Eighth Day Vegetarian Restaurant Shop and Cafe

Eight Day is very much a cafe of the 80s. It has the basement canteen thing going on, only ever a few options and pretty basic food. But they do that well. It's a pleasant basement canteen and the food is always tasty. I find the vibe and nice reminder of veggie cafe days gone by. I guess it reminds the (then) one veggie cafe in my nearest city growing up so it feels homely but I can see how now everyone would feel that.

I'd usually like a bigger portion, especially because it's not that cheap but it's still reasonable value for money. The food does taste good, occasionally very tasty but never anything exciting. Having everything be one pot dishes to sit on the hot plate really limits them. The choice of vegan cakes is great because they buy in from two different bakeries.

I still go here more often than any other cafe, it's quick, friendly and dependable. I know it's a bit dull but I just still like it.

This cafe has been there forever, it used to be fantastic, great food at good prices. I think the food has gone down hill and the portions are tiny. I still eat there now and again hoping it has changed but alas it doesnt.

On the Eighth Day is an institution in Manchester located on Oxford Road, with a fabulous vegetarian shop on the first floor selling hundreds of products and a vegetarian and vegan cafe below the shop. I had vegan breakfast consisting of cherry tomatoes, fried mushrooms, vegan sausages, fried tofu, baked beans and toast, all helped along by a big pot of Earl Grey tea. They offer hot dishes, sandwiches, salads, cakes and desserts. They hold special evening events like wine tastings with food included which are well worth the money.

I'd been eating at 'Eighth Day' for over 15 years before it dawned on me that I'd never really enjoyed a meal there!

That might sound a little daft but I was always so relieved to have somewhere that I knew provided Vegan options that I'd never stopped to think about the food itself.

Let's put the positive(s) first: the desserts are generally very good with a variety of Vegan choices. There are also good, tasty smoothie options.

As for the rest of the food: personally I tend to find it quite dry and boring. They really do appear to embrace the "wholefood" philosophy which unfortunately can mean lots of bland pulses etc. A non-Vegan friend of mine ate here with me fairly recently as he was genuinely keen to try Vegan food and had an open mind to doing so in the future. The experience has completely turned him off such cuisine and he now refuses point blank to try anything Vegan! Such a shame because whilst what he tried at Eighth Day was pretty representative of their food it was not typical of the tasty Vegan food we all know and love.

A little like 'The Egg' in Liverpool, Eighth Day Cafe is a very dated interpretation of a vegetarian and Vegan eaterie. Certainly not fun or uplifting.

The shop upstairs is however very good and stocks a lot of Vegan foodstuffs as well as alcoholic produce. They also have a deli counter with a good choice of pasties, wraps, desserts and so on. The shop is quite expensive but I guess most places of this type are.

My 3 Star (Cow) rating is an average for both the cafe and shop. I would rate the Cafe itself as 2 stars and the Shop as 4.
Updated from previous review on Friday April 22, 2016

Got a nice lentil curry here, we chilled for hours downstairs sipping tea with soya milk. Lovely vegan cakes,
loved the vegan snacks upstairs, and staff were keen that we had enjoyed the food, asking was all ok.

A Manchester institution, my other half has been coming here since her student days in the city in the late 80s/early 90s. We always try to come for breakfast if we stay in the city and pick something up for lunch from the counter upstairs in the shop.

The shop is very well stocked and the cafe is not salubrious, more a cafeteria but the food is bloody good along with the music and the atmosphere. Love this place.

Good food - mostly vegan, great cakes, we'll run cooperative. Good store on the ground floor.

Not good for the less able. A bit canteen like...and expensive considering that...but the chick pea tagine was very good. Sausage casserole good too. both chocolate and vanilla chai cakes were very dry (if not stale).

Nice lunch with the kids. Haven't been for ages and was pleased to see its still serving trad healthy veggie stuff.

Good choices of basic meals all day. Been coming off and on for 10 years and doesn't change much - but it doesn't need to! Highly recommended.

The shop upstairs is excellent, and has an impressive deli counter (look out for the vegan croissants, they're amazing!). Downstairs you find the cafe and a large seating area. As well as a small salad section, there's a daily bake, dahl and a few chilli/curry-type dishes, with the options of rice, potatoes and green veg. It's really flavoursome food, and the portions are generous. The breakfasts are also good, and it's one of the earliest starts for vegan breakfasts in Manchester.

There's also an extensive cake section (vegan options clearly labelled), and I've never been disappointed. The vanilla chai cake is my favourite.

It's not a fancy place, you collect your food at the counter like a canteen and clear your tray away at the end. Great value for money and a wonderful place in the vegan community.

Both the shops and the cafe downstairs are really great for veggies and vegans, either for picking up supplies, refuelling or meeting for social meet-ups. The salad bar is good for taking food away and the hot meals are really good if you have more time.

If you are visiting Manchester then you can't ask for much more!

My partner and I came for breakfast here just before we had to leave Manchester at the end of our visit in July. As luck would have it we arrived a little while after breakfast ended. Looking at the buffet, although there were a few vegan options, nothing really took my interest, because I was in the mood for light, breakfasty food, so I asked if I could have muesli and the staff kindly obliged. We sat down and enjoyed the buzzy student-life atmosphere (although the cafe is in a basement without windows) and before long I received a bowl of muesli with sliced apple around the rim of the bowl and a dollop of soy yoghurt in the middle. I just managed to make the soy milk on the side stretch to cover the amount of muesli, and the breakfast was pretty OK, kind of what I wanted at that time of day, if nothing special. Afterwards I felt like coffee and cake and so ordered a fair trade soy latte and went to look at the selection of cakes. There were enough (five or six vegan cakes) that I was spoilt for choice, but I ended up choosing the chai cake, which we both enjoyed. If I lived in Manchester I could imagine being a regular here for coffee, shopping (in the upstairs co-op) and the occasional lunch.

The Eighth Day Cafe and Shop is the only place that you can go In Manchester where you can get a good healthy wholesome meal, that you can thoroughly get stuck into because you know it is what you have asked for. the staff are all always very helpful, and will tell you honestly, whether it is Vegan or Vegetarian, which makes it so much more enjoyable. Fantastic.

I ate here for lunch yesterday with my vegetarian bestie.
There was only one main course item I saw that wasn't vegan. I was really impressed by this.
The shop upstairs had a brilliant choice of vegan wraps/pasties and cakes to take away.
I will be returning.

The shop is on pavement level and the cafe down the stairs in the basement.
The shop has a wide and varied choice of foods, beauty, cleaning products, vitamins etc etc. Small fridge/freezer section, personally was hoping for a wider choice of vegan cheese. Well set out, didn't feel cramped like some shops do.

Good deli counter with plenty of vegan choices and well labelled. Food can be taken away hot or cold. I treated myself to a lemon slice which was delicious. Nice selection of fresh breads and bagels available too. I felt the prices were comparable with other similar health food stores.

I did venture down into the cafe but there wasn't anything on the menu that particularly caught my eye although the food looked fresh and the cafe clean and comfortable, if a little dark as there are no windows. I'd definitely return for lunch if in the area again.

I had very nice food in this nice café with friendly service and bought some very nice things in the well sorted shop!
Can really recommend this place!

Fresh, hot, tasty and value for money!

Yes, you can eat here everyday!!

Not so big fan of the shop upstairs but the deli has some good choice!

This small shop has a surprisingly wide range of vegetarian products, including many vegan options such as soy milk and yoghurt, spreads, fake cheese, fruit, biscuits, chocolates, ... My personal highlight is the fresh deli counter: you can find numerous kinds of pasties and cake there, with the ingredients listed and the vegan ones clearly marked - in fact, most of the pasties and cake slices were vegan when I visited several times this week. They also sell breads from the Chorlton-based Polish deli and bakery Barbakan, some of which are quite tasty. Overall, a goldmine for veg*ns close to Manchester city centre.

Tasty vegetarian food and great value for money downstairs at the hot food restaurant. Get in early for lunch because it gets real busy and the queue can get long.

Upstairs they have shop full of all things vegetarian style - including good versions of those things you wish were less horrible chemical filled. like non dangerous toothpaste and organic cotton buds :)

Great for a quick snack from the deli counter upstairs as well.

Was visiting Manchester for the first time in 8 years so it was interesting to see all this changed. The shop was really extensive and we got a range of things not available in the health shops where I live, as well as some cooked food from the counter in the shop. To our amazement they were holding a special evening meal that night so we ate downstairs at one of the Christmas evening dates. The food was very good -so good that I couldn't leave a single bit, and had the set 3 courses so was absolutely stuffed by the end of it. Downside was that it was a bit noisy as the venue is a bit echoy, and there was a large table of loud students - maybe spoilt is a bit for the other diners, but that's not the restaurant's fault. Highly recommend.

Another great cafe that has slowly gone downhill over the past 5 years (I think the fantastic long standing chef left and its never been quite the same). Staff are lovely, menu changed frequently and quite creative, but food always seems sloppy/bland, with tiny portions and overpriced. Coffee and fresh juices just ok, cake are expensive. Always busy at lunchtime with students/uni staff so hard to find a seat. Any meat eaters who come here hoping to find out more about vegan or veggie food would probably think "Urghhh..never again!" (McDonalds: 4, 8th Day Cafe: 0). It seems nothing will drag the cafe back to full glory, and you feel you're just now paying for the privilage of being there.

The restaurant serves canteen style food with a canteen style attitude. Lunch was slopped onto a plate with little care, pride or attention. I had a pie . . . which really wasn't that good. I would say, as a vegan, that the food is adequate but lazy, and because of this it feels slightly overpriced too. Staff attitude - indifferent, uninterested.

This is perfect when going to the University of Manchester or when wanting to buy organic food for home. It has good food and organic tea. Nice personnel. Decent closing hours (can grab an early dinner there also. Take away opportunity (like any other vegetarian restaurants. Has old tradition of down-to-earth food... just read around.

the food in the cafe was just ok. the staff was indifferent and aloof. the prices in the store and the cafe were a tad bit expensive. the location is good though.

While the cafe is underground and the store upstairs, it's still an enjoyable experience at 8th day. On Oxford in the university district, the full breakfast they serve (vegetarian and vegan versions) is great. Friendly staff who will accommodate different diets , ie making the vegetarian breakfast dairy-free (without butter) but including the eggs. The smoothies and raw energy balls are nice too, and the lunch/dinner meal is also good. The shop upstairs is a good place for organic cheeses since Unicorn (though a better shop overall) is vegan.

the food was really good and flavoursome, however, it cost me £6 for lunch that wasn't really that filling and I didn't even have a drink. friendly people. has sort of a old school canteen style feel going on. not sure if this is intentional. anyway, thought the interior could be improved. the shop is top-notch and has everything you need.

This cafe is excellent. From the outside it looks like a shop (there is a whole foods store upstairs) but venture down stairs and you will be rewarded with a light and airy atmosphere with ample seating. All food is home made and as the cafe is run by a co-operative the staff are really into their work and happy to explain what is in each of their daily specials or the main menu. The food is freshly made and there is a great variety of drinks to go with the delicious food. They have many vegan options; online menu is at http://www.eighth-day.co.uk/cafemenu.htm

The only bad point is that I wish they did an all day breakfast, we got there just after the end of the breakfast serving!

I went here for my three year anniversary of vegan life, and I was very glad I did so. Great food, great staff, great atmosphere, topped off with an impressive and extensive health food shop on the floor above. Simply excellent.

They did the catering for my wedding this year and it was absoloutly fantastic. Just so many lovely flavours, there was something for everyone vegan vegie and wheat free. The staff who came to serve the food were really friendly and did a great job. We had the £7.95 a head buffet and it was really good value for money we had a feast! Can't say it enough, it was great.

Really friendly staff and good Oxford rd location.
The food can be too expensive for what you get, with side dishes such as potatoes being charged as extra with main dishes. Always two soup options available which are usually good (borscht is a particular favourite), a salad bar (which is sometimes fantastic and fresh, and sometimes a little tired and bland). There's always a couple of vegan desserts available, which are good, but not great.
A good place to hook up with friends and eat something healthy and filling.

I just adore the Eighth Day.... it has been around for yonks and has always provided a great shop and a wonderful cafe/restaurant.... convenient for both uni's.... great ethics..... delicious food and drinks and great ideas in the shop for improving your diet and lots of ethical treats to buy for yourself.... can be a little noisy down in the cafe but a young friendly bunch of people...just tops!

I had a lovely meal there yesterday. The staff were very friendly and they were really accomodating about me not eating garlic and onion and being vegan. The chef came out from the kitchen and pointed out the things that I could eat off the salad bar, and they made a plate of food up for me that was very tasty. I must say... their carrot and cabbage salad was devine - don't know what they put in it to make it taste so good.
I had the vegan carrot cake to follow and that was gorgeous - full of nuts and juicy sultanas.
You could spend a fortune in the shop upstairs - it's packed full of food, cosmetics, toiletries etc with plenty of vegan stuff too.

I went here last week, Its a mecca for all veggies in the northwest uk - or it should be ! The upstairs shop has everything (and i do mean everything) then downstairs is a lovely cafe!
I found the place clean, cosy, staff were pleasant. Food was lush, my hubby had mousaka (i tried a bit) i had split pea and mint soup - both were delicious !
I would highly recommend this place to anyone !
(they have the reciped for all their dished on their website too so you can go home and make the things you try for yourself !)

I've been going to 8th Day for years now, and there are many aspects of it that I'm very impressed by. The shop stocks a variety of healthy vegetarian and vegan foods, magazines and a large range of beauty products. The cafe serves delicious wholesome food that tastes like something you would make at home. You know they use fresh, healthy ingredients. There are lovely vegan options that are full of flavour, and I have rarely been let down. They also have a wide range of vegan desserts, including cheesecake! This is refreshing because often places that offer vegan mains don't stretch to offering desserts.

As a vegan, it's a place I can go into, choose from a number of appetising options, and have a full meal.

I've noticed comments on ehre about the ambience in the cafe. I personally have never minded it. It's colourful enough and they have artwork on the walls that gets changed periodically, and a library section and sofas where you can sit and read.

The food is pricey, but the portions are really generous.

The one criticism I have though is that the staff are often fairly unfriendly. There are some great people working there who are so helpful, but they are unfortunately let down by a few who come across as superior, forget the importance of smiling and come across as cold.

The sign by the counter asking people not to use mobile phones while being served so that they can properly interact with you is diluted somewhat by the lack of enthusiasm in those interactions.

Overall though I would absolutely recommend 8th Day. Anyone who visits Manchester should give it a try. It's still the only place where I am consistently truly satisfied with the food.

The food is fine but it comes at a price. A very professional looking place and part of the Manchester vegetarian scene for many years now, they know they are part of the establishment so can set their own rules.

Whilst the shop is extremely well-stocked it is overpriced and the cafe lacks atmosphere even though there's actually nothing that wrong with it. A good choice of main courses, salads and soups, hot and cold drinks but for a good feed you're talking over £10 including drink (unless you opt for the free water) and that's not including desert. A more student friendly attitude is required considering its' location in university heartland. Nevertheless, we always find ourselves here whenever in Manchester so it must be doing something right, but now I have discovered Mod Pop Cafe and Earth Cafe in a much cooler part of the city there is competition!

Eighth Day is in a great location for students in Manchester, opposite the Manchester Metropolitan University. The food there is good, but the choice is often quite limited. There's usually only 3 mains a day, if you don't count soup and pizza. The mains change daily, so if you're not too fussy, the lack of choice won't really bother you. However, what they do have is usually very tasty, healthy and filling! The pizzas are also very good, and better than you'll get in most restaurants.
But in my opinion, the decor really lets it down. The cafe can feel quite soulless at times, with boring light wood all over the place. Trays aren't usually cleared away fast enough either, and you will often have to sit on a table with someone else's leftover still on it.

Had lunch here on 02/06. I found it a little pricey - 2 of us had lunch for £17 - the smoothie was lovely, had a nice salad (£2/small bowl) but I chose an "oriental tofu burger" which was inedible - it was really, really salty. My friend had the 8th day pizza which had a mix of veg and was tasty. The cakes were nice. I wouldnt come back for the main meals but for cakes and smoothies I would highly recommend the place - nice atmosphere.

Over the last five years have eaten here on a number of occasions and have always been more than satisfied. Quinoa casserole dish stands out as a good one. Ate there couple of weeks ago and enjoyed generous portion of tasty noodles with tofu and a good latte to follow. Really good value still, little price change over the years. The breakfast menu looks very appealing. Staff are friendly and helpful.

For sure they have good days & bad days. On the good days "enjoy"! On a bad day smile & help out a little by clearing a table or giving words of encouragement & even bigger smiles. I am so happy that I can visit whenever I am in Manchester. I first ate at the old location in perhaps 1980 - I still remember an incredible "flap-jack" full of sunflower seeds / pumpkin seeds / linseeds & the fragrant lemon balm tea. They have "nutrified" me so many times over the years. Zillions of "cruelty-free" meals have been served. Manchester's other "oasis"!

The cakes here used to be great, but have gone downhill. The soup is sometimes delicious, sometimes bland. Stews are good value for money, but the bakes are a rip off. Basically, this place is a bit hit and miss.

I've eaten here a few times and never had any problems. No problems getting tasty vegan food. Central location only a few mins walk from Oxford Road train station makes it handy for me. It could be open longer hours though.