iced coconut ube cloud for £4.50, and an iced vanilla ube matcha for £5. Customisation remains affordable, with flavour syrups like vanilla, caramel, and hazelnut available for 50p, and cold foam additions costing 75p. English breakfast tea and chai lattes are also available for those avoiding coffee.
Sticky Fingers bakes
To pair with the drinks, the café stocks fresh pastries from the local bakery Sticky Fingers. The baked goods follow the exact same affordability rule as the beverage menu. Items like a thick, sugar-dusted custard brioche generously filled with bright yellow cream are priced at less than £5.
Operating from early morning through to the afternoon, 7ZZ provides an unusually budget-friendly option for morning commuters and locals looking for specialty drinks in the neighbourhood.
📍7ZZ, 116 Oldham Rd, Ancoats, Manchester, M4 6AG.
