Vegan Food in Manchester

Ian Jones, Food and Drink Editor

As climate change and other socially-conscious issues become more important than ever, so vegan food has become both more popular and appealing. Hence the wealth of vegan restaurants popping up in Manchester, alongside plenty of established restaurants offering a solid range of plant-based dishes. Looking for the best? You’ve come to the right place.

Year on year, it’s clear that plant-based eating is on the rise, as vegan cooking becomes more mainstream. As ever, the restaurant scene is one step ahead, and even meat-eaters will be aware of the increasing number of vegan dishes available at their favourite restaurant.

In 2024, non-meat food doesn’t only taste just as good – if not better – than meat-based food but it’s likely to give you a significant energy boost, along with the knowledge that you’re eating ethically and helping the environment in some small way.

Vegetarians are well served around Manchester, but it’s time to focus on the restaurants with the tastiest vegan meals. So whether you’re a proud vegan or merely curious, let us guide you towards some of the best food choices for vegans in Manchester. Also check our guides to vegetarian food in Manchester, gluten-free food in Manchester and vegan food in Leeds and Liverpool.

Our top picks

Evelyn’s Cafe Bar

Evelyn’s Cafe Bar, G18 Tib Street, Manchester, M4 1NB - Visit now

Vegans take note. At Evelyn’s, you’ll find some of the finest plant-based plates in Manchester right now. Our standouts: the braised butter beans and roasted cauliflower.

Charlie Spargo

Nordie

Nordie, 1044 Stockport Rd, Manchester, M19 3WX - Visit now

Looking for the real spirit of Manchester? You’ll find it in Levenshulme, where Nordie puts as much, if not more, effort into the creation of their vegan and vegetarian dishes as the meat options.

Nordie

Rola Wala Deansgate

Rola Wala Deansgate, 75 Deansgate, Manchester , M3 2BW - Visit now

Role Wala is a new Indian street food-style dining destination on Deansgate, specialising in freshly made, high-quality, healthy meals, with an almost 50% vegan menu.

Ian Jones

DIECAST

DIECAST, 51 Ducie St, Manchester, M1 2JQ - Visit now

If you’ve not been to Diecast yet, here’s a primer: there’s a lot going on. Among it, vegans are well catered for, our top pick being the Sunday roast, just pipping the vegan cheeze burger.

Diecast

Bondi Bowls

Bondi Bowls, Bondi Bowls, Kampus 57 Chorlton St., Manchester, M1 3FY - Visit now

A recent opening at Kampus, Bondi Bowls is the perfect spot to grab a healthy vegan lunch in Manchester city centre.

Breakfast Shot
Bondi Bowls

Madre Manchester

Madre Manchester, The Churchill, 41 Chorlton Street, Kampus, Manchester , M1 3HN - Visit now

On the seventh day, head to Madre for the excellent Mexican-style Sunday feast, where the vegetarian and vegan options aren’t just afterthoughts.

Ian Jones

The Little Sri Lankan

The Little Sri Lankan, Various locations, including Stockport, Levenshulme & more, Manchester, M19 - Visit now

A must-visit pop-up, specialising in awe-inspiring Sri Lankan dishes, The Little Sri Lankan usually provide vegan options for each of their dishes.

Ian Jones

GRUB Manchester

GRUB Manchester, 50 Red Bank, Cheetham Hill, Manchester, M4 4HF - Visit now

GRUB is simply one of our favourites spots in Manchester, not least because of the excellent street food vendors (many of them vegan), but also the regular plant-based food events they host.

Bundobust Manchester

Bundobust Manchester, 61 Piccadilly, Manchester, M1 2AG - Visit now

On the edge of Piccadilly, this underground restaurant serves up tapas-style small plates of vegan (and some vegetarian) Indian food, along with an exhaustive – and somewhat exhausting – list of beers and craft ales.

Bundobust Manchester
Ian Jones

Dishoom Manchester

Dishoom Manchester, 32 Bridge St, Manchester , M3 3BT - Visit now

Indian street food is often vegan-friendly, and Dishoom have an entire menu devoted to it! It’s a little higher end than the other Indian options on this list, but the price is reflected in both the taste and the beautiful surroundings.

Dishoom Manchester

The Allotment Vegan Restaurant

The Allotment Vegan Restaurant, Lloyd’s house, 18-22 Lloyd St, Manchester, M2 5WA - Visit now

The Allotment Vegan Restaurant is an award-winning vegan restaurant, formerly based in Stockport and now in heart of Manchester’s city centre. Stockport’s loss is very much Manchester’s gain.

Martin Kevill

Ducie Street Warehouse

Ducie Street Warehouse, Ground Floor, Warehouse, Ducie St,, Manchester, M1 2TP - Visit now

Ducie Street Warehouse impress every time we visit, and the substantial plant-based section of the menu gets bigger and more mouth-watering each and every time. Pop in for a bite, stay for the music and drinks.

Ducie Street Warehouse

Bundobust Brewery

Bundobust Brewery, St James's Bldg, Bundobust Brewery, 61-69 Oxford St, Manchester, M1 6EQ - Visit now

So good we included them twice. Bundobust is storming ahead in the non-meat stakes and this new venue on Oxford Road is perfect for those of you who like an environmentally-friendly bite to eat alongside the freshest beer possible.

Bundobust Oxford Road
Martin Kevill

The Ivy Spinningfields

The Ivy Spinningfields, The Pavilion, Byrom Street, Spinningfields, Manchester, M3 3HG - Visit now

The Ivy is the iconic centrepiece of Spinningfields. Everything here screams luxury, from the nature-themed architecture outside to the relaxing and eccentric interior. Happily, you’ll also find many a vegan treat here.

The Ivy Manchester

The Refuge

The Refuge, Oxford Street, Manchester, Greater Manchester, M60 7HA - Visit now

Of course there are plenty of meaty things on this off-kilter small plates menu, but The Refuge have a quality selection of cruelty-free choices too. From curried sweet potato to beetroot pakora via a delicious assortment of wonderfully crafted vegetable dishes.

Ian Jones

Eighth Day

Eighth Day, 111 Oxford Road, Manchester, Greater Manchester, M1 7DU - Visit now

Eighth Day is a veggie and vegan superstore that’s less of a shop-cum-cafe and more of a Manchester institution. Not only a great place to pick up your hemp milk and agave syrup, but also a deliciously hearty, fairly priced vegetarian/vegan lunch in the laid-back downstairs café.

Eighth Day.

Idle Hands

Idle Hands, 35 Dale St, Manchester, Greater Manchester, M1 2HF - Visit now

A dairy alternative is no new thing to the coffee shops of Manchester, that said, so many of them are bloody useless at getting it right. Not here, Idle Hands can whip up a mean Oatly flat-white and they’ve plenty of vegan cakes and pies to enjoy on the side.

Idle Hands - Coffee Shops in Manchester - Creative Tourist

Unicorn Grocery

Unicorn Grocery, 89 Albany Rd, Manchester, M21 0BN - Visit now

An ever popular food cooperative in Chorlton who stock a wide-range of locally and ethically sourced organic, fruit, veg and fair trade products.

© Unicorn Grocery

HOME Manchester

HOME Manchester, 2 Tony Wilson Place, Manchester, Greater Manchester, M15 4FN - Visit now

Although there are a bunch of meat and seafood dishes on the menu at HOME, they pale next to the vegan dishes on offer, particularly the eye-catching and equally-flavourful Buddha Bowls.

HOME Manchester
Paul Karalius

The Beagle

The Beagle, 456-458 Barlow Moor Road, Chorlton, Manchester, Greater Manchester, M21 0BQ - Visit now

Good beers and a great menu with some superb vegan options – it’s essentially Common in Chorlton. We highly recommend the frijoles on toast for breakfast, just remember to tell them you’re vegan.

Image courtesy The Beagle.

Where to go in Manchester

caprismcr - restaurant
City Centre
Restaurant
Capri’s Cucina Italiana

The King Street area isn’t short of popular Italian restaurants, but none strike quite the same note as Capri’s, where you’ll be greeted like family and served some of the most authentic Neapolitan food in Manchester.

City Centre
Restaurant
Climat

Highly-regarded wine-led, French-leaning wine bar and rooftop restaurant in the city centre.

City Centre
Restaurant
Blinker

Elegant cocktail bar in the centre of Manchester, with a relaxed atmosphere and wonderfully friendly staff.

Stray
Manchester
Restaurant
Stray

Stylish modern bar serving sophisticated cocktails in the Northern Quarter.

Breakfast Shot
Manchester
Restaurant
Bondi Bowls

Bondi Bowls is the perfect spot to grab a healthy lunch without compromising on flavour.

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