In October 2022, Fuwa Fuwa opened their very first branch in Manchester. And the buzz was real. We went to check it out and boy it was busy. The queue stretched to outside of the cafe. The London branches are nowhere near this busy, maybe because it’s new here? We were kindly informed the wait may be around 1 hour and 15 minutes which included the queue, getting a table and getting the pancakes themselves (which can take about 20 minutes themselves). Nonetheless, we were seated within half an hour and then our pancakes were out by near the hour mark maybe a little later. So, in total the original timing was pretty accurate. I noticed a difference in the menu with the London branch, like completely different. This got me thinking and into investigation mode.
Is the London and Manchester branch different?
It would seem so. The London ones seem to be independent cafes with the name Fuwa Fuwa. Confusingly taking the famous Fuwa Fuwa name which belongs to worldwide Japanese Soufflé brand that has branches all across the world. So, their very first branch in the UK is in Manchester. And this is according to their website. Initially, I assumed the menu changes branch to branch and this lack of consistency was confusing. But after doing some digging it seems the London branch is not even connected to THE FUWA FUWA. Strange and confusing. Nonetheless, this allows for a good comparison.
Our experience
We got the Tiramisu and the Nutella banana flavour pancakes. And I’m sorry to say I wasn’t a fan of either. The tiramisu flavour was too strong with that one and the end result was a confusing dessert for me. And the Nutella banana one I personally found the pancakes slightly eggy (I see the haters’ point now). I also wasn’t keen on the chocolate sauce for both over maple syrup – surely this is a must with pancakes. This reaffirmed my feeling of the importance of the flavour and topping choice for such pancakes. The pancake texture is wonderful, but taste is understandably bland, so the toppings are crucial. And for me honeycomb butter, maple syrup and vanilla cream (from the London Fuwa Fuwa) is the dream accompaniment.
Getting there:
Google Maps location link
