Tucked away underneath the Manchester Buddhist Centre, Wholesome Junkies has found a new home in Hinterland!
Wholesome Junkies has long been a vegan staple for any foodies visiting Manchester but was sadly forced to close their previous location this year, due to cost of living pressures. Therefore, as two vegetarians, we were both very excited to hear about their relocation. Initially, Wholesome Junkies started as a spot famous for their great vegan burgers, bridging the gap to provide fantastic fast food options for the plant-based community. In Hinterland, the popular burgers remain but with a new focus on small plates, brunch, and Sunday roasts.
We started chatting with Stephen Jeffreys, co-founder of Hinterland. Stephen explained how the space focuses on being an alcohol-free bar and event space, and how this interlinks with his mission of being a community-interest business. He hopes to de-centre alcohol from socialising and instead, focus on promoting human connection. If you are a society looking for a venue to provide sober socials, this is the place for you! Stephen was very enthusiastic about hosting university events and the emphasis on community means hiring the space is variably priced.
Stephen recommended the Big Drop Paradiso Citra IPA and a Lucky Saint Lager to us. To me, the IPA had that bitter flavour down to a T. The citrus flavours also really came through, giving it a complex and crisp taste. The refreshingly light taste of the Lucky Saint made for a great non-alcoholic choice. It was super easy to drink and I personally didn’t notice too much of a difference in taste.
After looking at the menu we decided on the ‘Korean Chikn Burger’. The ‘patty’ was made from deep-fried oyster mushrooms and provided a crispy and deceptively meaty filling. The spicy sauce and pickles combined with creamy sauce and briny sharpness, cut through the heaviness of the fried patty.
Alongside this, we tried the ‘Prawnless Toast’. This was incredibly fishy, greasy, and melt in the mouth, and was a great replica for that long-missed Chinese takeaway staple. I would say, however, that the flavour leaned more towards fish than prawn.
Our final choice was the whipped tofu, which was topped with juicy roasted tomatoes and a garlic confit, and came with a side of sourdough toast. This was my personal winner because of how light and fresh it was. Whilst I do love vegan fast food that mimics meat, so often as a vegetarian I find that this is all that is on offer at restaurants (along with the inescapable chickpea curry). Hence, I appreciated this dish as it did not attempt to copy any meat staples, and instead embraced plant-based flavours. As mentioned, Wholesome Junkies have attempted to shift away from being a wholly fast food eatery with dishes like this whipped tofu.
After our meal, we tried the Accountant Martini and Botivo Elixir. The Accountant Martini was exactly what I look for in a cocktail – sweet, but not sickly. This passion fruit mocktail scored full points for me. However, if you are someone who prefers a more bitter and complex cocktail, then the Botivo Elixir is the choice for you. It was a fantastic combination of herbal flavours and was very different from anything I’d tried before. I’d return for this cocktail alone.
Drinking culture is notoriously heavy at university and over an extended period of time this can become very draining and isolating. This space is a great way to escape this, by focusing on building sober connections and real good food and drink. Hinterland is definitely an up-market sober space, with the cocktail and beer prices being on par with their alcoholic counterparts. Alongside this, Wholesome Junkies is also priced similarly to many Northern Quarter burger spots, being £12/£13 for a burger with no chips.
For students, I would recommend visiting on one of the frequent event nights, as this would make it more compatible with a student budget. The atmosphere of both areas and the ideas behind them are lovely and truly encapsulate many of the values of both vegetarians and vegans. The food itself was super creative yet delicious, and the drinks likewise.
Hinterland is open 11am-10pm Tue-Thu, 11am-11pm on Fridays, 10am-11pm on Saturdays, and 10am-6pm on Sundays.
