‘Lower Hillgate’s new hotspot’: Convene, Stockport, reviewed

Today, Stockport is far more than the ‘hatting capital’ of yesteryear. Now, it’s a heavyweight contender for ‘leading foodie neighbourhood’ of the North West too, with bustling bars, cafes and restaurants adorning every inch of its historic underbanks with their brightly-painted façades. 

New kid on the block is Convene - a neighbourhood cafe that focuses on seasonal cooking. You’ll find its warm and welcoming maroon exterior on the ever-improving Lower Hillgate, sandwiched between Yellowhammer and Little Scarfs; two other standout Stockport faves that have become very popular amongst locals and visitors since opening a few years ago.  

With enough space for about 20 covers - set across a mixture of tables, bar stools and window seats with a baked goods counter at the front - it’s a quaint location that exudes charm right from the off. 

My colleague Lucas and I arrived for brunch around 11 o’clock on a Wednesday and were swiftly greeted by a warm smile followed by a “Table for two?” from a member of the team. 

We pulled up a pew at the bench along the front side wall of the cafe and placed our drinks order after a quick peruse of the menu; an iced oat latte for Lucas and an iced matcha latte flavoured with Convene’s house made rhubarb syrup for myself - both of which were great and a real welcome treat on such an unusually warm day in mid March. 

Much like the drinks options available here, the food menu offers a carefully curated selection of options you’d love to find at your favourite local cafe but more refined and elevated. 

From the delightful sounding spiced apple porridge (topped with brown sugar and hazelnut butter) that’d make your cupboard’s offering look like gruel, to Woodhouse’s wild mushroom and miso eggs benedict (finished with whipped ricotta, salsa verde and parmesan), every dish tickled my fancy. It might’ve been a concentrated list, but it was still hard to set them apart from one another and even trickier to make a final decision. 

After stewing over the menu and a few rounds of ip-dip-doo just to be sure, I settled on the house banana bread French toast topped with a seasonal dressing (this time being a homemade cinnamon and apple puree). I’m so glad I did. It was absolutely fantastic.  Somewhat savoury whilst also sweet, but steering well away from being overly sickly or relying too much on sauces or syrups to zhuzh it up, this dish totally satisfied my cravings for both salt and sugar. The banana bread itself had been crisped up in all the right places after basking in butter and sitting in the pan for an ample amount of time while the mascarpone, apple puree and lightly toasted grains did a good job of making this rich dish feel a little more healthy. It’s a dish I haven’t stopped thinking about since the very last moment my fork swiped the remnants from the plate.

Lucas kept things traditional by opting for Convene’s version of a Full English breakfast; Grandma’s sausages, smoked streaky bacon, two poached eggs, slow-roast tomato, thyme mushroom, house beans, hash browns and buttered sourdough. 

It looked an absolute picture and smelled rather divine, too. No skimpy portions here either - just good, hearty, quality local produce without the need for too much fluffing up. The meats were left to speak for themselves while the accompaniments were perfectly seasoned; especially the crispy, crunchy hash brown cubes which I managed to steal one of under the guise of ‘quality control’. 

If I hadn't already fallen head over heels for the French toast, I would’ve been jealous. But I will be back post-haste to delight in this fry up (and most probably all the other things on the menu) myself. 

Keep my seat warm, Convene. I’ll see you again very soon.

Convene, 17 Lower Hillgate, Stockport SK1 1JQ

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