I went to one of Manchester’s best bakeries to see if it's 'best selling £4.20 pastry' is better than Asda’s

It's been a busy few years for Matheus Vianna and Deborah Vernay. Like many of us, they spent a good deal of 2020 passing the time baking. But while our sourdough starters and banana bread are now a long, distant memory, for Matt and Debs, it was only the beginning of their journey.

The pair, originally from Brazil, turned their tiny Ancoats flat into a makeshift bakery, whipping up baked goods inspired by home for friends and neighbours. Realising they had quite the knack for it though, they decided to leave their jobs in the film industry behind and open their own bakery.

Walk down Radium Street in Ancoats, you’ll soon spot the small hatch from which they serve their best bakes. Whether it’s Pão de queijo, better known as Brazilian cheese balls, pastel de natas or their cinnamon swirls, you can almost guarantee there will be a queue outside the shop.

READ MORE: Inside the Salford pizzeria bringing a slice of Napoli that people are queuing down the street for

And while they’ve had some rather A-list clientele pop by - a list that includes, but doesn’t end with Britain’s Got Talent judges, Man V Food star Adam Richman and Manchester City’s Matheus Nunes - they’ve firmly established themselves within the Manchester food and drink scene too.

A lot of this can be put down to their hospitality, colourful window hatch, and team work from Matt, Debs and their bakers, but a lot of their success, or at least the reason they’ve won so many fans, is down to one of the speciality bakes.

Their pistachio croissant is so popular that they sell hundreds every week. No sooner have they carefully been displayed in the window and they’re snapped up. They even went viral last December as they served them up in tiny cups with dipping