
03 Dec 2024
When it comes to the world of hospitality, sustainability can mean many things. Whether it’s sourcing ingredients locally without damaging future resources or giving something back to the communities that provide delicious produce for our plates, many restaurants are trying to operate more ethically. Luckily, Manchester is a city that thrives with eco-friendly eateries and sustainable businesses, which are striving to be a bit kinder to our environment. From plant-based menus to thoughtful supply chains, we’ve rounded up some of the innovative restaurants that are seriously considering their foodie footprint.
Launched with the philosophy of ‘making veg taste better than steak,’ The Allotment Vegan Eatery is one of the leading lights on Manchester’s ballooning plant-based scene. Offering a dining experience that will challenge everything you once believed about vegan food, the team uses the best products from the current season and employs local growers wherever possible. The menu is primarily plants, nuts and pulses, skilfully engineered in the kitchen to create dishes like Jackfruit Tacos and Chestnut Bourguignon. The popular Sunday roast menu offers a chargrilled aubergine ‘steak,’ as delicious and indulgent as the real thing, and the generous portion sizes would give any carvery a run for its money. While restaurants don’t have to stick to a strictly vegan menu to be sustainable, in the case of The Allotment – it sure does taste good.
Located in student heartland behind Oxford Road station, Zouk Tea Bar and Grill is a sociable spot, focused on offering authentic Indian and Pakistani cuisine. Diners can catch all the action from the dynamic theatre kitchen, where they can watch the chefs knock out everything from a slow-cooked lamb curry to a lobster thermidor. In terms of sustainability, Zouk are massive players in the Carbon Free Dining movement – this environmental initiative from The Green Earth Appeal means that the carbon created in producing food is offset by planting fruit trees around the globe. Over 15,000 trees have been planted via Zouk to date, and diners also have the option to donate to the communities who produced their meal.
Set in the People’s History Museum, Open Kitchen is a sustainable dining experience that transforms food that would otherwise go to waste. Working with local restaurants to intercept their food waste and purchasing ingredients from other ethical enterprises, the menu changes regularly with the seasons, encompassing everything from freshly prepared sandwiches to organic lentil dahl with homemade naan bread. As well as repurposing leftovers into delicious dishes, the team work tirelessly to raise awareness about food waste, making them a perfect fit in a museum that’s all about local people fighting for what they believe in.
Nestled on a Chorlton high street, popular neighbourhood kitchen The Creameries has recently rebranded as Campagna, a Southern Italian eatery with a renewed focus on hearty homemade dishes, such as pasta, stews and freshly baked focaccia. With a dedication to ethically sourced ingredients, the restaurant works with trusted suppliers to generate as little waste as possible. The menu will change often to reflect seasonal produce, and anything that can’t be used immediately is pickled and preserved. Founder Mary-Ellen McTague is passionate about sustainable practices in her restaurants – she’s also involved in the Real Junk Food Project, a not-for-profit that transforms food waste into nutritious meals.
Popular British steakhouse Hawksmoor proves that sustainability is so much more than simply adding some plant-based options. As one of the most sustainable restaurant groups in the country, the eatery is dedicated to local and seasonal sourcing, with the meat coming from farmers championing a stress-free life for their animals and preserving their natural environment. This year, Hawksmoor has achieved its ambitions of offsetting emissions to become carbon neutral and started working towards becoming a ‘net zero company’ by 2030. With an impressive menu of steaks, burgers and seafood, you can enjoy the decadent dishes with the knowledge that the business is going above and beyond to cut carbon emissions and place the best quality cuts on your plate.
With a superb menu of Indian small plates and a new brewery on Oxford Road, Bundobust is a Northern success story. With its menu of bhajis, dahl and other vegetarian staples, the restaurant is hugely popular thanks to its winning combination of local craft beers and Indian street-food. Diners sit on communal benches to enjoy the dishes, which are served in little white tubs made of bagasse – compostable sugarcane. There are no industrial dishwashers here, meaning that nothing goes into landfill and energy usage is kept low. With a menu that is 100 per cent vegetarian and beer brewed on its doorstep in Manchester, sustainability is truly at the heart of Bundobust’s ethos.