Guides
What's on
Where to go
See all

Guides
What's on
Where to go
See all

Vegan and Vegetarian Food

Ian Jones, Food and Drink Editor

Manchester’s food scene has never been more inventive – and that extends beyond meat. Over the past decade, plant-based cooking has become one of the city’s strengths, with vegan and vegetarian food thriving.

What was once a niche choice is now just good food. Manchester’s best chefs are putting vegetables at the centre of the plate, proving that sustainable eating can be indulgent, exciting and deeply satisfying.

This guide brings together the restaurants, cafés and pop-ups leading that charge – from all-vegan institutions to spots where meat-free dishes steal the show. Whether you’re fully plant-based, flexitarian or just curious, these are the places that make Manchester one of the UK’s most exciting cities for vegan and vegetarian food.

Our top picks

Sicilian NQ

Sicilian NQ, 14 Turner Street, Manchester, M4 1DZ - Visit now

Here you’ll find a finely-honed vegan menu, and that’s why, on a balmy Friday night, if your name’s not down, you’re not coming in. It’s a true independent success story, putting their ethics where their mouths are. Word has spread, and the young and meat-free of Manchester have chosen this cosy backstreet restaurant as their new go-to.

Find out more

Isca Wines

Isca Wines, 1032 Stockport Rd, Levenshulme, Manchester , M19 3WX - Visit now

Levenshulme’s Isca pairs natural wines with elegant, inventive vegan dishes – from cauliflower and pomegranate to artichoke and oyster mushroom – all crafted with real finesse.

Find out more

Bundobust Brewery

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

The newer of Bundobust’s two Manchester joints also happens to be our favourite, serving up tapas-style small plates of vegetarian and vegan Indian food, along with an exhaustive – and somewhat exhausting – list of beers and craft ales.

Find out more

Maray Manchester

Maray Manchester, 14 Brazennose St, Manchester , M2 6LW - Visit now

Maray brings bold, colourful Middle Eastern-inspired cooking to Manchester – a small plates favourite where around half the menu is vegetarian or vegan, including their now-legendary Disco Cauliflower.

Find out more

The Little Sri Lankan

The Little Sri Lankan, Miru Mills, Stockport (monthly), Manchester, M19 - Visit now

The Little Sri Lankan offers up a well-curated vegan version of their set menu at each of the excellent supper clubs.

Find out more

Folk Didsbury

Folk Didsbury, 169 - 171 Burton Road, Manchester, M20 2LN - Visit now

Folk Didsbury’s neighbourhood favourite with a strong vegetarian showing, thanks to chef Harry Jones’s knack for big flavours and smart seasonal cooking. It’s not a plant-based venue, but the meat-free dishes are every bit as considered as the rest.

Find out more

Hinterland

Hinterland, Basement, 16-20 Turner St, Manchester, M4 1DZ - Visit now

Hidden below Manchester Buddhist Centre, Hinterland is an all-vegan, alcohol-free bar and café serving inventive comfort food, creative mocktails and a warm, communal Northern Quarter vibe.

Find out more
Hinterland bar and cafe
JJ.

Caravan Restaurant & Roastery

Caravan Restaurant & Roastery, St Johns, off Quay St, Manchester , M3 3BG - Visit now

Offering Antipodean speciality coffee culture alongside high-quality all-day dining, Caravan is a must-visit spot near Aviva Studios, and the vegan plates are some of the stars of the menu.

Find out more

Eighth Day

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

A Manchester institution since the 1970s, Eighth Day combines a fully vegan shop with a vegetarian café serving daily changing, home-cooked dishes – a cornerstone of the city’s plant-based scene.

Find out more

Where to go in Manchester

Manchester
Restaurant
Dahlia Stereo

Dahlia Stereo is a Latin American-inspired open-fire kitchen and bar off the Northern Quarter’s Stevenson Square, with a pitch perfect soundsystem.

Balance Taproom
Manchester
Restaurant
Balance Taproom

Manchester has a glut of taprooms, and Balance Brewing’s is far and away the best. Drinks, decor, service – all a cut above.

Manchester
Restaurant
Sampa

Sampa’s underground space is the perfect place to learn about both her new mind-expanding dishes and vintage sherries, reimagined for the late 2020s.

Northern Quarter
Restaurant
Sicilian NQ

Busy backstreet Sicilian restaurant in the Northern Quarter, serving up traditional dishes with well-executed vegan versions that more than match up.

Manchester
Restaurant
Maki & Ramen

Japanese sushi and ramen restaurant on High Street, Northern Quarter, founded by Teddy Lee. House-made noodles, eight-hour broths, plus sushi, donburi and vegan options.

Restaurant Orme
Manchester
Restaurant
Restaurant Örme

A hidden gem in the suburbs of Greater Manchester, serving high-level British small plates to a soundtrack of indie rock and roll.

The Abbey
Manchester
Restaurant
The Abbey

Historic Hulme pub with a very good live gig space, brought to you by the very capable team behind YES, Gorilla, Now Wave and Manchester Psych Fest.

City Centre
Restaurant
Portfolio

Portfolio is a Champagne boutique on Manchester’s Bridge Street, offering a set menu of fine-dining small bites.

Manchester
Gallery
Gwafu Vegan
at Bridge 5 Mill

Cameroonian chef Ngwafu Tansie brings allotment-grown, plant-based cooking to Bridge 5 Mill’s solar-powered Ancoats venue, pairing bobolo with cabbage parcels and live vinyl.

Deansgate
Restaurant
Podium

Podium delivers high-end, seasonal dishes, largely geared around produce and ideas from the British Isles, but with a few deft twists and turns.

See all places

Manchester Visitor Guides

Bars & Pubs in Manchester

Pint of mild, limited-run natural wine or cocktail drowning in dry ice? You'll find them all in Manchester. But maybe not together.

Casual Dining in Manchester

Casual dining doesn't mean low effort. Manchester has a host of laid-back restaurants where you can drop in and kick back.

New Openings in Manchester

Manchester’s food and drink scene is thriving. Here are the recently-opened venues who are worth your pounds, shillings and pence.

Manchester Restaurant Deals

Manchester's restaurants are bending over backwards to create deals that take the sting out of eating out. Here are the best of the bunch for January.

Manchester District Guides

The cafe in the trees at the Whitworth
Oxford Road, Manchester

We cherrypick our favourite spots on Oxford Road, taking in unique theatres, characterful gig venues and fascinating museums.
Deansgate, Manchester

When you think of Deansgate, you might think about the long (seemingly endless) street that runs from the Manchester Cathedral all the way down to the Deansgate Towers. And you…
Outside Aviva Studios by the River Irwell
City Centre, Manchester

The heart of Manchester is packed full with history and stories. This industriousness is evident across the city centre, where proud heritage meets contemporary ambition, and a forward-looking mix of…
Cutting Room Square
Ancoats & New Islington

Ancoats, just off the Northern Quarter in Manchester, is one of the city’s most increasingly desirable neighbourhoods. Find out why.
Northern Quarter, Manchester
Northern Quarter, Manchester

Manchester’s most characterful, independent district is a jumbled network of streets to one side of Piccadilly Gardens. Here are the places you need to check out.
Salford museum and art gallery exterior
Salford, Greater Manchester

Cross over the River Irwell, and you’ll find yourself in another city entirely – Salford, which is enjoying something of a regeneration.
The front of Didsbury restaurant Volta.
Didsbury, Manchester

Didsbury has the perfect split between big brands and independent businesses, welcoming all from far and wide.
Image by Jonathan Schofield.
Spotlight on

Walking Tours in Manchester by Jonathan Schofield

Presenting the best walking tours in Manchester for history buffs, culture enthusiasts, and those looking to scratch beneath the surface of the city.

Take me there

Destination Guides

Culture Guides

Food and Drink in the North

Step into autumn safe in the knowledge that you have the North's very best mid-September guide to food and drink in Manchester and beyond.

Matt Spratt.
Music

Aphex Twin-endorsed electronica, an eight-hour organ marathon and the most exciting band in Ireland's current folk revival all feature this month.

Woodhill by LUNG Theatre.
Theatre

Contemporary performance, verbatim theatre, dark comedy and a bold vision of Gaza - an eclectic mix for the start of autumn.

Exhibitions

Our latest exhibition picks include a lost recording of the Strangeways protest, Manchester's first sound art festival, and queer archives revisited.

Emily Lloyd-Saini as Grace in Space and Harrie Hayes as Lieutenant Strong in Horrible Science
Family things to do in the North

Whether you’re after storybook theatre, museum wanderings or illusion-bending play spaces, there’s plenty to keep curiosity ticking through winter and beyond.

A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night
Cinema in the North

There's no shortage of great films out at the moment, whether you're looking for the latest blockbuster, that hot arthouse flick fresh from Cannes or a cosy classic.