Questions
Frequently Asked Questions for Mancunian veggies
Where can I eat-out vegan in Manchester?
Earth is Manchester's only vegan cafe, but it isn't always open in the evenings (phone to check). Around two thirds of the typical meals available at Eighth Day vegetarian cafe are vegan (and are clearly marked), but again the cafe doesn't open late in the evenings. The Greenhouse vegetarian restaurant in Rusholme (a few miles outside Manchester city centre) has a good vegan selection, again clearly marked, and opens both at lunchtime and in the evening (booking is advisable, and required at weekends).
Other vegetarian restaurants in Manchester are listed on this website and often offer vegan options.
Further afield, if you can make it to Sowerby Bridge near Huddersfield, the Dandelion and Burdock offers exclusively vegan food, as does The Globe, in Glossop, Derbyshire.
Most Wetherspoons pubs offer a couple of clearly marked vegan options too.
I'm new to the area. Where can I find-out about shared accommodation with other vegetarians/vegans?
We recommend you visit Unicorn Grocery, in Chorlton, and consult the noticeboard outside their entrance. The noticeboard at Eighth Day on Oxford Road is also good for this kind of thing. Other than that, if you haven't already, join the MVVG mailing list and post a message.
Is MVVG the only vegetarian/vegan group in Manchester?
Not at all. There's also Manchester Vegan Society (MVS), who run a mailing list similar to ours and organise monthly meet-ups. Additionally, the older Manveg group appears still to be active, although most of its members transferred across to MVVG when it was formed a number of years ago.
Where can I buy vegetarian/vegan food in Manchester?
Although there are a variety of health food and organic shops selling vegetarian/vegan food in Manchester -- perhaps too many to list here, in fact -- two particular groceries stand out. These are also favourites of many MVVG members.
The first is Unicorn, located in Chorlton, south Manchester. Everything sold at Unicorn is vegan and there's an excellent range of organic fruit and veg too (sourced locally wherever possible). Unicorn eschews foods containing refined sugar, and tries to avoid processed foods, although the likes of tofu and even ready-meals are available.
The second is the Eighth Day shop, on Oxford Road, around two miles from the centre of Manchester. This sells both vegetarian and vegan foods, concentrating more on processed food (i.e. jars, tins, cartons, and so on), although some fruit and veg is available.
Both Unicorn and Eighth Day have deli counters, where freshly prepared food can be bought.
Where or how can I meet like-minded vegetarians/vegans in Manchester?
On the first Saturday of each month MVVG holds a social drop-in lunch at the Eighth Day cafe, on Oxford Road in Manchester. This is very casual and people come and go as they please. Newcomers are always warmly welcomed and we have attendees of all ages. It isn't necessary to buy lunch, or any kind of food, in order to attend.
The social drop-in begins at 1pm and ends at 4pm. We can usually be identified by an MVVG sign on our set of tables, or sometimes by copies of vegetarian magazines scattered around our tables.
Around Christmas, New Year and Easter, we sometimes have to alter the venue because of Eighth Day closures. Information will be sent around on the MVVG mailing list, and posted to this website's front page.
Our members sometimes organise additional social events. Keep an eye on the mailing list and the front page of this website for details.
Note that there is still some information to be found online and in printed materials stating that we meet elsewhere. This is no longer the case.