Business Details
50+ Years
experience
Your Trusted Vegetarian Health Food Shop & Plant-Based Cafe in Manchester
Established in 1970, we are one of the North West's longest-running worker co-operatives, dedicated to providing ethical, vegetarian, and vegan products alongside fresh plant-based cuisine. Our health food shop offers over 5,000 lines of organic, Fairtrade, and locally sourced goods, including nutritional supplements and cruelty-free skincare, supported by in-house expertise. The cafe serves daily-changing vegan dishes made from seasonal ingredients, complemented by barista coffee and locally baked goods.We prioritise sustainability through refill stations, eco-friendly packaging, and bicycle deliveries, while fostering community through event spaces and partnerships with local businesses. With decades of collective experience, we combine tradition with innovation to meet modern ethical living standards.
Services
Vegetarian Health Food Shop
Plant-Based Cafe
Online Grocery Delivery
Vegan Catering Services
Venue Hire
Details
- Year established: 1970
Highlights and features
- We offer 50+ years of specialist knowledge in ethical retail and plant-based cuisine
- Our product range combines global Fairtrade with local independent suppliers
- Daily-changing menus feature seasonal ingredients from trusted growers
- We operate as a democratic worker co-operative with transparent practices
- Our zero-waste initiatives include refill stations and plastic-free packaging
Services
Vegetarian Health Food Shop
Our health food shop stocks over 5,000 vegetarian and vegan products, including organic groceries, gluten-free essentials, and cruelty-free skincare. We prioritise local suppliers and ethical sourcing while offering expert advice from in-house nutritionists. Customers benefit from refill stations for household and personal care products to reduce plastic waste.
Plant-Based Cafe
The cafe serves freshly prepared vegan dishes using seasonal ingredients, with daily-changing menus featuring classics like Tarka Dahl and celeriac pie. We use locally baked bread and offer speciality coffee with plant-based milks. The basement space accommodates 100 covers and hosts community events.
Vegan Catering Services
Our catering service provides plant-based menus for corporate events and celebrations, featuring savoury selections from 5.50 per person. We use biodegradable packaging and eco-friendly delivery by bicycle couriers. Bespoke celebration cakes are available with advance notice.
Online Grocery Delivery
Shop our full product range online with UK-wide delivery, including fresh and frozen goods via Manchester-based bicycle couriers. The service offers loyalty discounts through our Big Eight and Little Eight card schemes, with no minimum spend requirements.
Venue Hire
The cafe space is available for hire outside regular hours, accommodating meetings, workshops, and social events. Full catering and bar services can be provided, with flexible seating arrangements to suit different event formats.
Questions
What vegan catering options do you offer for events?
We provide plant-based catering from £5.50 per person, including savoury selections, salads, and celebration cakes. Orders require 5 working days notice with delivery available via eco-friendly couriers.
Do you have loyalty discounts for regular customers?
Yes, our Big Eight and Little Eight loyalty cards offer 10% and 5% discounts respectively. Stamps are collected per transaction over £10 or £5, with no expiry dates.
Can I shop online with local delivery?
We offer UK-wide online delivery with Manchester-based fresh produce deliveries via bicycle couriers. Collection from our Oxford Road store is also available at no charge.
Are your products certified organic?
While we stock certified organic products, our business itself isn't certified organic. We prioritise ethical sourcing with a mix of organic, local, and Fairtrade items.
Do you host community events at your venue?
Our basement cafe space hosts community events, workshops, and meetings. The venue can be hired between 8-10am and after 4:30pm with full catering support available.
What sustainability initiatives do you implement?
We use refill stations for zero-waste shopping, compostable packaging, and bicycle deliveries. Our building incorporates energy-efficient systems, and we prioritise local suppliers to reduce transport emissions.
Reviews (7)
Mrs. T.
Aug 07, 2018
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Thank you Rob for delicious coffee and friendly welcome Downstairs cafe is clean and breakfast was tasty. Excellent service and prices
Madhavi B.
Jul 17, 2018
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A surprising little cafe hidden underneath a health food shop! All of the food is organic and vegetarian; they specify between vegan and vegetarian options. On a given day they don't have a lot of variety, but their menu changes from day to day; so no two days would be alike! They tend to offer 2 main dishes, 2 soup options, 1-2 salad options and a dessert. They also have a decent breakfast menu, a full coffee bar, and a dessert/to-go station filled with different cakes and tarts. The portions are generous, and the food is delicious! I had a vegetable gratin, which was predominantly potato
Paul B.
Nov 06, 2017
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TL;DR - Great independent store and cafe. The 8th Day is a place of two halves. On the ground floor is the shop - it's got a bit of everything, but with an organic-healthy-vegetarian vibe. You'll find lots of vegetables and pulses here, lots of foods for people who want to avoid certain food groups (think gluten, dairy etc) but also a whole host of other produce like vitamins, beauty products and homewares. It's not all cheap, but there's a lot here you'd struggle to find elsewhere. My particular favourites are their wine section - lots of organic and sulphite free varieties
Jennifer S.
Jul 17, 2017
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Friendly staff serve good portions of veg stews and bakes. I wasn't in the the mood for a stew so got a soup that was PHENOMENAL. Hearty mushroom with a kick of spice and brown bread and butter to round it out. The vegan desserts were varied, from cake slices to brownies to flapjacks. I opted for a peanut butter and chocolate bar and it was just lovely. The prices are also quite fair and you can pay with card.
S. H.
May 24, 2017
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I thought I would give The 8th Day one more try last week as I needed somewhere to eat quite quickly. If anything it was worse than previous visits. Despite the fact that when I got there they were due to be open for another 3 hours, a large number of the menu items were not available as they had sold out. Those that were left were very "samey" with the dhal and stew looking remarkably similar. The dhal itself was quite nice but the portion size was tiny. More like a side dish than a main course. A large salad (at separate cost) was needed to make it into an OK meal. Surprisingly the
Sophie W.
May 07, 2017
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Always a reliable place for vegan options. Decently priced and fast service. A nice apple cake that was a few days old but was still delicious (probably should of got the brownie) they have a large tea selection that you can have with a dairy free milk.
Sean B.
Mar 11, 2017
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Great soup, my friend had the sausage casserole but was less impressed, although he did say the broccoli was excellent.
