Manna: Vegetarian/Vegan restaurant on Primrose Hill

Manna is vegetarian/vegan restaurant that’s been around for while. Located on a quiet side street off of Prince Regent Street in Primrose Hill, it’s a great place to go if you’re vegetarian or if you have any dietary restrictions or allergies. Even as some one eats meat, I was quite satisfied and content at the end of my meal.

Since my mum loves walking around Primrose Hill, I thought it would be a nice way to spend the day and have lunch at Manna. She really enjoyed the fact that she could look at the menu and know that she could have any dish she wanted. It’s something I always take for granted – the ability to eat any food option on the menu, without having to consider if it is vegetarian or has nuts etc. But as someone who is allergic to eggs, she’s always restricted in choosing a meal at a restaurant and sometimes can’t eat anything off the menu. Which is why I love the fact that Manna is perfect for her – they pride themselves on being vegan and gluten-free. Even their wine list is vegan! I had no idea the extent to which animal products are in so many things we eat and drink.

 Since it was a cold, windy, very typical London day, we ordered some hot drinks – and oh my god, their spicy hot apple drink is AMAZING. It’s got cinnamon and cloves, oranges and lemon and it is divine. It’s comforting and soothing and I would return just for that drink. I think it should be simple enough to recreate at home so if you have ideas how to, let me know!

To start with, we ordered some basil and cashew cheese croquettes and a butternut squash tart. The tart wasn't really appealing but the croquettes were interesting and a bit addictive with the chilli jam.

For the mains, I had the special pasta of the day which was aubergines, leeks and fennel penne pasta and it was lovely. I had no idea leeks could taste so good. I've usually just used them as a base when making soups. They seemed to be a rather tepid vegetable with no real personality. But the leeks in this pasta were soft, silky and quite tasty.

My mum had the black bean chilli. This came with a polenta cake and sour cream, guacamole, salsa and sweet potato crisps. My mum liked it however, I wasn't such a big fan though; it felt a bit stodgy to me but in any case, it tasted great. As you can see from the pictures, the portion sizes are large. We were quite full at the end of meal and even ended up taking most of the pasta back home. The bill came up to £25 per person – which is rather expensive for a vegetarian meal. But if you factor in the quality of the ingredients (I don’t think cashews are cheap and they certainly use a lot of cashews), the variety of vegan and gluten free options – I think it is well worth it.

Manna

4 Erskine Road Primrose Hill London NW3 3AJ

Tel: 020 7722 8028

Tube: Chalk farm tube

http://www.mannav.com/