Oklahoma

Wanting to show my brother and his girlfriend something other than the restaurants and bars of Manchester, we took them along to Oklahoma. After all, what screams Manchester more than this quirky boutique of gifts and home decorations?
There’s no longer a café, which is a bit of a shame, though it has made room for even more items and reduced the claustrophobic feeling which the space could often have if one too many people entered.
Currently, they have a large Christmas sale on, which is perfect if you’re someone who likes to stock up for the next festive season! The range of items has expanded to some fancy beard oils & accessories which are kept behind glass, and they have a lovely selection of jewelry.
Presents from here always get a positive reaction, whether it’s a model airplane kit or kitsch cat purse, so a great stop off if you’re in need of something for someone special (or yourself!)

De-​freaking-​lightful!
The art of beautifully curated quirkiness is summed up when you leave the store thinking, «I never knew I needed a kewpie doll wearing a bunny suit made into a lamp… but I do… I really do.»
Oklahoma is overwhelmingly adorable. I haven’t walked around a store and thought, «I NEED this!» to so many unneeded things in a very very long time. It’s a step up from your usual knickknack & novelty store, where the fart joke tokens and chocolate cigars live alongside artful throw pillows, swanky stationary and the cutest collection of kawaii bento boxes that ever there were. From antique robots to posh matchstick boxes and quirky lamps — it’s a treasure trove of gifts for the «hard to buy fors» and the «well, I don’t know them that well but everyone likes a cheeky novelty mug right? ers». This is a secret Santa’s dream.
During my brief stint in Manchester, I wandered past this store a few times. The map print robe & journals had been calling to me, so I made a point to stop in before heading home to Edinburgh. I have to admit, though delightful, this store was sitting at a solid four stars before this evening — though they have an amazing eye for their products, the layout is a bit unusual. Instead of dedicated sections to each genre, they are arranged rather nilly willy around the store. I definitely would have picked up one of the bento boxes had they all been in one section but after weaving through the pre-​Christmas crowds and finding boxes in every nook and cranny, I couldn’t be bothered to go back to compare them all and left empty handed.
The displays themselves are neat and tidy but FAR too packed for a place with so much footfall and you spend a lot of your time trying not to bump into people or displays. I had to pay way too much attention to what my purse might hit into to make it a lovely, non-​chaotic shopping experience.
But…
Upon returning home, I was DELIGHTED to find they have a well stocked web store with free shipping! It’s hard to find places that carry wonderful little tidbits (I like to include miniatures or clever cards in my letters home) so I will definitely be putting in an order some time soon.
Alas, no kewpie doll lamp online, but we can still hope…

I have come here a few times just simply to look round.
They have some cool quirky handcrafted stuff from lampshades to jewellery but at a price.
A lot of it is heavily marked up, I mean even some of the flower pendants are £15 cheaper on the Xmas markets!
This is a good place to get gift ideas though. they offer beautiful crockery, vintage games, creative lighting solutions, cushions, soap, coasters and card’s…
For the first time I actually went to buy something yesterday. A cute pair of foxy tweezers and a single coaster which cost £3.50!.my friend picked up a foxy teapot. this is when things turned chaotic.
This place can get busy, particularly because the staff simply do not know what they are doing.
This girl spent 15 minutes trying to find my friends teapot in the stock room. and she stopped to ask numerous staff. in the end she said «oh you can have this one because I can find the other’s ‘» I asked if it could be discounted considering it was a gift and it came with no box and had had several grubby mitts touching it… she said no
When I went to pay for my shizzle my card wouldn’t work in their machine. this is when the interrogation began. «have you used your card today? «yes
«do you live in Manchester?» Yes «oh maybe your card doesn’t know its you» I’m sorry I will just ‘re introduce myself to my card!!! I have never been so insulted .she might have well have just called me a thief.
So yes pretty shop but over expensive with rude inexperienced, stupid staff who couldn’t run a bath.

I have wanted to go to Oklahoma for at least a year now and just never got around to it! Eventually today was the day… and I was not disappointed at all!
This quirky and cutesy store was everything I dreamed of! I couldn’t wait to let my purse loose and I was didn’t leave empty handed! This place is great for knick knacks, xmas presents and homely décor for those (like me) that are obsessed with kitchenware, signs and much much more!
I was careful and only bought a little Christmas tree decoration (part of a family tradition) I buy my Mum one each year and this winter it will be an addition of a cute glass bottle with a wish and fairy (glitter) floating around inside! Picture to follow…

No more café — only «gifts»
Oklahoma was always a place to come for your gifts, particularly novelty items that aren’t intended as anything serious: inflatable animals, paper lanterns, plastic kitsch and pun-​heavy disposable items.
Now that the café’s gone, there’s no reason to come back on any regular basis — there are only so many flamingoes and robots one can have at home. Still a great rainy day shop but no more lingering over coffee or milkshake.

I do like Oklahoma. It’s a good shop for small trinkets, knick-​knacks and ‘stocking fillers’ (sorry for the Xmas mention in September) and they have an excellent range of greeting cards for every occasion!
It’s very small and is usually always busy, so navigating around is difficult, but if you’re the type that loves to browse and doesn’t get too flustered when there’s loads of people around, then it’s worth a look.

If you are looking for a random, quirky present the Gift Shop in Oklahoma is great. Being my typical disorganised self I’ve popped in on my lunch break and found last minute presents on a number of occasions. Attached is a café which I’m still yet to try but will definately be back, the food looks delicious!

Lovely ambiance. Quinoa salad, thai peanut soup, grilled cheese sandwiches. Just your down home food served up with a smile. I went with one of my friends while they were on tour through Manchester last week and she liked the food too. My latte could have been a bit warmer, but we had a nice, sunny spot by the window so it was certainly warm enough.

Oklahoma as been a firm favourite of mine for many years now. It’s a great place to go with friends who are veggie or vegan, and the daily specials are always appetising.
Occasionally it can get a bit noisy, but most of the time its a quiet place to relax and get something yummy to eat and drink. The lemongrass and ginger infusion is great for when you’re feeling a bit under the weather. There’s quite an extensive choice of loose leaf tea, tisane’s and coffee on offer, and lots of yummy great cakes to tempt you.
The new plastic stools can be a bit uncomfortable at times, but I love the added brightness and space of the recent re-​vamp. Overall brilliant value for money, quality food and a wide selection of hot and cold drinks. Also a great place to go if you’re on your own or for a quick weekday lunch.

I popped along here for a hot drink and a slice of cake; I perused the shop but didn’t buy anything, although I could happily have frittered away large sums of money buying delightful quirky tat.
I went for a ‘London Fog’, which is an Earl Grey tea latte with vanilla syrup. You don’t get a huge amount but as it’s quite sweet this didn’t really bother me. I thought it was delicious and something a bit different for me. My boyfriend had a latte which he enjoyed. We shared a slice of Oreo cake which was lovely — the cake was dense and not at all dry. I didn’t finish it but that’s not surprising after a meal at Solita!
Overall I thought this was a lovely little place and I’ll head back soon.

The shop is funky, it looks like that in and out, I heard is a fair-​trade vegetarian café, I don’t see that advertised or clear for visitors to mcr. Service was rather slow, I was on my lunch, I saw one of the guys pouring soup back to the kettle, is that ok? how do you know the food was untouched by the customer?, and on my way out I am glad I was on my own because I never saw the label «pull» or «push» on the door, those things are not decoration, they are quite important actually unless you want to be embarrassed in your first date by pulling the door when it opens outwards but how do you know?.
I think the shop has a place and a sense of identity but won’t meet people’s expectations once in.

Very good beans on toast

Given previous high marks, I was a bit disappointed. My breakfast was not good at all, soggy toast and scrambled eggs that were mediocre at best. The charming atmosphere was all that saved it from a lower rating.

Nunca había estado en un lugar que fuese tantas cosas a la vez. En esta ocasión, parece que el Oklahoma sirve uno de los brunch más deliciosos de la ciudad de Manchester, pero es que además tiene una tienda aneja en la que podrás encontrar todo tipo de cachivaches ultra molones con los que agasajar a tus amigos.
Desde todo tipo de material de papelería hasta regalos de todas las formas y colores para llevar de recuerdo. También tienen algunas cosas de casa, mucho más pesadas, que no podrás traerte, pero seguro que te enamorarás de muchas de ellas.

Ate here a few times while staying in Manc. As others have mentioned, the baked spuds are excellent — especially the sweet potato. The curry topping is totally deluxe. It’s also a great cosy spot to sit, drink tea and watch the world go by. I also like their choice in music — fun 80s, blondie etc. all adds up to being a nice place to be.

Hokay So!
Only had a mooch about the shop on this one, got no idea about the foodage café bit.
If, you’re late 20’s to general 30’s this place will just re-​live memories of younger days, from the deep recesses of your brain you will go «I remember that… and that, ooo I had one of those» then you’ll realise you’re talking out loud and people are staring at you and you should probably stop.
Whether it’s toys, sweets, games, just random things from the 80’s ‘early’ 90’s, you’ll come across stuff that just makes you think «I haven’t seen that in years!»
Worth a punt for those things you didn’t realise you were looking for, or if you just need a random gift for someone but not sure what.

Tucked away in the corner of High Street, behind two panelled doors you’ll find an aladdins cave of treats. This café-​cum-​gift shop is filled with the best presents, so I’m pretty sure you won’t come out empty handed.
The folks at Oklahoma are great fun too. Crazy, quirky — are probably labels that they’d hate to be called — but they’re great fun and make Oklahoma what it is.
Don’t come to Manchester without paying them a visit!

Leaving it last minute like I usually do, I was wandering round the Northern Quarter desperately trying to find inspiration for a friend’s birthday present and accidently stumbled upon the Oklahoma Café its windows laden with all kinds of quirky gifts.
Inside I quickly realised it’s also a café, the clue was in the diners sat at tables eating cake! Although I had just eaten, I had a quick glimpse at the menu, noticing its all vegetarian, vegan fair, how lovely and tasty looking!
But I had arrived on a mission to find presents and I was spoilt for choice. Look beyond the ‘grow your own boyfriend’ and ‘make your own voodoo doll’ kits and all that other stuff which I like to call tat, there was some truly inspired gift ideas here too. Recycled Japanese influenced sandwich bags, little body lotions in the shape of cupcakes and a beautiful cabinet full of sparkly trinkets and unique pieces of jewellery, I think I spent a good 30 minutes meandering through it all and came away a happy camper with birthday present in hand.
I shall have to return when another birthday comes along or if I can find an excuse sooner with an empty stomach so I can sample the menu too.

Think this gift shop/​coffee stop/​eatery/​wi-​fi den has a random name? Just wait until you step inside… the name will be the last thing on your mind as your senses are simultaneously hit with funky Earth-​themed Japanese lanterns, a CD/​DVD swap, a strong coffee-​roasting smell and gangsta’ rap (followed by Kanye and MJ). Trust me, the name Oklahoma is the least random part of this… um… space.
And I kind of adore it. First, the gift section is the perfect place to go for terrible shoppers like myself who have absolutely no clue what to buy someone. You can’t go wrong with something eclectic and funky as while the items on offer are all quite kitsch, they are certainly not in the useless/​junk department.
The food was beautiful and I was tempted from a baked sweet potato by a Moroccan bean wrap and a bowl of carrot, lime and coconut soup. Plus, who doesn’t love some big tables with free wi-​fi? Even if your chair does happen to be a giant hand?

Ever wanted a frying pan that makes heart-​shaped eggs?
How about a grill that makes toast with religious figures engraved on?
Or a polka dot suitcase with a smaller polka dot case inside?
In short, Oklahoma’s Gift shop is a living and breathing homage to the art of Kitsch ahd Colourful accessories. There’s big items like lampshades and clocks hanging from the walls and ceiling, wallpapers and posters behind the main counter and dozens of shelves and tables stacked high with all kinds of weird and wonderful nonsense. One of my favourite items is the old American Popcorn Machine filled with jewellery and the desk overflowing with stationary, plastic moustaches and candy cigarettes.

I hate ‘gift shops’, they usually mean that the person who you received your ‘gift’ from placed more importance on them having a nice day out looking at all the kitsch cards and shiny baubles rather than the actual end result– whilst nobody likes trawling the high street, I’m afraid that’s were they keep all of the useful stuff and if your gift giver really loved you then they would have persevered.
The fact that Oklahoma masquerades as an exception to the ‘gift shops are shit’ rule, thereby drawing in lots of unaware shoppers who where honestly trying to pick up something useful for somebody, only makes me madder as it means I’m twice as likely to get a Virgin Mary charm bracelet for my next birthday.
Consumerism gone mad.