A patty made from beetroot, lentils, chickpeas, red kidney beans, oats, and sautéed mushrooms gets pressed onto a griddle and smashed hard, searing a caramelized crust while keeping the inside moist—then topped with two slices of cheddar. This is Mannie's signature "Double Cheese," priced at €12.90, containing not a trace of meat or fish, nor any meat substitute like soy-based products.
Mannie opened in August 2024 at 32 Rue Coquillière in Paris's 1st arrondissement, under the concept "Street food, plant powered." The menu centers on burgers, alongside a crispy cauliflower burger and a plate built around a whole eggplant—but throughout, it avoids animal protein entirely, and deliberately steers clear of commercially common plant-based meat substitutes.
Not a meat impersonator, but a borrower of meat's technique
Co-founder Kanel Brunelière says, "We're not trying to make a copy of meat." He explains that the restaurant applies techniques traditionally used on meat—roasting, grilling, saucing—to vegetables instead, "pushing the deliciousness out of vegetables as much as possible."
