Meat eaters beware. The Eighth Day Cafe and vegetarian health food shop brings vegetarian, vegan and non meat delights to the North West with an earnest, underlying ethical message.

The Venue
For student health junkies it’s a great location with the shop being on Oxford Road directly next to the Manchester Metropolitan Students Union. A light and airy interior, Eighth Day has the feeling of a health food shop layout. The main part of the floor consists of metal rack shelving bursting to the brim with all sorts of fairtrade goodies. Towards the side the small staircase leads you downstairs to the spacious cafe with funky wooden tables and a couple of squashy sofas to sit and chew over the day's events or just simply relax and ponder your evening. An acrylic painting encompassing the industrial skyline of several cities in the North West makes an interesting feature.

The Atmosphere
A laid back environment which welcomes the solitary diner or groups of students, lecturers and passers by who have a pang for vegetarian treats, the Eighth Day welcomes one and all. The staff are more than happy to explain the different choice of vegan items on offer and the jazz compilation in the background ensures a calming ambiance throughout.

The Food
Aside from the absence of meat, it’s also all about the organic produce and understanding where the products have come from at the Eighth Day with all items vegan and vegetarian, cruelty free and promoting a sustainable environment including carrier bag incentive schemes and an environmental plan already in place. There is an impressive line of approximately 1000 organic products which feature plenty of vegan health foods. The organic selection may leave you perplexed with an extensive dried food range of nuts, pulses, fruits, grains and even macrobiotic items and organic breads, teas and spreads.

For breakfast you can choose from an extensive menu of products to suit even the most acquired tastes at 60p per item (cheap at twice the price). The vegetarian sausages are slim and dark in appearance yet packed full of goodness and extremely moreish. The accompanying beans are standard whereas the grilled tomatoes are juicy and well seasoned. The wholemeal toast at least has seen both sides of the toaster and the accompanying spread is tribute to the quality of products Eighth Day has up their sleeve. At lunchtimes you can choose from some special pizza deals and waffles with a topping of your choice.

The Drink
As you'd expect at this type of cafe there’s a wealth of juices and smoothies which will set you back around £2.50. Choose from amongst others a Deep Blue smoothie of blackberries and blueberries. There’s also other fruits including drinks with goja, banana and raspberry and even a barley based drink. Some other highlights to sip are dandelion coffee and a spicy apple beverage which provide unusual alternatives to a run of the mill tea or coffee.

The Last Word
Cheap, soothing and good value for money, The Eighth Day is an ethical establishment which endeavours to serve fairtrade items to suit everyone’s pockets.