Vegan-friendly
Beer/Wine
British
European
Gluten-free
Eatery est. Aug 2016. Offers several vegan dishes which change frequently (see website). Set three-course roast on Sun. Bar has organic wines, local craft beer, gin and tonics, house-made cordials and freshly squeezed juice. Relocated from 18/22 Lloyd St. Reported to serve vegetarian items April 2025. Open Mon-Sat 11:00-23:00, Sun 11:00-20:00.
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1-3 Cathedral Gates, Manchester, England, M3 1SW
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- Reservations required
- Accepts credit cards
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Last update on 30 Jun 2025 by hedonism
Update business info -
Added by Veganolive1 on 07 Sep 2016
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252 Reviews
First Review by cabbagepatchkid
cazy
Points +38
Lovely food - Edit
Lovely food, lovely service, great tunes. Will be back x
Read morePros: Food tacos , Tunes , Great service
Guest
Mela65
Points +46
Very average - Edit
Pricy for quality of the food. Could do with chipped paint work being done. Under cooked veg.
Read morePros: Nice view of the cathedral., E
Cons: Bhajis too greasy, Food not warm enough, Service patchy
Guest
TimJR
Points +20
Pricey vegan restaurant with perfunctory service - Edit
This vegan restaurant is in an attractive setting near the cathedral. The food is fine, although the tofu laksa is overpriced given the amount of food on the plate (I left the restaurant still feeling hungry). Service is perfunctory, and the addition of a 'discretionary' 10% service charge to the bill is a cynical ploy that leaves an unpleasant taste in the mouth.
Read morePros: Nice setting
Cons: Somewhat expensive, Perfunctory service
Guest
VEGAN4EVER!
Points +222
THE ALLOTMENT - Edit
I love the place we were at
Read moreGreat customer service
The food was delicious 🤤
Would recommend this place to go too
😘🥰😍
Pros: The food was yummy 😋 , the dessert 🍨 was wow 🤩 , Customer service was great
Cons: NA, NA, NA
Guest
AngieGibson
Points +902
Great lunch - Edit
Had the small plates lunch special. Excellent value. Staff were lovely. Food great.
Read moreGuest
Jaadde
Points +74
Terrible - Edit
Pretty terrible experience today having afternoon tea for my birthday.
Read moreIt was booked 4 days in advance but our food came out 55 minutes after our booking time and we didn't have any scones. With it being a set meal we a) expected it to come within maybe 15mins of our booking and b) expected it to have all the components advertised!
We weren't told when we arrived or when the food was served that there weren't any scones, we had to ask about where they were after I double-checked their website pics. It's just quite poor when they knew for days that they were going to be serving 2 afternoon teas at half past two yet they didn't have all the ingredients required or our food ready on time.
The cakes did taste nice but the sandwiches looked like they'd been thrown together. We'd never eaten there before but always intended to for a posh date night type vibe, but after today we wouldn't go back.
The servers did their best but were very out of their depth. We did get a decent discount after talking to them about the long wait and missing components, which we were really relieved about tbh, because nothing about that experience was worth over 60 quid.
I felt pretty deflated after what was meant to be a special treat in a place we'd intended to eat in for a long time went so badly. Not what we expected from an established restaurant in a nice area of town at all.
Updated from previous review on 2024-01-28
Cons: Really long wait for set meal booked in advance, Poor communication from the servers , Missing parts of the afternoon tea
Guest
scrippz
Points +129
Bad Afternoon Tea - Edit
We went for the afternoon tea, booked for 2:30. We didn't get our food until 3:30 and even then it was missing multiple items we hadn't been told were missing. The food itself was fine, but underwhelming, and we were given a discount, but we still had a bad time. Take me to wholesome junkies instead any day.
Read moreGuest
JigsawStu
Points +802
A real delight next to the cathedral - Edit
What a great little find tucked next to / part of the mitre pub.
Read moreOpen all day and fully vegan with lots of options and really clean toilets.
Pros: Fresh soup , Kombucha , Lots of dessert options
Guest
Kristol
Points +1407
Fun place - Edit
Really interesting and varied menu with dishes I'd never seen done before. I had 3 small plates to myself and it was enough food.
Read moreThere were some great elements such as the creamy white wine sauce on the plantballs and garlic aioli with the miso mushrooms.
I was really looking forward to the tempeh cocktail as I used to love prawn cocktail but this was the most disappointing dish, very vinegary and hardly any sauce.
All in all I enjoyed the experience and the food. The staff were lovely and friendly and the interior design is spot on but on my next visit to Manchester I'll be trying other vegan restaurants.
Pros: Lots of choice , Reasonably priced , Nice interior
Guest
jimba_marimba
Points +622
Amazing restaurant for vegan dishes - Edit
Visited twice now and had an amazing experience each time. Updated menu had some very tasty festive options but the selection of small plates, mains, sides, desserts and drinks is very thoughtful and innovative- blending healthy wholefood dishes with veganised ‘traditional’ meals which should appeal to vegans and non alike.
Read moreAtmosphere is great, service attentive, prices reasonable- all in a great central location #Veganuary
Pros: High quality dishes, Fully vegan so plenty of choice, Thoughtful and innovative menu
Guest
Bexf
Points +24
Delicious food in a lovely location - Edit
The food was absolutely delicious, all freshly made and the sharing board was value for money. We ate it all fast because everything was so tasty, cooked perfectly and packed with flavour. Gorgeous ginger bread cocktail too.
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2023-12-15
Pros: Food, Location , Price
Cons: Lighting a bit bright (more cafe style lighting), Service was a bit slow to get moving, Music was a bit annoying (sorry love your food)
Guest
gronpants
Points +108
Did not live up to expectations - Edit
I'd always heard great things about The Allotment - we went on my first day in a new job with my new team. Our server seemed stressed and under-trained from the outset and was given no support by any team members. An hour after we ordered our food, we asked for an update. We were told the ticketing system wasn't working properly and they were going to let us know in a minute. About 30 minutes later some of our food came out. 3 of us still waited another 30 minutes for our meals. One of our party had to leave to get back for a meeting. 2 hours after we had arrived we asked if anything could be taken off the bill as the wait time was so long - the offer from the manager (via our server) was to take off the price of 1 appletiser, 1 still water and 1 sparkling water. Unfortunately for a table of 6 this didn't seem enough so we asked to speak directly to a manager. He came over and was completely indifferent. Literally could not give a single [censored]. The server came back and said she could give us blue light discount. We aren't blue light workers.
Read moreThe food was fine. Not what you'd expect from a vegan restaurant, was more like something you'd get at a chain pub.
I don't feel inspired to go back.
Guest
JonathanBoulding
Points +128
Nice atmosphere and solid food - Edit
Been twice now and enjoyed the varied menu. The food was good, particularly the starters particularly the wings, the mushrooms and the tofu skewers. More attention to detail needed for the mains in my opinion. Waiting times could be reduced too which would be an improvement. Overall really enjoyable.
Read morePros: Excellent starters, Nice setting , City centre
Cons: Main courses could do with some fine tuning, Waiting times for meals a little excessive
Guest
TimPrecious
Points +20
Pretty average. Some tasty highlights but overall disappointing - Edit
Service was good and location. Cauli wings were tasty and well made. Good atmosphere and decor nice. Food lacking quality. Satay tofu was bizarre. chewy outer shell that was empty devoid of any tofu. Incredibly salty and awful flavour. Cauliflower wings were much better and sriracha mayo tasty.
Read moreChestnut bourgignon flavour was good but huge portion wasteful and presentation was lacking. Foccacia stuffing dish was OK. I thought the bread was disappointing and seemed a bit of an odd arrangement. I liked the idea of an open foccacia sandwich with the gravy and roasties but just felt like it needed a re-think. Overall average fair for the price . Was expecting better. Love that it's fully vegan though.
Pros: Service good, Cauli wings starter, roast potatoes were tasty. crisp and fluffy
Cons: tofu satay starter was awful. Rethink needed, Focacia sandwich was odd combo, bread disappointin, portion too big on bourgignon and not well present
Guest
Happy_Bart
Points +4474
Looks and sounds better than it tastes... - Edit
Very atmospheric place in the old town with a very friendly staff. Unfortunately the food was a bit lackluster the flavours seemed a bit watered down.
Read morePros: Friendly staff, Atmospheric decor, Good location
Cons: Not much flavour
Guest
186352
Points +41
Food that should not have left the kitchen. - Edit
I have never sent food back to the kitchen, but this was dreadful. The poor waitress offered to get us something else from the menu but at this point we had no faith left having had waited over an hour for our main meal.
Read moreThe tempeh cocktail was awful. Literally 4 tiny bites of tempeh on a bed of iceberg lettuce, a drizzle of strange sauce pomegranate seeds and half an avocado.
I cannot believe the main dish made it out of the kitchen. The Tofu ‘ham’ was still completely white in the middle - no marinade at all! Seemed to have just been painted with some beetroot juice or such and fried. The roast potatoes were chewy, like they had been previously frozen and the broccoli was just as is - no seasoning.
The rice that came with the tofu Laksa was most concerning - you cannot be reheating rice! It was bone dry and clearly been sitting around for more than a while.
The drinks were really poor too and the toilet door was right next to diners so could hear everything.
Read the Google reviews for this place before you go, plenty of other dinners with the same horror stories.
Updated from previous review on 2023-11-19
Pros: Pleasant staff.
Cons: Reheating rice?? , No disabled toilet, Food that shouldn’t have left the kitchen.
Guest
JayGlasgow
Points +32
Google some reviews, then go somewhere else - Edit
Waited over an hour for the main courses, which were very poor when they did arrive. The roast potatoes had been chilled/frozen and reheated. The rice was dry and felt like leftovers (food poisoning just waiting to happen!). The tofu was white and flavourless - not even marinated, just fried. I would have been ashamed to put this on my table at home, never mind pay for it.
Read moreI enjoyed my last visit, in the old location, but will not be back.
Cons: The chef should not be cooking in a restaurant , Trading on glories long faded.
Guest
AVeganSam
Points +744
Incredible food - Edit
The Allotment has an incredible range of delicious vegan food. It is different, and very well done. They cater for dietary requirements (when we visited all but one dish on the menu could be made gluten free). The seasonal dishes were delicious and perfect for a chilly evening.
Read morePros: Amazing, fresh food, Nice atmosphere , Fully vegan!
Guest
Ellie1601
Points +93
Very disappointing - Edit
Very long delays for food. No chestnuts in the chestnut bourguignon! Felt very sorry for the serving staff who were trying their best to apologise. Not the fantastic experience we had in 2020. A real loss to the vegan dining scene!
Read morePros: Empathetic serving staff , Interesting menu
Cons: Very long wait for food, Food sub standard - not very warm
Guest
DebbieWilbur
Points +474
Don’t bother! - Edit
Virtually empty but unable to accommodate us due to lack of chef!
Read moreGuest
JillCannonJones
Points +148
Very disappointing afternoon tea - Edit
So disappointing. We came to Manchester specially for this having been to the Allotment years ago and loved it. The sandwiches were ok but bread was a bit dry around the edges. Cakes were very dry and scone was extremely dense and pancake thin.
Read moreFrom reading the other reviews it seems the quality here varies a lot. We won't risk it again.
Guest
Nooch-Queen
Points +265
Lovely food, beautiful interior - Edit
First time I’ve been to the allotment as I was part of a hen party. When we first walked in we were greeted by a lovely lady and shown to our seats. We ordered our drinks I ordered a non alcoholic mocktail and it was delicious. I also ordered a sharing platter with my friend and have to say all food, service and vibe was spot on. I’d definitely recommend and would go again when I’m next in Manchester
Read morePros: The decor, Friendly staff , The food!!
Guest
ThorViolet
Points +163
Rereviewed - concerns - Edit
Enjoyed Allotment greatly in past years.
Read moreAppears to still be under the same owner/management on the business side as Lloyd St days, but no longer 'chef-led'. Food has famously been pretty erratic in recent yrs as a result.
Nowadays, shared management with the adjoining Mitre Pub/Hotel/Carnist Restaurant next door ('sister restaurant'). The relocation from Lloyd St was presumably to keep it open, and prop it up.
The extent to which the service areas and resources employed behind the scenes are 'adjoining' vs 'shared' is not clear. Tbh, they could brownie-promise me it's totally separate, but i see the adjoining door and think ... hmm. The bar does not look sufficiently stocked to support the cocktail menu on its own - hmm. My sense of assurance and confidence in this partition is currently at its lowest.
If you are happy to eat a 'vegan option' from a pub menu, none of this will bother you. However, many ppl use Happycow to find wholly vegan premises - for a reason.
We whizzed by this month, spotted (not-vegan) Dove soap in the toilets, and reversed out pretty quickly.
I've given the lowest rating I can - to flag these real concerns for others who want to know.
Updated from previous review on 2022-05-27
Cons: Attached to non-vegan business, Dove hand soap, Toilets open STRAIGHT onto dining area
Guest
Sweetahini
Points +250
Definitely a nice option in the city centre - Edit
Most vegan restaurants in Manchester tend to be fast food places which is not necessarily a bad thing but if you want a bit elegant presentation then Allotment is the place for you. I enjoy the food there however I would say the food is great but I feel for the reputation that the restaurant has as fine dining the food could be alot better but it's still worth visiting for sure.
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2023-09-02
Pros: Cauliflower wings are great specially the coating, Good variety of appetisers , Not many of these types of places in Manchester
Cons: The vegan fish was good but not amazing , In general the restaurant feels a bit understaffed
Guest
KuaMinChuen
Points +1840
Nice Fish & Chips - Edit
We reach the restaurant and ask which dish does not contains Alliums, lucky that Fish & Chips is ok for us.
Read moreWe tried the food and it was nice, the batter was crispy.
Recommend for vegetarian that don’t take alliums.
Guest
Minina
Points +16
Disappointing - Edit
Ordered a selection of small plates, soup was cold and came without bread, other plates were very small portions and not that exciting. Cauliflower wings were tasty though. Ate again somewhere else a few hours later.
Read morePros: Nice location and decor
Cons: Small portions, Disappointing flavours, Cold soup!
Guest
joel_laun
Points +3266
Great Afternoon Tea - Edit
We stumbled across this vegan restaurant and were able to order afternoon tea even though we didn't make a reservation (which is usually required/recommended) and it was lovely! We paid 16£ per person including a hot drink (but you can upgrade for prosecco). The restaurant has a nice interior design and kind staff. The food was so delicious, we got different little savoury dishes like a sandwich, soup and cauliflower wings and three different desserts. We can highly recommend The Allotment and will come back to try out the other meals ☺️
Read morePros: All vegan, Delicious food, Kind staff
Guest
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