Eat your greens at these tasty salad spots across Manchester and the 'burbs
Gone are the days when salad meant chucking some iceberg into a bowl with roughly chopped cucumber and halved cherry tomatoes. That sort of salad really needed a-dressing. Now it's all build-your-own, spicy papaya, and overflowing falafel feasts thanks to these spots in Greater Manchester that are changing the salad game.
Great for a light lunch, healthy dinner, or the perfect sidekick for a sarnie and an iced drink, these salads are varied in their form but united by great flavour. There are Korean salads in Rammy, daily specials in Didsbury, and a Greek salad on Princess St that’ll take you straight to Santorini.
Read on for 10 super salads to get you through the summertime.
What: Buddha Bowl
Where: Chaat Cart at Society
How much: £7.50
If you’re looking for a lighter option, food halls like Society can sometimes be a bit of a minefield with healthy greens falling by the wayside to make room for pizzas, burgers and fully-loaded fries. Sure, Chaat Cart offers curries, chargrilled kati rolls and gunpowder fries, but if you fancy some greens they can lay that out for you too. The vibrant salad on the menu is full of mixed leaves, chickpeas and red cabbage and tossed in a zingy coriander and tamarind dressing. It’s not all health and wellbeing though, there's massive crispy kale and homemade onion bhajia on the side, plus an option to add chargrilled chicken or halloumi (£10.50).
Chaat Cart at Society, Basement, 100 Barbirolli Square, Manchester M2 3BD
What: Chicken, Bacon and Avocado Salad
Where: Bevano Lounge
How much: £11.50
This Urmston spot’s salad offerings feature a protein-packed bowl of grilled herb-marinated chicken, smoked streaky bacon, avo, red onion, mixed leaves, flame-roasted peppers and cherry tomatoes. All topped off with toasted seeds, parmesan, and a caesar dressing, this salad ain’t reinventing the wheel, but it’s a classic combo that you’d struggle to go wrong with. Bevano isn’t skinny with the chicken either. For something a bit more Middle-Eastern, the menu also has a halloumi and falafel salad (£11.75) with hummus, harissa, quinoa, lentils, lime and sumac dressing and pomegranate seeds. Eat your greens in Eden Square.
Bevano Lounge, 12 Flixton Rd, Urmston, Manchester M41 5AA
What: Horiatiki
Where: Rozafa
How much: £5.50
We couldn’t do a roundup of smashing salads without a classic Greek one with loads of feta and olive oil. Rozafa is that spot near Central Library that looks like it's just teleported from Patras to Princes St, complete with blue and white awning and hand-painted signs. Sticking to the status quo when it comes to Greek salads too, a classic Horiatiki salad of feta cheese, olives and balsamic vinegar is a simple highlight within the menu of meat and seafood. If you’re after something with a bit more pizazz, Rozafa also has a tomato salad with wine tomatoes, onions and fresh coriander, a halloumi salad with cucumber and lettuce, and a tabouli salad with pourgouri, cucumbers and peppers, mint, dill and fresh lemon juice. Grecian and great with souvlaki.
Rozafa, 63 Princess St, Manchester M2 4EQ
What: Korean Tofu Salad
Where: Kimji Korean
How much: £4.95
Rammy is a hillside spot filled with loads of secret food and drink spots. Adding great salads to its list of endless talents, this one’s sticky, sweet and full of that intense soy flavour that Kimji does so well. If you’re after a salad that is high in protein but suitable for vegans and veggies, this Korean tofu salad has a honey and soy dressing and a load of mixed leaves to bulk the whole thing out. Listed as a side dish or appetiser on the menu, the tofu salad goes great with some of the sizzling Korean barbecue options or in a combo of different small plates.
Kimji Korean, 41 Bolton St, Ramsbottom, Bury BL0 9HU
What: Lentil, Orange and Hummus Salad
Where: Remedy Kitchen
How Much: £12.95
A one-stop shop for all your healthy eating needs, Remedy Kitchen won the title of Health Food Restaurant of the Year in 2021. Manchester’s first "free-from" restaurant, it was founded by Kate McIntosh, a specialist in Nutritional Intervention for Eating Disorders and Obesity, who creates gluten, dairy, and refined sugar-free recipes for both private clients and customers.
The restaurant’s menu reads like a stroll through a country garden with fresh greens, grains and fruits taking up the majority of the real estate. Lentil, orange and hummus salad ticks all the boxes if you’re in need of a healthy, filling meal. Puy lentils, seasonal leaves, baby potato, tenderstem and fresh orange are dressed in a refreshing house vinaigrette and served with garlic-lemon hummus and sesame seeds.
Remedy Kitchen, 19, Royal Exchange, Manchester, St Anns Square, Manchester M2 7EA
What: Nutrition Bowls
Where: The Green Lab
How Much: £5
Because “nutrition bowl” sounds a bit more intriguing than “salad”. The Green Lab on Dale Street lives up to its name with a menu full of proper healthy grub and a “build your own bowl” option. The main nutrition bowls are the miso and yuzu wild rice bowl, the tamarind and maple quinoa bowl, and the chive and garlic mayo cauliflower crunch. All the pre-made offerings are a fiver.
If you fancy customising your salad though, just pick your own leafy base, a combo of basic and premium fillers, a protein source and some crunchy toppers. Not one to miss out on the sauce, The Green Lab also has the answer to all your dressing needs with everything from green harissa hot sauce to a simple mix of oil and red wine vinegar. If it’s not dressed, we’re not interested.
The Green Lab, 32-34 Dale St, Manchester M1 1FY
What: Saint’s Salad Box
Where: A Taste of Honey
How Much: £7 or £8 with meat or cheese
A Taste of Honey has got a new chef, and boy has she got a strong salad game. Judging by chef Lorraine Wood’s Instagram page, some of the Taste of Honey offerings now include a raw kale salad with teriyaki roasted carrots and a peanut and ginger dressing, broccoli and cauliflower salad with a smoky aubergine and charred red pepper salsa, and the king of all carb-based boxes, the classic potato salad. Great on their own or as a side with some of this Didsbury spot’s deli offerings, it’s all fresh, flavoursome and full of locally sourced fibre from here on out.
A Taste of Honey, 138 Burton Rd, West Didsbury, Manchester M20 1JQ
What: Salad Box
Where: Go Falafel
How Much: £6.95 / £7.95 with falafel and bread
Go Falafel really goes for the more is more approach when it comes to salad construction, but we’re not complaining about it. The salad options change daily, so we can’t give you the full rundown, but the boxes include tabouleh, hummus, grains like quinoa or couscous, and a load of different crunchy veggies. You can also add some of the spot’s namesake falafels or a flatbread to the box when you need some extra substance. If you’re an everything but the kitchen sink salad maker, this is your next lunch spot for sure. The salad boxes are available at all Go Falafel spots.
Go Falafel, 99 Deansgate, Manchester M3 2BQ
What: Somtam Thai
Where: Thai Kitchen No.6
How Much: £10.95
Somtam literally translates to “pounded sour” in English and what a wonderful way to describe the pestle and mortar preparation of one of Thailand's favourite exports. The spicy, sweet, salty and sour stylings of somtam is perfected at Thai Kitchen No.6 on Chapel Walks just off King Street. Crunchy green papaya, green beans, tomatoes, carrots and peanuts are tossed in a tangy, pounded dressing made with lime juice, garlic, Thai chillies, palm sugar and fish sauce. It’s an absolute staple for any spicy food fan (oh, it’s spicy), and surprisingly refreshing considering the sheer amount of fiery chilli.
Go for the classic version or add seafood (tum ta-lay, £12.95) or fried chicken and Thai sausage (turn tard, £17.95).
Thai Kitchen No.6, Chapel Walks, Manchester M2 1HN
What: Spicy Beef Salad
Where: Evelyn’s
How Much: £15.20
A salad so good it made it into our best dishes for December last year, the spicy beef salad from Evelyn’s is that perfect mix of zingy, fresh and still filling. Not a soggy leaf of little gem in sight, the bowl is made up of Asian ingredients like beansprouts and edamame and bulked out with cucumber, chilli, shallots and mixed herbs. Adding some crunch and protein to the mix, this salad’s meaty offering comes in the form of thin strips of seared beef and the whole thing is topped with toasted cashews.
Evelyn’s also has a superfood bowl (£13.90) with avo, radish, charred broccoli, beetroot, cucumber, turmeric soy yoghurt, kale, hummus, quinoa and grapefruit if you really wanna cram in your 5 a day. Loads of stuff at this NQ spot is also gluten-free.
Evelyn's, 44 Tib St, Manchester M4 1NB
Read next: First look: Codi’s Kitchen - Prestwich’s first sushi restaurant
Read again: Calories on menus: what does it achieve?
Get the latest news to your inbox
Get the latest food & drink news and exclusive offers by email by signing up to our mailing list. This is one of the ways that Confidentials remains free to our readers and by signing up you help support our high quality, impartial and knowledgable writers. Thank you!
