DAYTIME OPENING
During May, June and July we have planned to open during the day for advance bookings (at least 24 hours notice with 2 to 3 days required for Fridays) primarily for graduation parties etc.

GLAMORGAN SAUSAGES
We've taken a step back in time to the days when we made a soft fill glamorgan sausage but with a slight difference as this time we are not using egg in the ingredients and will use more vegetables and less wheat in the filling. As with our original glamorgan sausages the overall flavour will be very leek and cheesy with a hint of mustard.

DRAUGHT BEERS
Over the years we have served a selection of draught beers. Space limits us to 3 beers on tap at any one time. So, based on customer feedback, we now propose to keep Hoegaarden (5.0%) a naturally cloudy white wheat beer from Belgium, whose minimalistic 20 litre keg occupies a small footprint, on permanently and will then serve a further 2 beers out of a selection of 5 on a rotating basis, namely Küppers Kölsch (4.8%) with its crisp, dry, distinctive taste from Cologne, San Miguel (4.8%) originally from Spain but now brewed in the UK, Veltins Pilsner (4.8%) brewed in Grevenstein in the hilly country of the Hochsauerland, Menabrea 1846 (4.8%) from Italy and the North German Flensburger Pilsner (4.0%) still to this day brewed using the crystal-clear water from the underground glacier streams of Northern Scandanavia.

We have Veltins Pilsner and San Miguel on tap as the current selection of our rotating beers. Küppers Kölsch will replace the Veltins Pilsner and Menabrea 1846 the San Miguel at the next changeovers.

THE GREENHOUSE - THE FUTURE
Following on from the death of our landlady Mrs Elsie Hills, who died in April 2006, the future of the Greenhouse is up in the air. Our new landlady came onboard at the end of February 2007. The new, market rent which came into force on 25th March 2007 is currently a major millstone around our neck.Without considerable support from our customer base we may be gone within a matter of months. Alternatively we could continue to the end of our existing lease in 2013 or continue ad infinitum. If we close there are no plans to open elsewhere, costs would be prohibitive and in any case I'm too long in the tooth to start again from scratch.

With hindsight, we should have revised our prices in October 2006 which would have considerably eased the current pressures. The early indications are that customers find the price rises acceptable. Apart from a quiet 2 week period in the run up to Easter during early March, 2008 showed a great improvement up until the end of April. However, since then it has been all downhill and most of what we gained has now been lost. Ultimately, the final decision as to whether we stay or go depends on the support we receive from our customer base.

FREE WI-FI
During early May 2008 we installed a Wi-Fi network which is available free of charge to customers. Anyone wishing to use the system should ask a member of staff for the current network identity and password. For security purposes these are changed daily.

DAIRY FREE ICE CREAM
We added Swedish Glace's 'Wild Blueberry' to our range of dairy free ice creams at the beginning of May 2008, which with the 'Smooth Vanilla', 'Rich Chocolate' and 'Juicy Raspberry' gives us a line up of 4 again.

SPECIALITY COFFEES
Over the years we have played around with many different hot drink systems. Customer demand fluctuates wildly. Our requirements call for a machine with a small footprint which requires minimal maintenance which will tolerate infrequent use and still produce a consistent high quality drink. We think we've found the answer and our menu offers espresso, carte noire, spiced chai tea, cappuccino and latte as additions to our range of hot beverages with possibly more options still to come.

SERVICE CHARGE
When the National Minimum Wage was introduced in 1999 we were faced with a financial shortfall. Our solution was to introduce a flexible shift finishing time. In order to recompense staff for what became a feast and famine scenario we introduced a 10% service charge across the board to be divided weekly between our casual staff pro rata to the number of hours worked. Tips on the other hand are divided by casual staff at the end of each shift. For further details and history please click here.

SELF-CATERING IN FRANCE
Heather and Steve Foster, both veggies, who together with their 2 children and cat, run Le Mimosa, a traditional stone built, 2 bedroom cottage located adjacent to their own home in Les Puechs. The accomodation which can sleep up to 6 people is available to rent throughout the year and is fully vegan friendly, no leather, feathers or wool. They have a comprehensive website with full information and some cracking pictures. Please click on picture for details.

Les Puechs, a small hamlet in the Gard region of the Lanquedoc is some 1200 ft above sea level situated a tad inland between Montpellier and Marseille.

3D JAZZ MUSICIANS
Many diners have taken an interest in our 3 3D illuminated pictures of Jazz Musicians playing piano, saxophone and trumpet. They have a white LED spot light mounted on the top of the frame powered by a built in 4.5 volt battery pack which also incorporates a socket to take a mains adaptor. The effect is still excellent with the light off. We're in the process of having a single lead made to connect the 3 together in parallel using a mains adaptor. Ours were puchased locally in Rusholme but are no longer available from our source. However, I've since found them on the Internet for some 20% less than we paid. Please click on picture for full details.

ONGOING HALLOWEEN SPECIALS
We introduced 2 additional main courses for the Halloween period:
Butternut squash and mixed nut roast (vegan)
Roast pumpkin and goat's cheese pie
In view of their popularity these dishes will probably be continued until the end of the year if not longer.

ALCOHOLIC DRINKS
Our main suppliers have hit us with a double whammy during March. There was a big price increase at the beginning of March with a further increase from the 28th following the budget. Effectively a drink costing £2.60p in February is likely to cost £3.00p from April.

OPENING HOURS
We open daily at 6.30pm, last booking 9.30pm and being in a residential area work to an 11.30pm (previously 11pm BUT still 10.30pm on Sundays) curfew (except for certain special days ie New Year's Eve, St Valentine's Day etc). We also open at 12 noon for lunch on Sundays, last booking 2pm. From 9pm in the evenings and 1.30pm on Sunday afternoons we will close once the restaurant is empty. We are often able to accept casual diners without a booking up to 9pm in evenings or 1.30pm on Sunday afternoons (please click here for details).

Subject to advance notice, we often able to open up to an hour earlier in the evenings. We are also happy to open for groups of 6 or more at other times.

SMOKING POLICY
The Greenhouse policy on smoking has varied slightly over the years. We have always had a smoke free section BUT since 1997 we have been non smoking throughout the restaurant. However, since 1st July 2007 with the change in law we are totally non smoking under any circumstances. Smoking will still be permitted under the veranda at the front of the restaurant BUT no longer in the porch which is classed as an enclosed area.

DISCOUNTS & SPECIAL PROMOTIONS
Students and members of the Vegetarian or Vegan Societies are entitled to a 10% discount on all meals and drinks purchased except after 5pm on Saturdays and certain booking only days (typically 24th December - 1st January, Valentine's Day, Mothers Day etc). The discount must be claimed prior to the issue of the bill and on production of a valid student ID card, Greenhouse Student Card or membership card per diner. The bill will be reduced pro rata to the number of qualifying diners.

Booking 24 hours or more in advance (1 - 4 people) opens the door to our special promotion designed to save diners up to 50% off our à la carte menu using the "2 for 1" voucher available from this web site (currently at the foot of this page). This replaces and is far superior to our previous early doors promotion (PEDS).

Our Greenhouse Student Card was introduced in October 2001. Initially students could download special vouchers from this site BUT since January 2002 we now e-mail the vouchers direct to card holders. As the word spreads, the number of students coming onboard has accelerated and as from March 2002 has overtaken the levels we previously achieved with Snapfax. For further details please (click here).

BROADLAND WINES
Please note that until such time as the future of the Greenhouse has been settled we will not be replacing our stocks of Broadland Wines.

From just Elderberry 23 years ago we now carry all 27 Broadland wines and the Lea Cottage Punch. Except for the 2 meads which are suitable for vegetarians all the others are suitable for vegans. Since, to the best of our knowledge, there are no retail outlets for these wines in the North West we sell them by the case of 12 bottles (mixed cases acceptable) at considerably lower prices than in the restaurant.
The price per bottle is £5.85p except for:
Sparkling Elderflower £6.15p
Norfolk Mead £6.25p
Original Mead £6.45p
For full details on all the Broadland Wines in our printer friendly format please click here.

GREENHOUSE GIFT VOUCHERS
Our gift vouchers, which have been available on request since 1998, have been redesigned and are now readily available in denominations of £5 up to £100 in £5 increments. For further details please (click here). However, until the future of the Greenhouse has been settled we have ceased supplying gift vouchers.

CREDIT AND DEBIT CARDS
Except for American Express and Diners Club, we accept most major credit and debit cards.

Since the end of January 2005 most credit and debit card transactions have been confirmed using a PIN number rather than a signature. Our new terminal was installed on the 19th December 2003. This is a small hand held unit which is taken to the table. If the card presented by a diner is configured for PIN authorisation, the terminal will ask for the diner to enter their PIN number (like at a cash machine - we cannot see the number nor is it recorded on our system).

This is all part of a major step to cut down on card fraud. This system has been in use on the continent and many other countries for some years with considerable success.

STREETSMART
We commenced supporting StreetSmart in November 2003. StreetSmart funds a range of homeless charities - some provide shelter and food, while others focus on long term needs, such as job training and counselling. There were two main aspects which appealed to us, all money raised in Manchester stays in Manchester and as all production and administration costs are covered by Bloomberg, every penny raised is spent on the homeless. A voluntary £1 is added to each bill which to date no-one has declined to pay. In fact, many diners have made very favourable comments about the campaign sometimes offering additional contributions. For full details (click here).

DISOS WINES DISCONTINUED
Disos, the much loved, vegan, additive free range of French Wines is being discontinued. Tony Boffey, the driving force behind Disos commented that the escalating bonded warehouse and other costs meant that Disos is no longer cost effective in the UK retail market place. Whilst they could probably still be sold through restaurants, that accounts for a very small section of their existing market. The consignment currently in bond will be their last. Once our existing stocks are sufficiently reduced we will be introducing a range of organic wines from Vintage Roots.

PRINTER FRIENDLY PAGES
Over the coming months we will work through this web site producing printer friendly options for many of the pages and features on the site. An example is the 2 for 1 voucher at the bottom of this page or the Starters, Main Courses, Desserts or Sundries pages from the Food Menu section of this site.