sarahwilliamsandco

As promised, here, for our second World Adventures post, is my food and drink recommendations for Manchester. Where to even begin! Just reading this is gonna make you feel full. Not hungry, full. We were so full all weekend we could barely drink a pint! Just too much liquid. All the vegan food we had was absolutely amazing though! We also found a few favourite pubs around the Northern Quarter. Everything we went to was less than ten minutes walk away from our Airbnb. We’re now big fans of the Northern Quarter! Let’s stop this chit chat though cos we’ve got a lot to get through!

Go Falafel

Dude, best falafel in the North West. Without a doubt. It saddens me every day that I haven’t found a better one in Liverpool and I’ll keep looking. But for now I’d rather pop on a train when I’m craving insanely tasty deep fried chickpea goodness. Get a wrap or get a bowl, you literally can’t go wrong.

Pasta Factory

My first time at the pasta factory. It’s an authentic Italian restaurant with fresh pasta made in the kitchen. And a surprising amount of vegan options. I got a creamy, pesto, courgette spaghetti. Was fucking divine. Note to self: you will not need a starter, even an innocence breadoilolive combo. Also try the red Coca Cola, really good.

Little Aladdin

Dude, where to even begin with Aladdin’s. It’s a little kebab looking shop with plastic seats that turned vegan a while back. But don’t let your prejudices cloud your judgement. This place is no bullshit. The curries are amazing. There’s cheesy fries and burgers and wraps and homemade brownies. The people are always very friendly. Great value. And I’d definitely recommend the tofu/falafel wrap combo.

The Koffee Pot

Our apartment was literally on top of this place and people always looked like they were having a great breakfast inside! We finally caved on the Sunday and went in. They boast a different cooked breakfast from all four corners of the U.K., Danny can recommend the Scottish. The vegan breakfast was great though, could have done without the vegan black pudding but that’s just me!

V Rev

This I’ve known about for ages and just figured it wouldn’t live up to the hype. I was, of course, wrong. Burgers don’t come with fries, if you want to leave with your jeans closed I wouldn’t add them. I got a Jimmy Pesto which was buttermilk seitan, cashew pesto goodness. Such delicious goodness. Also loads of cocktails. Just go.

Castle Hotel

Probably my favourite pub of the weekend. Can be a bit of a squeeze if busy but if you get a seat you could stay all night. Nice atmosphere, dingy in all the right ways. Open late and even had mulled cider on! It was Christmas like, but still! Also has a venue room where live bands play.

Crown & Kettle

This place is a must if you love cider cos they have a cider bar! Yeah. An entire bar for cider. It’s bliss. There’s also lots of games to play. It’s a nice circular pub with a few nooks to sit. Just a lovely chilled out vibe, definitely recommend.

Shakespeare Pub

This one we honestly ran into to avoid the rain. I did appreciate the name though. It ended up being quite cute, aside from the loud drunk people next to us at three pm. But it was pay day weekend and the week before Christmas so what can you expect? Nice little place.

Sinclairs Oyster Bar

Right round the corner from Victoria station, this small and very old pub is a delight. Small selection of drinks but cheap. Lots of chairs and little hidden areas. We spent hours here just playing cards. Very relaxed.

And there you have it! I’d love to know your Manchester recommendations. Next week we’ll be jumping on a train to Birmingham!

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