| North West London |
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Manna Vegetarian Restaurant 
 based on 12 member reviews
4 Erskine Rd, Primrose Hill, London, UK, North West London
NW3
020-77228028
Type: Vegan, International, Beer/Wine, Catering
Info: Veggie food restaurant operating since 1966. The menu is seasonal and there's the special Sunday roast every week. Full liquor license with a large fine vegan and organic wine list. Non-smoking. Open for dinner 6:30-11pm daily; lunch Sat-Sun 12:30-3pm. Price: Expensive.
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| "Manna From Heaven"
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My Rating |
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 1 |
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Posted on: Saturday, July 24, 2010 |
Review: We just had a wonderful meal at this almost entirely vegan restaurant located near Regents Park. The vegetables are very fresh, the faux meats way above average, and the homemade bread was excellent. The food was gourmet and elegantly presented, but the portions were not at all skimpy. In fact we chose to postpone desert (one of their specialties) and left feeling quite satisfied.
Highly recommended.
Pros: creative menu * romantic atmostphere * homemade bread
Cons: expensive * * |
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| "Not Bad"
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My Rating |
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 12 |
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Posted on: Wednesday, June 16, 2010 |
Review: We have been for Sunday lunch about 5 times now. It is very hit and miss on the food. The sunday lunch is OK but nothing to sing about. The deserts are OK but again not very inspiring. The chefs need to stop adding tofu to everything (personally I hate the stuff). They have gone all vegan now which is better. a £15 taxi ride from central London.
Pros: all vegan * good staff *
Cons: hit and miss on food * * |
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| "Totally amazing vegan food"
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My Rating |
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24 |
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Posted on: Monday, May 31, 2010 |
Review: Firstly ignore any bad reviews below, this place has undergone a major overhaul and is now totally vegan and has been for several months now. We visited this place yesterday and was met by the owner, Roger, who was really friendly. The decor was just right, subtle but tasteful and the music was generally of the 60's/early 70's (Rolling Stones, Georgie Fame, David Bowie etc) and on loud enough to hear but low enough to ignore if you wished (my husband wasnted the Stone to be louder!!) The menu, which is totally vegan, just blew my mind, I wanted everything on it and the specials that the friendly, helpful, waiter told me about. We were only having lunch so just stuck to a main course and a dessert though the starters others were having around us looked wonderful. I ate a hazelnut roast (the Sunday special) with roast new potates, vegetables and a superb yellow pepper dressing, my husband had sausage and mash with huge battered onion rings and a red onion gravy. Both dishes were perfect. For dessert I had a divine lemon cheesecake and my husband a delectable banoffee trifle. I also had this lovely hot drink infusion of mint, orange and maple syrup, sweet but delicious. Along with two soft drinks and service this came to just under £60.00. No, this isn't cheap but this standard of food isn't. If you want a cheap meal there are plenty of great places in London but this is fine dining and the price is comparable to other similar veggie establishments (and, of course, it is set in the lovely Primrose Hill!!) around the country and a hell of a lot cheaper than many quality meat based places. I really cannot recommend this place enough and I have eaten in veggie places around UK, Europe and the rest of the world. Don't miss this place if you are looking for a divine, totally vegan, dining experience in London.
Pros: All vegan * Fantastic Food * Friendly staff
Cons: None * * |
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| "i like it"
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My Rating |
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 3 |
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Posted on: Wednesday, March 17, 2010 |
Review: I have only been to Manna twice, both visits were in the past 10 months, but both times have been good and I would definitely go again and recommend it. The staff have been efficient and very pleasant, attentive but not over the top or patronising. The food I have eaten has always been great. At my last visit in February I had nachos followed by bangers and mash finished with a slice of cake all of which were really tasty, the rest of the party were all pleased with their food as well. Maybe the chef has upped his game in the past few months.
Pros: * *
Cons: * * |
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| "dissapointing once more"
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My Rating |
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3 |
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Posted on: Friday, October 09, 2009 |
Review: Manna last week, terrible once more, who's writing the pos. reviews?
Review frm Nov.07 : back from my birthday meal at Manna. After reading the glowing reviews I expected fantastic food, imaginative and tasty.
Even in this city of over-priced average fare, Manna disappointed in so many ways.
Upon entering the restaurant, we both remarked how nice it looked, well-lit and good looking, nice lay out if a little too many tables in the space, we could live with that. Very neat and clean and definitely giving an impression of fine dining.
Strange then, that we ate the meal with an indie-rock cd playing over the speakers (dont get me wrong, I like indie rock, it just wasn't appropriate there at all).
Starters were an average price of £6.50(expensive even for London)and we had Perogis and a Fondue dish. The perogis were nice, full flavoured and the highlight of the meal. The fondue was awful - a badly made sauce, with cheese split from the wine and came presented within a small squash, with two miniscule bread sticks as the edible tool. Really poor.
Mains were 'pinto and lime chilli' and 'thai red curry'. Priced between £12.50 and £14.00 these were completely overpriced and not what I expect to see on a fine dining menu. I expect to see fare like this offered in a typical veg. buffet style restaurant.
Nevermind, I thought, I'm sure it'll be something different than the usual fare. I was right, it was different than I'm used to - both mains were bland and unsatisfying. My chili had some falvour but lacked any heat whatsoever. It came with a tiny ramekin sized dollop of rice, a heap of undressed leaves, another egg-cup sized helping of tomato salsa (I counted 1 cherry tomato cut into 6 slices at it's core) and a similar sized bowl of guacamole. Disappointed doesn't begin to explain how I felt!
My partner's thai curry was also bland, although this time a reversal of my meal, whereas it lacked any substance of flavour but was chili'd to the max. The curry bowl consisted of 3 green beans, 2 baby sweetcorn stalks and 2 leaves of pak choi. It was accompanied by another egg cup of rice, a spring roll (that was tasty admittedly) and the obligatory pile of undressed leaves.
I'm not a great cook, but I make better food here at home - this was bland, uninspired food that left us £60 lighter (Yanks you must be laughing right now...) and still hungry when we left.
Definitely one of the worst restaurant meals I have eaten in my 22 years of being a vegetarian
Pros: clean * *
Cons: food * price * attitude |
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| "Delicious food and beautiful environment"
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My Rating |
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33 |
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Posted on: Sunday, August 30, 2009 |
Review: We had lunch here yesterday, and it was such a treat! We had the organic bangers and mash, and the malai kofta. Our server was very attentive and charming, and she was very good at explaining everything that we needed to know. The desserts were pretty amazing, and most of them were vegan. We had the mango cheesecake and the cake of the day which was a blueberry sponge cake, which came with a scoop of blueberry ice cream. All the dishes came beautifully presented, and the portions were quite large.
Pros: Yummy good * almost everything is vegan * wide range of vegan desserts
Cons: * * |
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| "Fails to live up to its billing"
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My Rating |
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93 |
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Posted on: Thursday, May 07, 2009 |
Review: Unprepossessing exterior with box addendum extending out from the front of building. The décor inside is very pleasant with lovely silver and cream wallpaper and low lighting.
They had arranged seating for the big group I was with toward the back of the restaurant on the left as you walk in. It was a sort of enclosed area and they had placed the tables in a position skewed to one side. While there was at least a metre space behind chairs on one side there was less than a foot on the other side. The last people to arrive had to crawl under the table from the spacey side to get to the remaining chairs at the end of the table. I can only imagine the disruption had they had needed to go to the toilet during dinner. The enclosed area with the low ceiling meant sound bounced around and made it very noisy. It was really difficult to hear yourself speak and we were shouting just to make ourselves heard to those sitting next to us. By the end of dinner my ears and voice were a bit sore.
I ordered soup for starter. I think it might have been pumpkin on the day. It was quite a large serving. Other than pureeing the pumpkin they added something, worsening the taste. It was bland. For main I had Vietnamese broth/ soup with leafy greens. It tasted bland. I have not had this before so am not sure how it should taste. Perhaps it was mint they used to create the effect they achieved. In other Vietnamese dishes I have had elsewhere mint complemented other flavours.
When I went to see wait staff they were very pleasant, but they left us alone throughout dinner only coming to see if we wanted dessert toward the end.
At over ₤20 for the two courses and service here it was definitely overpriced. That it came to this amount which was out of all proportion to what was delivered means it is a two.
Pros: Pleseant decor * *
Cons: Bland food * injuriously noisy for some seating * minimal service; overpriced |
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| "One of the best vegetarian resturant in London"
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My Rating |
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27 |
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Posted on: Sunday, February 22, 2009 |
Review: With a beautiful atmosphere and creative menu of mixed world cuisines, this is one of my favourite veggie haunts in London. It's a lovely place to go with an extensive drinks list if you enjoy soaking in and hanging out. Centrally located in the lovely Primrose Hill area and easy to find, the food is gourmet and delectable and the staff friendly and helpful. It's so much better than other so-called high end veggie eateries like Vanilla Black and The Gate. At least when the bill arrives you can feel it was worth the money!
Pros: Lovely decor * Great food * Centrally located
Cons: A little pricey * * |
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| "Wonderful"
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My Rating |
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35 |
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Posted on: Tuesday, January 08, 2008 |
Review: My husband and I went to Manna to try their Christmas menu. The restaurant is rather packed in with tables, but it's beautiful at the same time, and the atmosphere is relaxed and quiet. The staff was extremely friendly and helpful, and service was good. I had the 4-course Christmas menu, which was absolutely delicious (and vegan). The canape was a pumpkin-filled filo pastry--the pastry was perfect, and the filling was good. I can't remember the starter, but it was some sort of timbale with wild mushrooms that was rather so-so. The highlight of my meal was my main, which was a jerusalem artichoke gallette with roasted veg. It was absolutely amazing, and I wished that I could have the same thing for my actual Christmas dinner! My husband was not as impressed as I was. He had the tempura for a starter, which was very good, but his main (something with wild mushrooms?) wasn't at the same standard as the rest of our meal. The sauce was good, but the rest was rather bland. He did enjoy his fruit crumble. My dessert was rather disappointing unfortunately. It was a "trio", but even with three pieces of cake, it didn't add up to a full dessert in my opinion. The apple bakewell was average. The chocolate cake (with rum I think?) was fantastic, and the vegan cheesecake had potential, but seemed as if the pieces had been cut and left in the fridge to dry out for a while. On the whole, we enjoyed ourselves, and are planning on going back soon to try the new menu. I think this may be the best veggie restaurant we've been to in London thus far. Although it is a bit pricey (to be expected in Primrose Hill), the quality of food was better than others, such as Mildred's.
Pros: good food * good service * nice atmosphere
Cons: a bit pricey * some dishes lack inspiration * dessert trio |
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| "Quite good"
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My Rating |
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93 |
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Posted on: Monday, May 07, 2007 |
Review: The food here was quite tasty, if a bit heavy. Prices are extremely high, but the quality of the food and its presentation justify the prices. I highly recommend trying their desserts, especially the vegan cheesecake, which is one of the best I've tried in the world.
Pros: Quality * Taste *
Cons: Expensive * Heavy * |
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| "My favourite restaurant in the world!"
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My Rating |
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14 |
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Posted on: Tuesday, October 17, 2006 |
Review: I love Manna. The food is gorgeous, with a brilliant selection for Vegans. My Omnivore boyfriend says it is his favourite restaurant in the world too :) I had the chef's salad which was awesome - a taste sensation on a plate. The desserts were great too. It's a little pricey - but worth it for a treat. Definitely go here if you're in London. Madonna, Stella McCartney, Moby & Gwyneth Paltrow have all been spotted here :)
Pros: Great food * Lovely staff * Seasonal menus
Cons: A little pricey * * |
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| "A Very Pleasant way To Pass the Evening"
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My Rating |
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4 |
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Posted on: Monday, September 11, 2006 |
Review: I took a party of 12 omnivores here to celebrate me leaving my job. The ever friendly and funky staff coped admirably with the barrage of questions and queries from my colleagues. The food was delicious, I had a filo wrapped black bean & monterey jack chimichanga which tasted fantastic and looked bloody marvellous!. I can strongly recommend the desserts here, the best chocolate tart I have ever tasted came from Manna, shame it's not on the menu currently. However, the mind blowing rasberry torte more than made up for it.
My colleagues all enjoyed the food too, (after initial squirming) and I think the meticulous attention to presentation helped. The only downside was a miso soup that tasted like something you'd strip drains with but that's a minor quibble.
The restaurant itself exudes the air of monied boho, think chemically abusive rock stars deciding to clean up their acts and go organic, and you get the idea. Set in lovely Primrose Hill, if you're up for it afterwards, a nice stroll up to the top of the hill to look at London at night is well recommended.
I'll be back (again)!
Pros: delicious food * friendly staff * nice atmosphere
Cons: horrible miso * * |
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