Restaurant Review: Bill’s Veganuary Set Menu in Manchester *

It is just a few week’s into the New Year and if one of your new year’s resolutions is to start eating more plant-based food or to lead a more healthy life then you would love this post as we are sharing the latest Vegan Set Menu from Bill’s in Manchester to celebrate Veganuary.   There are two Bill’s in Manchester, we visited the branch at John Dalton St for an early lunch and it was already buzzing with people.  Known for its great breakfast menus’, patrons start pouring in as early as 7.30am on a weekday to have a quick breakfast before they head off for work or meetings. The restaurant looks so inviting and pleasing to the eyes, especially with its tasteful and atmospheric lightings.  The huge chandeliers hanging above our table definitely caught your eyes.  In a bid to be more healthy, we decided to review their Veganuary set menu (only available throughout January) which consisted of a Vegan Duck Salad and Roasted Butternut Squash as well as Lentil and Coconut Soup for starters.  Butternut Squash, Turmeric and Coconut Stew and Aubergine as well as Lentil and Chickpea Dhal for mains and finally the Coconut Ice-Cream for dessert. So keep on reading to find out more about the menu and here’s to a new you!

As you can see from the photos we have shared the restaurant has an open feel to it, emphasizing on the rustic look yet giving it a modern and chic feel to it.  The restaurant has a seating capacity of about 130 pax inside while on a nice day, they also have an outside area which can accommodate around 20 pax.  Besides their walk-in guests they often also cater to large parties as they have a lovely secluded area in the restaurant where guests feel like they can have a private area although it is an open concept (due to the arrangement of the furnitures).

For our first starter, we ordered the Vegan Duck Salad, we were curious if the vegan duck which is made from seitan, also known as “wheat meat” would taste anything like real duck.  To our surprise, it did. I have tried fish/chicken and pork made from soy products before and love the duck ‘meat’ texture.  While Lex who had never tasted seitan before also thought the flavours were so accurate. For those who are wondering what Seitan is, well…Seitan is made from wheat flour dough which is washed with water until all the starch is removed, leaving just insoluble gluten. This gluten is then cooked and used as a meat substitute.  The duck salad was mixed with a coriander and miso dressing, it also consisted of cucumber, carrots, cabbage, spring onions and baby gem with a sprinkling of sesame seeds which gave the salad a nice crunch. We totally loved how fresh the salad tasted and the aftertaste of the chilli was just what we needed to awaken our tastebuds.  We did not stop till our plate was empty.

For our second starter, we ordered Roasted butternut squash, lentil and coconut soup for starters.  Hands down, this must have been one of our favourite starters we have ever had! The rich and flavoursome soup with an India themed to it tasted so homey and something we could eat either for breakfast, lunch or dinner. The addition of lentils to the butternut squash gave it a fuller flavour and the addition of the coconut made it so moreish. We basically wiped our bowl clean.  We have to add that the earthenware kept the soup piping hot even till the very end was is a plus point for us. It was the right portion size too and the seeds gave the soup more texture which was lovely.

What’s special about Bill’s is that they do sell a lot of their products for patrons to buy either at their stores directly or online. Products include teas, coffees, jams, sauces, juice, vinegar, hot sauce, cookies and much much more. They also do a great selection of drinks and cocktails at the bar.

For our mains, we decided to order the Aubergine, lentil and chickpea dhall which consisted of cherry tomatoes, coriander, toasted almonds and grilled flatbread. We loved how the flatbread was still soft and it was great to scoop up the sauce. The aubergines were grilled and then added to the dish which meant that it still held its texture really well even though it was cooked to perfection. The almonds gave the dish a nice crunch to it and the lemon an extra zing (you could also leave the lemon out if you prefer). The flavours of this dish reminded me of an Indian soup which I used to have as a child which had a lot of spices in it such as cumin, fennel and pepper.  Although some may have found the soup spicy we did not, so we asked for some hot sauce and were presented with Bill’s spicy and fruity hot sauce (totally recommend trying this out the next time you pop by). The hot sauce was delish and we loved how it elevated the dish even more! This dish has some similarities to the roasted butternut squash soup so we would not pair it up together if you wanted to try something with a different flavour.

For our next mains, we ordered the butternut squash, turmeric and coconut stew which was served with chargrilled red peppers and onions, mixed grains, kale and seeds.  All the components in this dish worked really well with each other. We loved how we felt so healthy even after a 2-course meal (at this point) and did not feel overly stuffed at all. As meat-eaters ourselves, we felt that the dishes were complete and we did not miss our meat. In fact, we felt a lot healthy already!

Finally, to finish off our meal, we ordered the Coconut Ice-Cream which was exactly what we needed, something light, and smooth but yet not overly filling. The mango sauce and coconut flakes made the dessert taste even better than it already it.  We were in dessert heaven!

Would we head there again? Yes! We definitely would as the food tasted amazing and the staff were so courteous and obliging as well. The Vegan Set menu is a must try for vegans, vegan wannabes or even those curious enough to give it a go! Here’s their Vegan Menu which will be available throughout January. Good luck to those embracing Veganuary from all of us here at Yeah Lifestyle!

How much does their Vegan Set Menu Cost?
The Vegan set menu costs £11.95 for 2-course meal while for the 3-course meal it costs £14.95. The menu is served daily in January until 7pm.

What are their Opening Hours?
Mon to Thu – 7.30am until 10pm
Friday – 7.30am until 11pm
Saturday – 8am until 11pm
Sunday – 9am until 10.30pm

Where is Bill’s in Manchester?
8-12 John Dalton St,
Manchester M2 6JP
0161 834 2756

About Bill’s

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*We were invited to sample the food at Bill’s, all opinions are our own.