Popular YouTube star praises Manchester bakery and cafe for ‘absolutely mental’ lunch.

A popular YouTube star has praised a city center cafe and coffee shop for its “absolutely delicious” selection of sandwiches and pastries.

Rate My Takeaway, which is run by presenter Danny Malin, has over 703,000 subscribers on the video platform and, as the name suggests, regularly travels around the country to review local produce. Since launching in 2020, Dave has tried everything from fish and chips and fried breakfasts to Welsh rarebit and rib sliders.

In his latest video, Danny visited Gooey at their bakery and cafe on High Street in the Northern Quarter. Last year, the place was heralded by American R&B singer Lizzo for its “ten out of ten” food selection.

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Visiting Gooey, Danny opted to order the French Toast, which is the restaurant’s best seller, alongside a roast beef sandwich, a caramel donut and a cinnamon swirl. After installing his now-recognizable camping table and chairs, Danny admitted the order was “a bit on the expensive side”, costing him over £30 in total.

Tucking into the specialty sandwich, which consisted of Italian roast beef, red pepper pesto, pickled peppers and smoked mozzarella on a homemade ciabatta, Danny was momentarily speechless after his first bite, describing it as “ what dreams are made of”.

“This flavor, you put it in your mouth and it’s absolutely on fire,” he said in the video. “The bread, let’s start with that, it’s soft, with a slight crust on the edge because you bite through the layers. You start getting pickled chilies, a little basil here, and then you have the cheese. The beef is so tender and juicy and then you get this beautiful sauce on the bottom.

“I paid £13 for that sandwich and you know what, I’m not disappointed at all. The flavors float across my palette, giving me that Italian vibe you want from a sandwich like this.”

Digging into the £11.50 French toast, which features homemade brioche alongside pastry cream, dulce de leche, maple syrup and salted butter on top, Danny said the sweet breakfast dish was “up there” with the best.

“Guys, this is a little bit of me because it’s like a desert,” he explains in the video. “This is amazing. My God, it’s absolutely fantastic.” He added: “If this will wake you up in the morning, you’ll be jumping on this street. Maple syrup is delicious. It’s mental.”

Since opening its first kiosk on Ducie Street in 2020, Gooey has regularly gone viral on social media for its donuts and cakes. The High Street cafe opened two years ago and now also has a base in the Selfridges store in the Trafford Centre, as well as a site in Liverpool.

Describing Gooey’s Cinnamon Swirl as looking like a “big pie”, Danny, who admitted to having a sweet tooth, said the dough was “absolutely delicious” with a “nice crunch”. Saving the custard donut for last, he said it “looked good and smelled good”, adding: “A beautiful vanilla custard packed in a soft, sugar coated doughnut. As they say, all things surgical are beautiful. Oh yes.”

Recaping his visit, Danny said his trip to Gooey was absolutely worth it and he would recommend anyone to visit the place. He said: “It cost me £30 but I’m telling you, when you come to places like this and you see the quality of the ingredients, what they put together becomes an absolute delight and you eat it thinking, wow, this is delicious. “

Speaking about the sandwich, he added: “For me, this is up there with one of the best sandwiches I’ve had – it tasted amazing. It’s a nice, solid 10.”

You can watch Rate My Takeaway on YouTube here. Gooey is located at 103 High Street, Manchester, M4 1HQ.