Bundobust: The best cheap eats in central Manchester
"The best cheap eats in central Manchester and the city's best argument for vegetarian food. Indian street food paired with craft beer that actually goes with the food."
At a glance
- Address
- 61 Piccadilly, M1 2AG
- Neighbourhood
- Northern Quarter
- Website
- bundobust.com
- Best for
- VegetarianVeganSolo diningCheap eatsBeer lovers
The good
- +Brilliant value (you can eat well for under £20)
- +100% vegetarian and you genuinely won't miss the meat
- +Bundobust Brewery on Oxford Street is the bigger sister site with house-brewed beer
- +Walk-ins usually possible at lunch
- +Vada pav and bhel puri are properly addictive
The caveats
- −Gets loud at peak times
- −Counter ordering, not full table service
- −Small plates mean you'll order more than planned
On this page(3)
Bundobust does one thing brilliantly: Indian street food paired with craft beer, in a stripped-back room with shared tables and zero pretensions. It started in Leeds, opened in Manchester in 2017, and has been one of the best-value meals in the city centre ever since.
The Room
The original Bundobust on Piccadilly is not a pretty room. It is a large, slightly worn basement space with shared tables, exposed pipes, and a long counter where you order. The newer Bundobust Brewery on Oxford Street is the more impressive sibling: it occupies the historic St James Building, with a working brewery visible from the dining room and a much bigger space that suits groups and lingering. Both rooms are loud, busy, and unfussy by design. You don't come here for the décor.
The crowd is brilliant and democratic: students, post-work office groups, vegetarians who have travelled across the city, families with kids, and serious food obsessives who know the chef has been quietly producing some of the best Indian food in the country. Everyone is here for the same reason.
The Food
The format is Indian street food (specifically Gujarati street food, the regional vegetarian cooking that Bundobust specialises in) paired with craft beer chosen specifically to work with the food. The menu is short, the small plates are designed to be shared, and the prices are remarkably low for the quality.
The non-negotiable orders: vada pav (the Bombay potato fritter sandwich, served with chutneys and slaw, an absolute platonic ideal of street food), bhel puri (puffed rice salad with tamarind, mint, and crispy noodles, a lesson in texture and balance), okra fries (battered and fried until they would convert anyone who claims to dislike okra), and the chana masala. Add the panipuri if you like a snack you have to assemble yourself, the Manchester egg if you want something heavier, and a freshly made naan to mop everything up. Three or four small plates between two will fill you up.
The beer list is the other half of the equation. Bundobust Brewery on Oxford Street brews its own (lighter pilsner-style beers that work brilliantly with the spice) and the original Piccadilly site has a rotating selection of guest craft beers chosen with the same care.
The Practicalities
Walk-ins are usually possible at lunchtime and early evening. Weekend dinners get busy and you may queue. There is no table service: order at the counter, find a seat, food arrives. Card only. The Brewery site on Oxford Street takes bookings for groups. Both locations are easy to reach: Piccadilly is on the edge of Piccadilly Gardens, the Brewery is a few minutes from St Peter's Square. Allow an hour. Bring people who don't think they like vegetarian food. They will leave converted.