Ginger’s Comfort Emporium is an ice cream lover’s dream. Situated in Afflecks Palace in Manchester’s Northern Quarter, it’s the perfect place to stop by and chill for a while. (No pun intended.) That’s exactly what myself and my mam did when we paid a little visit on our trip to Manchester.

Ginger’s started off as an ice cream van for grown-ups, a place to sample top notch homemade ice cream in an array of different flavours. It’s been spotted around various festivals and things. Claire Kelsey is its owner and she’s even brought out her own book ‘Melt’ where  you can learn some of her recipes or just have a bit of an experiment.

This is how I first heard about Ginger’s Comfort Emporium to start with. I bought the book on a whim one day and ever since I’ve been stalking to find out where the van will be. I’m just so pleased there was an actual shop I could go to when I visited Manchester. I pretty much planned the rest of the trip around going to this place. (I’m dedicated that’s for sure.)

The place is rustic, yet vintage. It’s rough around the edges but still has delicate details here and there. I loved the high open ceilings, the massive windows. I loved Ginger’s sign lit up behind the bar area. The gorgeous dark burgundy and blues harmonising with each other. Kind of clashing with the old fashioned woods and the falling apart in places black and white checked floor.

Honestly it’s a place with so much character. It’s a place that is just cool without even trying. A nice inviting, come and sit with us, watch the Manchester street below, whilst sipping on a milkshake kind of place and I absolutely loved it.

We took the spot right next to the window, it had a little wooden board to rest our drinks on, high stools and a casual box of books to the side. It was just relaxed and pleasant. The lady that served us was lovely and friendly too.

We both went for the OMFG milkshakes which were made of vanilla ice cream, peanut butter and malt. I just need to take a second the remember the taste and appreciate it in all of its glory. It was a thing of glory too. It came in an enormous silver American style milkshake cup. The peanut butter was crunchy and every mouthful tasted like heaven. 

It's safe to say that neither of us could drink the full thing. I came a lot closer than my mam though. It was about six(ish) pound for the two of them which is really good considering the size and the quality of the ice cream. 

I love quirky little places and for me Ginger's ticks all of the boxes. If I ever find myself in Manchester I'll definitely go back for seconds. At least this time I'll know exactly where to go. For now though, I have the 'Melt' book to keep me company. I've got twitchy fingers thinking about what to make first.

Have any of you been to Ginger's Comfort Emporium?

Made any of the recipes from the 'Melt' book?