Pollen Bakery - Manchester

I arrived at the restaurant towards the end of the day, so there were limited vegan options available. However, I was delighted to discover they had a heavenly coconut cake on offer. It was honestly the most delicious vegan cake I have ever tasted. I will definitely be making sure to order it again on my next visit.

I would give it a 3.5 out of 5 if I could. A 3 feels too low, but I don't think it quite deserves a 4. Pollen may have the best sourdough bread around, maybe even in the world. It's excellent, they are a top-notch bakery. The location at the marina is also beautiful. The coffee is good. However, as a vegan, I feel that the evaluation should focus on vegan options. While their bread is naturally vegan, I believe they could expand their vegan menu. It's a limited menu to be fair, but they should offer more vegan breakfast and lunch options. I personally don't enjoy fungus or kimchi, so I avoid those items. They used to have a delicious tofu sandwich that I adored, so I trust their vegan creations are good. They did offer vegan croissants for Veganuary which were fantastic, but I haven't seen them since. The staff mentioned that they are often asked about vegan options, but they don't consistently have them available. They usually have a vegan cake option, but it's not always stocked. It appears that they offer vegan choices simply because they feel they have to, rather than a genuine passion for creating innovative vegan dishes. It's disappointing given their potential, but it seems to be their choice in terms of priorities. I would recommend stopping by for coffee and grabbing some bread, but I wouldn't go out of my way for anything else.