Eats

Vegan street food favourite Herbivorous is opening a new restaurant in Withington

Due to launch in September, the new Withington site will serve up a wide variety of vegan comfort food classics.

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant - 16th July 2021

Starting life in a remodelled horsebox, vegan street food favourite Herbivorous has revealed it is now launching its first bricks and mortar site in Withington.

Founders Robyn Marsh and Damian Myles first fell in love with vegan cuisine during an epic, coast to coast road trip across the States, and returned home to England inspired to share what they’d found.

Their first stint at a food festival saw them sell out within two hours after working through the night to prepare dishes, which led to the purchase of an old horsebox which they proceeded to tour up and down the country.

The horsebox that Herbivorous toured up and down the country
The horsebox that Herbivorous toured up and down the country / Image: Herbivorous

Today, the brand has a well-established site at Hatch on Oxford road – and they’ve also just revealed plans to open a second in Withington.

Due to launch in September, it will serve up all of its popular vegan comfort food classics, such as their Big Kahuna Burger, as well as running a delivery service to those nearby.

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A large kitchen has got the team excited about testing new dishes for their menu and restarting their popular vegan cooking masterclasses – teaching new skills in making staples like seitan, vegan mayos and plant-based ‘bloody’ burgers.

The vegan soft serve at Herbivorous
A pot of vegan soft serve from Herbivorous / Image: Herbivorous

And that’s not all. The vegan foodies behind the brand are working with local distilleries, brewers and wine merchants to curate an entirely vegan drinks menu – something that’s actually a lot harder to achieve than it sounds.

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After all, many people don’t realise that a lot of alcohol is filtered using fish guts (yes, really – they call the subtance ‘isinglass’, confusingly).

They’ll also be stocking products from other local vegan producers like Manchester independents Drizzle City Bakes and Drinks of Tradition to showcase the very best plant-based food and drink in the region.

The Philly Cheese steak at Herbivorous
The Philly Cheesesteak sandwich at Herbivorous / Image: Herbivorous

The new Herbivorous restaurant will be open weekday evenings and all day from Friday to Sunday from its new home on Wilmslow Road and plans to launch a new brunch menu at the site, available on Saturdays and Sundays only.

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“We’re so excited to be opening our first bricks and mortar restaurant in this vibrant part of south Manchester,” said Robyn Marsh, founder of Herbivorous.

“The Withington restaurant will be the next evolution of Herbivorous, bringing together everything that has influenced us over the last four years, and the time we’ve spent building the brand.

Two vegan burgers, loaded fries and a couple of chocolate brownies at Herbivorous
A solid spread of guilt-free food, pictured at herbivorous / Image: Herbivorous

“Working with other local independents is something we are really looking forward to as there are so many wonderful and talented brands locally who we would love to collaborate with.

“Our team are so passionate about crafting our house-made products, dishes and meat alternatives, we can’t wait to open our doors in this fantastic neighbourhood and share our food with everyone”

For more updates on Herbivorous, follow them on their socials here.

Feature image – Herbivorous

Eats

Man replicates Manchester pizza restaurant’s loo in his own home

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson A man has recreated the loos at Nell's in his own home. Credit: Instagram, @hattathome

A man has fallen so in love with the loos at a Manchester pizza restaurant that he’s recreated it in his own home.

Yep, while most of us spend our time trawling Pinterest or Instagram for our interiors inspiration, local Matt Hatt got his inspo on a trip to the toilet in town.

He was so obsessed with Nell’s vibrant orange bathroom interiors that he’s now created his very own cookie cutter version in his own house.

And Nell’s has been so impressed, they’ve even got stuck in to lend a hand with the finishing touches.

We are totally on board with Matt’s appreciation for a good restaurant loo – you can spend all the money in the world fitting out a dining room, but it really can fall apart if you head to a toilet with a wonky seat or a door that doesn’t shut or hideous fluorescent lighting.

Thankfully you don’t find too many of those around town these days.

From the ultra-luxury bogs around Spinningfields to the cheeky nude-covered toilets in the Northern Quarter, Manchester has a load of brilliant restaurant loos to explore.

The loos at Nell's Pizza in Manchester. Credit: Nell's
The loos at Nell’s Pizza in Manchester. Credit: Nell’s
Matt Hatt's recreation of the Nell's loo in his own home. Credit: Instagram @hattathome
Matt Hatt’s recreation of the Nell’s loo in his own home. Credit: Instagram @hattathome

One of the best is Nell’s, the New York-style pizza joint down at Kampus, which is painted a vibrant shade of orange.

Matt has nailed that bright toilet decor in his Victorian home in Manchester, down to the white subway tiles, the rounded wall mirrors, and the globe light fixture.

He even slid into Nell’s DMs to let them know about his project, and they offered to give him a branded pizza box, which Matt framed and hung on the wall.

Sharing his inspiration in a video filmed at Nell’s, Matt said: “If you’ve never been in a men’s toilet before, welcome. This is Nell’s Pizza in Manchester and this is the inspiration for our downstairs loo. Isn’t it fab?

“I really love the orange absolutely everywhere, the white contrasting tiles and the chrome detailing. Even the bloody floor’s orange!

“This is also a really good reminder that inspiration for your home can come from anywhere – even the men’s toilets.”

You can see the full step-by-step transformation through his Instagram account @hattathome.

Would you copy any local restaurant decor into your home?

Read more

Featured image: Instagram @hattathome

Eats

Manchester’s smash burger and ice cream legends Big Licks launch huge crowdfunding effort

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson

Big Licks, the Manchester restaurant that’s found the ‘sweet spot’ between amazing burgers and delicious desserts, is sailing through a huge crowdfunding campaign. 

The restaurant, which has an eye-catching location down on Liverpool Road as well as two sites in Scotland, has already raised a whopping £135,000 for its expansion dreams. 

It’s now pushing to hit £150,000 so that it can open new restaurants and franchises across the UK. 

Big Licks was first launched by two teenagers in 2009 as a takeaway – it’s now gone on to be a rapidly expanding name bringing in £3m in sales and more than 400,000 customers in the last 12 months alone. 

On their menu you’ll find incredible smash burgers (with up to four patties in each bun) made with free-range grass-fed beef that they source directly from farm, or buttermilk chicken topped with their signature ranch sauce. 

There’s also an impressive menu of house-churned ice cream made with quality local ingredients, and cakes, cheesecakes and brownies all baked in house daily. 

All that is alongside fried chicken, loaded fries, and other mouth-watering sides. 

Manchester’s smash burger and ice cream legends Big Licks launch huge crowdfunding effort
Manchester’s smash burger and ice cream legends Big Licks launch huge crowdfunding effort

Next on the agenda for Big Licks is expansion across the country, offering up the chance to become a shareholder in this bright young business. 

They want to use the money raised to prepare the business for franchising, with a target to open 18 restaurants by 2027.

Then any extra money raised will be used to open more company-owned restaurants.

And there are rewards on offer for those who choose to invest in Big Licks. 

If you invest £100, you’ll get a Big Licks White Card which gets you 10% off in store, as well as owning a share of the business. 

Then the rewards continue with other things like free burgers and shakes all the way to merch and much bigger discounts. 

Co-founder Anees Ahmed said: “It is clear that the potential is great.”

He added: “We believe one of the key ingredients to a successful restaurant is creating a hangout spot, a vibe. That will always be our aim when you come to Big Licks.”

The businessman then said: “We won’t compromise on quality. We will always keep sourcing within head office. This means we keep producing our own ice cream using locally sourced organic milk and the finest Italian flavours.

“We’ve found that sweet spot. The combination of sweet desserts and smashing burgers that opens up audience’s doors, covering off every craving. 

“We want you to be part of the journey and become a shareholder in Big Licks.” 

You can find out more about the Big Licks crowdfunder through Crowdcube here. 

Big Licks Crowdcube from Big Licks on Vimeo.

*Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong. 

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