Zionly Manna Vegan Rastarant
Restaurant · Peckham ·
Vegan Caribbean & African fusion curries, stews, & fresh juices
Information
42 Rye Ln, London SE15 5BY, United Kingdom Get directions
Vegan Caribbean & African fusion curries, stews, & fresh juices
42 Rye Ln, London SE15 5BY, United Kingdom Get directions
"Zionly Manna is a takeaway and dine-in spot inside Peckham’s Rye Lane Market with a changing daily selection of deliciously fresh African and Caribbean-inspired curries and stews, alongside staples like rotis, rice and peas, and dumplings - all of which are entirely vegan. Individual options are available but £20 will get you a bulging platter of Ital-inspired goodness, filled with everything that’s on that day, four dumplings, and one of their delicious handmade juices (sorrel and cranberry is our favourite)." - Oliver Feldman
"The unintentional fusion effect that British colonialism had on food is well known with Trini and Guyanese cuisine, with South Asian indentured workers bringing roti and chana to the Caribbean islands. Its influence on Jamaican cuisine however, was slightly more delayed and more specific. During the 1930s, the burgeoning Rastafari movement drew on pre-colonial, pan-African methods of eating, but also from Hindu vegans who informed the notion of spiritual livity in its new dietary cuisine, Ital. Some of the city’s best Ital food can be found at Zionly Manna inside the Rye Lane Indoor Market, once Peckham’s main shopping centre but now often more used for music videos. Jahson Peat’s food wears all its influences lightly ─ sometimes pan-African, sometimes just Peckham ─ from Jamaican dumplings made with wholemeal flour, to Ethiopian-ish vegetarian stews, to a vegan, low salt, low spice ethos that shares the strictures of Jainist food. The menu changes every day, but it’s possible to fill up on multiple items and a fresh fruit drink for around a tenner: make sure to get pasta and noodles if they’re on, and creamy butter beans which have more vitality than anything found at a Chelsea cafe." - Jonathan Nunn
"South London’s Peckham and its surrounding areas have long been focal points for the Caribbean and West African communities in the U.K, and Zionly Manna is the first restaurant built on that community that is exclusively vegan. The shop’s menu is a perfect representation of the Caribbean islands, though it looks nothing like a typical Caribbean restaurant. Chow mein noodles, spelt pasta, and chickpea curry sit alongside dishes that lean on the Rastafari heritage of Ethiopia, with many split pea and lentil stews on display." - Riaz Phillips
