UPDATE: THIS RESTAURANT CLOSED IN 2022

Since Zad’s opened in Chorlton last summer, it has been the talk of Manchester’s vegan community. It’s one of those rare places that seems to be universally loved and not suffer any backlash (sometimes a vegan crowd can be a little hard to please). And it has truly earned its great reputation.

It serves pizzas, side dishes, and cupcakes, and has a few indoor and outdoor seats along with a delivery option if you’re fairly local. The pizza options are more exciting than just vegetables – this is definitely a menu created by and for vegans.

The Pig Save pizza is essentially a meat feast (smoky maple strips, hot dog, pepperoni,and smoked seitan), with some of the proceeds going to the Manchester Pig Save activist group. It is an astonishingly good pizza. The faux pepperoni slices and little hot dog chunks are really savoury and satisfying, and there’s no skimping on the cheese.

The hench herbivore comes with an extremely generous helping of veg, and plenty of olives for flavour. My mum doesn’t rate olives as a pizza topping and isn’t crazy about vegan cheese, yet she claims this is the best pizza she’s had this year.

This vegangains pizza is slightly less pleasing – the mushrooms and spinach are nice, but the tofu is a bit too bland. Some of the meatier, better seasoned toppings might jazz this up a bit.

The cheesy garlic bread is something else. It’s so cheesy. It’s so garlicky it will certainly keep the vampires at bay. It’s one of the best things I’ve ever eaten.

The food at Zad’s is incredible, and it’s actually one of the few all-vegan establishments in Manchester. It’s not cheap, at £10 for a 12 inch pizza, but I definitely think it’s worth a splurge. And I can also confirm that cold leftovers the next day are still delicious, so go ahead and over-order.