Top places for vegan food in Manchester

This small burger joint in the Arndale centre market is perfect for those who want to have a burger and avoid the meats and cheeses. It offers superb vegan junk food for vegans, vegetarians and anyone not fancying meat who want to treat themselves, like the vegan KFC burger. You can also make your own DIY home burger with the kits. As well as the Arndale location, this place has also got another spot in Ancoats for your vegan burger fix.

This high-end restaurant is very well known for its top-quality service, most notably shown by its Michelin star. This glamorous modern Indian restaurant has a great back story too, as it’s one of the 13 restaurants that bear the legacy of Bollywood star, Asha Bhosle. Sitting in the middle of the city centre, Asha’s offers very affordable vegan options (such as the Aloo Gobi or Dal Tadka) in contrast to other Michelin star restaurants, making it a great place for a celebratory meal for vegans.

This lovely café is perfect for students as it sits right in the heart of Fallowfield, the place to be for students. HAUS offers a fantastic array of high-quality vegan options without being expensive, such as the multiple vegan pizzas or vegan chicken nuggets. HAUS is brilliant for deliveries too, thanks to its easy-to-use app.

Located at The Cartway on the Oxford Road corridor, Bundobust is one of Manchester’s most unique vegan-friendly joints since it doubles up as a brewery! This brewtap-cum-restaurant sits within a functioning brewery, housed in a unique 100-year-old space within the iconic Grade II listed St James building. The brewery itself is a custom-built 10-hectolitre facility capable of producing 20,000 pints a month! As for the food, the extremely moreish Indian street food options range from Paneer Tikka and Bhaji Butty, to Okra Fries and Chole Saag, which is a mix of chickpeas and spinach stewed in garam masala, onion and ginger, then served with puri.

In between Spinningfields and Chinatown sits a gem of an eatery for anyone who wants to try quality vegan food. The Allotment Vegan Eatery, unlike other vegan restaurants that focus on creating vegan versions of traditionally meat and dairy based plates, like hotdogs and burgers, instead serves sustainable and locally sourced food such as, tofu, roasted beetroot, jackfruit tacos and the customer favourite – cauliflower wings. The brilliant service, the unique dishes and central location are why they have won numerous awards for best vegan restaurant and best restaurant in the last few years.

If you’re looking for an award-winning eatery that serves gorgeous modern British small plates, Elnecot will certainly provide that. Located in Ancoats, Elnecot has a different menu for evening, lunch, weekend brunch and Sunday roast so expect a lot of choice and quality. This British menu has the dishes in size order and is moderately priced. If you go for brunch, try the vegan sausage sandwich, wild mushrooms on toast and the Elnecot veggie full English. The evening dishes include the disco cabbage, the loaded roasties, cinderwood squash mochi and the winter sunchoke, which includes a powerful parsnip puree with mushroom dashi and pickled onion. There’s also some of the city’s best roasts on offer here, so definitely keep an eye out for those!

Purezza is a lovely and vibrant vegan sourdough pizzeria situated in the booming Northern Quarter. These guys offer delicious vegan pizzas that are healthy and tasty, plus a range of salads, burgers pastas and sides. Some great vegan non-pizzas dishes include the incredible “mac ‘n’ cheese” and courgetti spaghetti. In terms of pizza, we recommend the pesto pizza and the black truffle pizza. Purezza offers a lively atmosphere with very knowledgeable staff who can help you with the menu. The team pride themselves on their sustainability and because of this, Purezza is one of the most sustainable restaurants in Manchester. Vegan restaurants do not get better than this one!

NAM is a Vietnamese restaurant in the growing post-industrial area called Ancoats, the neighbour to the Northern Quarter and the city centre. The food is mainly Vietnamese with other influences, and the restaurant is known for its healthy dishes. The vegan dishes are wonderful and allow you to enjoy traditional Vietnamese food whilst staying true to veganism. The banh mi with crispy chilli tofu is a baguette filled with pickled vegetables, coriander, cucumber, chilli and house dressing. The pho with tofu and veg is an iconic traditional Vietnamese dish that consists of rice noodles, vegetables and NAM’s signature slow cooked broth. There’s also the bun, which we highly recommend. The vegan option comes with chilli tofu and is served with vermicelli rice noodles with homemade nuoc mam, crispy salad, pickled veg, chilli and crispy shallots. There is also a wide range of vegan pan-Asian street food dishes, such as tamarind tofu and oyster mushroom bao buns, stir-fried Asian greens and pan-fried broccoli.

This amazing Spanish restaurant, found in the heart of Manchester’s city centre, showcases a wide range of amazing dishes. La Bandera takes its inspiration from the Canary Islands, so it offers a unique style of Spanish cuisine. This is evident in its lovely red and yellow spacious interior. The wonderful head chef, Canarian Ruben del Villar uses the best local and Spanish ingredients to design the menu. The restaurant serves vegan tapas such as traditional Spanish peppers, papas arrugadas, patatas bravas, grilled wild mushrooms, mixed salad and Spanish ratatouille (if you order without the egg). La Bandera is a gorgeous place with many different food options, including set menus like the Tenerife and Lanzarote editions.

Located between Oxford Road and the Gay Village, Joshua Brooks sits between Factory and YES as a unique option for spending time with friends and going on a night out. Joshua Brooks is not just a place for going out however. This place serves amazing food and is a great place to go for a late lunch. There’s a vegan and vegetarian section, which provide many more options than the average eatery. The Budda bowl is a delight. It comes with gyozas, Korean tofu, salt and pepper fries, and sweet chilli sauce. The Korean cauliflower, curry tofu and the mushroom katsu curry are other fabulous vegan options that are must-haves.