Bundobust, bringing vegetarian and vegan Indian Street food and Craft Beer to Manchester, has been on my go-to list for quite some time. Since opening in December, it’s popularity has spread fast with reviews coming in from Time Out, The Guardian, The Sunday Times, The New York Times, Metro, The Observer and Buzzfeed. Even Asos Magazine loved the place.
So thankfully, I recently got the chance to go. I was not disappointed with what I found.
To say the first months have been a success would be an understatement. Busy, even during the week, queues outside the venue are a regular occurrence. Good luck trying to get a table on Friday and Saturday night ☺
Bundobust Manchester is situated on Piccadilly Gardens and is easy to miss with the amount of scaffolding currently on the building. Once down the stairs and through the door you will be first greeted by the large open space – much lighter than what you’d expect for what is a basement eatery. Yellow booths are on the right and long communal benches on the left. A simple design that works, suiting the straightforward concept of the place.
The Deals and Prices at Bundobust
Being all vegetarian (and with lots of vegan options too) prices at Bundobust are low, with each dish costing £6 or less. If you come through the week – a great way to avoid the queues – you can get two selected dishes for just £7.
As well as the combo for 2 and 4 (£25 and £39.50 respectively), for large groups or the truly adventurous, you can order everything off the menu for just £66. Created to feed 6, it could easily feed more. They even do a 10% discount for take-out (excluding combo deals).
Food at Bundobust – What we had
To keep it simple we went with the Combo for 2 – a great option if you’re like me and can’t make your mind up what to have. This combo includes the massala dosa, tarka dhal, Paneer & Mushroom tikka, Onion Gobi Bhaji Bhaji (so good they named it twice) and the Bundo Chaat.
The first dish we tried was the paneer and mushroom tikka. These skewered veggie kebabs consist of crispy paneer, large mushrooms and peppers, marinated in yoghurt and Bundobust’s own Tika masala. They are then barbequed before being drizzled with flavorful red pepper ketchup and spinach chutney to finish.
They are as messy as they are delicious to eat. An absolute must.
Next up, the Bundo Chaat was a real surprise to me. Served cold, the Bundo Chaat is a chickpea, potato and onion noodle dish with samosa pastry and puffed rice. Whilst a cold dish is not exactly what you’d expect from anywhere serving Indian cuisine in the UK, this was another absolute must to try – extremely moreish.
Also included in the combo was the Onion Gobi Bhaji Bhaji – a super tasty bhaji consisting of onion, cauliflower and spinach.
If you dining with someone who prefers the milder Indian dishes the taka dhal with rice is a great option. This mixed lentil curry is cooked with cumin garlic and a little bit of chilli. For my palette, I find it to be a little lacklustre, although those who prefer more mellow Indian eats should give it a try.
The final dish was the Massala Dosa, a rice crepe with a potato and onion filling. Served with lentil soup and coconut chutney.
On top the combo we also ordered a side of Okra fries (sometimes known as lady fingers). Very different from how they are prepped at Zouk Manchester, the okra is fried and coated in chickpea batter before being seasoned with black salt and mango powder. Super tasty, the okra was an absolute treat to the taste buds. They did not last long and if we’d had more time I would have been tempted to order a second bowl. A trip to Bundobust wouldn’t be complete with ordering some! Make sure you do!
Drinks at Bundobust
As well as the Indian food, the craft beer available is excellent, with large crowds drawn to the venue to try the selection of beers and ales on offer. The beer really works with the food and if you’re unsure what to have the friendly staff will be more than happy to help you choose the right ale to go with your food.
Observations
- It would be good if the Combo for 2 had the okra included – although that’s more to do with my preference than anything else.
- I’m also not a fan of paper plates and plastic cutlery than the venue uses – it seems wasteful and considering how many covers this place must do every day they have to be generating a lot of rubbish. I hope they consider using more conventional cutlery in the future.
If you’ve got this far it should be fairly obvious that I absolutely love Bundobust Manchester. Not only my favourite place to eat this year but I’m planning more visits in the near future to try the rest of the menu. I’m even tempted to go for the full combo…
Bundobust Manchester – easily one of THE vegetarian and vegan eateries in the North West. I could not recommend higher.
Bundobust Manchester
61 Piccadilly, Manchester, M1 2AQ
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