Last Thursday, I visited Manna, a vegan restaurant a few minutes walk from Primrose Hill. The meal couldn’t have come at a better time. I was nearing the end of my vegan lent and I was finding it increasingly difficult. It wasn’t the lack of meat or dairy, but rather the monotony of eating the same type of food every day - there’s only so much you can do with a chickpea.

At Manna there was so much choice! For the first time in 6 weeks I was able to decide what to eat, I was able to deliberate over the menu and um and ahh. I was happily spoilt for choice.

The food…

To start we had the Nachos - tortilla chips, guacamole, black beans and a cashew nut cheese. They were probably the nicest nachos I’ve ever eaten. The taste combination was spot on and the cashew cheese – more like a dip than a stringy cheese – was actually delicious, and preferable to the normal stuff. Whereas your regular cheddar is served with a layer of grease bubbling on top, the cashew alternative didn’t make you feel unhealthy/guilty at all while eating it. We were both, rather surprisingly, very impressed.

For main, I had a polenta and cashew tart served with mash and gravy, and my mate Jo had bangers and mash. We’d both had a particularly bad day at work and so were in need of some real comfort food. The tart was again very tasty… However, the mash and gravy wasn’t for us. It was flavoured with dill, which, unfortunately, isn’t a herb I particularly like. It was just a wrong decision on our behalf, but we wanted to taste vegan dishes that we couldn’t recreate at home - so no regrets.

Any sorrows over the main were quickly forgotten when our desserts came out. We opted for vice cream and cookie semi-freddo and a peanut butter creme caramel. Our favourite was the vice cream, which tasted like the real deal! If we weren’t so full, I have a sneaking suspicion we might have ordered another portion!

Where is Manna restaurant?

Manna is located near Primrose hill, a 5 minute walk from Chalk Farm tube station. We were the first customers to arrive, but it soon filled up. There were families, friends, dates, vegans and non-vegans alike. 

Would I recommend it?

Yes. Definitely. The food was good quality and reasonably priced - but perhaps leave the mash if you’re not fond of dill!

To make a booking and explore the excitingly extensive menu visit the website here: mannav.com 

Words & photos by Karis