Vegan
Fast food
Delivery
Take-out
Asian
British
Fusion
Breakfast

Café offering dumplings with regular special flavours, chips, hash browns, and other specials. Open Mon-Fri 10:30-18:00, Sat 10:00-18:00, Sun 11:00-17:00.


Venue map for Desert Island Dumplings
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40 Reviews

First Review by adventureaardvark

OwenP

Points +48

Vegan
22 Nov 2024

Superb street food

This is a real gem of a place on the top floor of Afflecks Palace.
A big selection of fried dumplings and other food and sides.
I went for the random dumpling selection (recommend this to try different ones) and wasn’t disappointed. They were genuinely all delicious.
It’s also a really cool spot and the owner super nice.

Pros: Lovely food, Lots of choice, Really nice staff

joe3000

Points +61

Vegan
13 Nov 2024

Awesome dumplings!

Super tasty dumplings, loads of different flavours and fillings, and comes with crispy kale. Super friendly owner. I will be back because I want them again, and they have loaded fries, and desserts to try aswell

Pros: All the flavours , Fully vegan , Great service

BrianHatherley

Points +150

Vegan
12 Nov 2024

Lunchtime snack

Popped in for a snack after reading other reviews.
We both had 3 dumplings. I had mine fried and the wife had hers steamed.
Delicious 😋

ayoung15

Points +1239

Vegan
10 Nov 2024

I liked it a lot

Really tasty dumplings and the best salt and pepper chips were.

Only bad thing is that when ordering different dumpling flavours it’s difficult to tell which one is which, but they are all flavourful!

cat_lover_41

Points +316

Vegan
15 Oct 2024

great dumplings, good vibe

got six that came to one of each kind on the menu. all of them are great, the breakfast one is particularly good.

doesn't offer beer but the place is a good enough vibe that it doesn't matter. real hole-in-the-wall spot deep into the third-floor shops.

Pros: creative dumpling recipes , good aesthetic , fun staff

Cons: no alcohol I guess?

AM9

Points +92

Vegan
25 Sep 2024

Awesome

Amazing place and vibe and delicious food!

Rosie19

Points +74

Vegan
08 Sep 2024

Amazing food and service

Everything is vegan. The staff were lovely. Food was absolutely delicious and very reasonably priced. We had 6 dumplings, salt and pepper hash browns with dips, drinks, and cookie dough dumplings for dessert and it was only £25. 10/10 recommend.

Charlie.Smith97

Points +59

Vegan
07 Sep 2024

Vegan dumpling place

Cool location at the top floor, and well priced, would recommend giving it a go!

JILES

Points +326

Vegan
02 Sep 2024

Lovely dumplings

Great tasting deep fried dumplings. There's not much more to say besides give them a go!
I especially liked the mock duck and cheezburger

harveyrj

Points +719

Vegan
02 Sep 2024

Desert not Dessert

Nestled in the quirky Afflecks Independent Shopping Emporium, Desert Island Dumplings is a delightful culinary find. We sampled a mix of salt and pepper chicken, hoisin duck, and cheeseburger dumplings, and each one was a flavor-packed delight. The salt and pepper chicken dumplings had a perfect balance of spice and crunch, the hoisin duck was rich and savory, and the cheeseburger dumplings were a fun and tasty twist.

The venue itself adds to the experience, with its unique and eclectic atmosphere that fits right in with the vibrant Afflecks.

Pros: Fully vegan, Plenty of options for a mix of dumplings

MEC70

Points +142

Vegetarian
24 Aug 2024

Excellent hidden gem at the top of Afleck’s palace

Brilliant restaurant and take away. I had the selection of 3 savoury dumplings with a side order of small salt and pepper chips, unusually with roasted red pepper instead of the usual chilli pepper, which was lovely. The dumplings were yummy and they gave me a free one as one of the options I chose was not available. The portion of chips was plenty of one, I could not manage them all. The mug of tea was good too. The place was very busy, obviously very well known. Dumplings were freshly made, so it takes a while, but is worth the wait. Great place to people watch as they wander around Afleck’s.

Pros: Delicious dumplings, Vegan, Nice chips

Cons: I did not realise you could order dips

Seanroy

Points +320

Vegan
23 Jul 2024

Love the Dumplings

Awesome food, loved the cheeseburger dumplings

deadpledge

Points +13257

Vegan
30 May 2024

Lil' parcels of paradise

After climbing 3 flights of stairs, we finally reached the promised land of Desert Island Dumplings, where we indulged in some Lil' parcels of paradise.

We got the 6 for £9 offer, sharing a mix of ramen, salt & pepper chikn and shawarma kebab dumplings, which were superb.

We also ordered some salt & pepper hashbrowns and chips, which were delicious too. Chocolate oat milk was nice too.

Staff are super friendly and the food is great value for money. Only con is accessibility.

Pros: Great food, Inexpensive , Staff

Cons: Accessibility

VictoriaBarr

09 Jul 2024

There's a lift, if you just go in the back/side door and ask they will point you to it.... don't walk so far ...it's totally accessible once youre uo the front steps which they will put a ramp on for you if you ask...😊

deadpledge

09 Jul 2024

Well I never! Got to burn off some calories 😂

JohnGroot

Points +863

Vegan
11 May 2024

Dumpkings!

Super lekker gegeten hier. We hadden een combinatie van dumplings. Allemaal super smaakvol!

guardianoftheplanet

Points +180

Vegan
07 May 2024

Yummy!

Really delicious food with a fun take on dumplings. You can tell a lot of effort has gone into every flavour. As a side I’d really recommend the kale!

Pros: Delicious, Great value for money, Lovely staff

aheeley01

Points +484

Vegan
29 Apr 2024

Already want to go back!

We ordered the sharer box between two( 8 dumplings, 2 sides and assorted dips).
Honestly the food was so good, I already want to return!
Put this on your list of places to visit.

Pros: Fully vegan , Friendly staff

Losori

Points +67

Vegetarian
19 Apr 2024

Really good food

I had the hoisin duck dumplings with salt and pepper chips, and it was all delicious. Even the kale which came with the dumplings were excellent! Perfect salty hot goodness for a rainy manchester day.

Pros: All vegan, Nut free, Good vibes

jennyc32

Points +4058

Vegan
04 Apr 2024

Really fun dumplings

This is a really fun and friendly little place with some exciting dumpling fillings. I can't get anything like this where I live, so it had a real novelty to it. We got a plate of nine fried dumplings with three different fillings: cheeseburger, salt and pepper chicken, and cauliflower cheese. The chicken was really well seasoned and had a good texture. The cheeseburger had a lot of flavour and was really enjoyable. The cauliflower cheese (one of the weekly specials) maybe could have done with a bit more sauce and flavour, but it was still pleasant. We also shared some cheesy garlic chips, which did not skimp on either cheese or garlic, so I was very happy!

Service was excellent, the owner was really friendly and helpful.

Note that it's on the third floor, so accessibility may be an issue.

MaggieSychta

Points +219

Vegan
03 Apr 2024

Dangerously addictive dumplings.

I popped in to Desert Island Dumplings for a quick post-haircut snack. I've been hearing a lot of great stuff about this place, and let me tell you: all of it is true. I had three dumplings (salt & pepper chickn, cheezburger and shawarma), but I could have easily devoured thirty, they were simply AMAZING. Had a lovely chat with the person working there, too - they were super friendly. From now on, I'll be looking for every possible excuse to swing by and treat myself to some little parcels of deliciousness at Desert Island Dumplings 😍🤤

Pros: Delicious food, Friendly service, Reasonable prices

Jastilus

Points +363

Vegan
12 Mar 2024

Desert Island Dumplings

Taste great, and good value too. I love how they have specials, so there's something new every time. Plus 100% vegan!

Updated from previous review on 2024-03-12

Pros: All vegan, Diverse menu

SlickVik

Points +379

Vegan
02 Mar 2024

Dumpling roulette

A selection of 8 dumplings for £10 - we had half steamed and half fried. Flavours were cheeseburger, hoisin duck, schwarma kebab and chicken (either Kiev or salt and pepper, not sure). All were very tasty, the duck and kebab were my favourite, and fried over steamed but they were all good. Friendly service in an interesting setting

ChesterLeBone

Points +455

Vegetarian
02 Mar 2024

Tasty bites

Opted for a pot luck of 8 dumplings, a mix of fried and steamed. All were tasty.
Menu includes noodles and sweet dumplings too.
The space is tucked away on the 3rd floor of Aflecks but worth climbing the stairs.

Pros: Good food, No fuss

lh0p98

Points +500

Vegan
27 Feb 2024

Yummy!!

The fillings are so good and the dumplings are filled full. Get a mix of steamed and fried. dumplings. Noodles are great too if you can get them

LezTravelVegan

Points +480

Vegan
04 Feb 2024

Drunken udon

Went for steam dumplings but the steamer wasn't working

Pros: Decor, Crispy kale

Cons: Steamer not working , Bit more expensive for going solo

bonbonbiscuits

Points +16

Vegan
20 Dec 2023

Banging!!

Incredible range of flavours, fun decor and friendly staff - what more could you ask for?

Yes, it's fried food. No, it's no more oily than you'd expect from a deep fat frier.

Their Xmas menu is unrivalled. Salt and pepper brussels sprouts are enough to turn the biggest sprout hater 😁

Happy_Bart

Points +3408

Vegan
19 Nov 2023

Great dumplings however...

I really liked the flavour of all of the fillings , but made a mistake of going for the fried version instead of the steamed one which made it really oily & super heavy. Plus we had some deep fried kale which was also too oily to the point of being inedible - I think a roasted version would have been a lot better.

Also the sweet dumplings were delicious but again go for the steamed version if you can. I think there should be a defibrillator on site just in case 😅

Lady who runs the piece (Lucy) super friendly and welcoming.

LawrenceArnold

Points +104

Vegan
01 Nov 2023

THIRD FLOOR!

Wasn't sure where it was but go up up up and you're there. Worth the climb




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