GK Gallery & Tea Room - The Manchester Cafe & Art Gallery all-in-one!
- Natalie Durkin
- Mar 15, 2024
- 4 min read
Updated: Apr 21, 2024
Coffee, cake & art. What more could you ask for? Well, this Manchester based cafe offers all of the above.
Created in 2013, GK Gallery & Tea Room is both a cafe and an art gallery, offering beautiful art both on the walls and in the lattes too!
Located on the busy Chapel St in Salford, just a 15 minute walk from central Manchester.
The big bay windows, fairy lights and seating options - both inside and outside - make this an enchanting spot that's impossible to walk past without popping inside.
GK Gallery is a family run business, created by Gina with help from her mother Helen.
"There was a lack of cafes in Manchester that catered for everyone, so our menu specializes in having cake for everyone with vegan, dairy free and gluten free options."
The owner of GK Gallery Gina, has always been very interested in art, and looked into a career in the art industry.
This inspired Gina to create GK as both a cafe and art gallery all-in-one, to combine her love for both. Some of the staff at GK, have had their own art showcased in the gallery with work from owner Gina, as well as Lucy, who recently left GK to start her studies at University.
Gina & her mother Helen celebrating Gina's 30th birthday
(@gk_gallery on Instagram)
Gina & Helen celebrating 7 years of GK (@gk_gallery on Instagram)
Over the past 7 years, Gina has built up the cafe, and is incredibly proud of the cafe and all the wonderful cakes!
As soon as you walk in, you are greeted with a wide array of delicious looking cakes and treats on the counter.
"We make everything on site, so everything is baked fresh each morning."
Biscoff flapjacks, lemon and raspberry cake, peanut butter & white chocolate blondies, blueberry loaf, cream egg brownies, and banana and berry muffins - that's just a few on display when I visited!
The choice of cakes and bakes changes daily, however the impressive amount of tasty treats produced means there is endless options to choose from every day.
The selection of cakes displayed on the counter.
On first impressions, for a cafe so close to Manchester city center, I thought that the prices were very affordable and fair for the amazing quality of the products - and the service too!
When visiting places like Starbucks and Costa, you can expect to pay over £10 for just a coffee and a sweet treat. For a caramel iced latte and a lemon mini loaf cake I paid £7.20, which I think is great value for the quality of the fresh produce.
Ocea works here part-time whilst studying at University.
"We see so many different people come into the cafe. We get to know all of the regular customers, it's like a little community."
"The customers are so lovely - and the dogs they bring too. We are dog friendly! We get asked about this a lot, but we love having dogs in and give them treats when they come in."
If you are a fan of flavoured tea - you are in luck. There is a selection of over 20 fruity and herbal tea options, from almond cherry to peppermint and lemon and ginger.
There are numerous coffee variations too, with several milk and syrup options on offer.
Matcha, turmeric and beetroot lattes are also available too!
For such a small place, the range of drink and food options is great.
After ordering an iced caramel latte and a slice of lemon cake, I explored the art gallery that is displayed on the mezzanine....
The art featured in the cafe is from graduates from Salford and Manchester Universities in addition to people from the local surrounding areas.
With the 8-12 week exhibitions, the gallery allows a young artist to showcase their work in a busy city location.
"Emerging artists who are just starting out in their careers will be the focus of the exhibitions at GK Gallery with an opportunity to display and sell their work in a bright, new gallery."
"New artists' work will be displayed for a
month to showcase the work of various local artists. We believe in "local" art for "local" people and support the new talent in and around Salford and surrounding areas."
I expected it to be a quiet Tuesday afternoon for GK Gallery, however with the regular customers flooding in, and those looking for a coffee to go as they head into Manchester, the cafe was packed.
GK had the 'hustle and bustle' you hope to see in a small and independent business.
As well as showcasing art, the cafe also features painted craft work from Rosie Williams, also they sell jewellery, pottery, candles, handmade cards and more! These are great gift ideas.
As well as baking the sweet treats for the cafe, Gina also takes cake orders for celebrations making multi-layered, iced and decorated celebration cakes, occasion cupcakes, two-tier everyday cakes and also traybakes.
After trying the lemon cake, I will definitely be going back to try more of Gina's homemade goods!
This is such a charming small business, run by family and friends who have put their hearts into what they have made, as reflected in the online reviews.
GK Gallery & Tea Room is 8 minute walk from Salford Central train station, 14 minute walk from Salford Crescent train station, and 15 minute walk from central Manchester. For buses, the 35, 37, 38, 50 & 100 are all options passing through Chapel St.
As GK is located on a main road, there isn't much parking available close by, therefore I would recommend getting a train, bus, uber or walking!
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