UK Veg*n Restaurants-Reviews & Recommendations

Lord Snot

Lord Snot

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For info on omni restaurants that serve vegan options, please see this thread.

Brighton

Purreza
Bombay Aloo
Infinity Cafe
Iydea
Loving Hut
Terre a Terre

London
Beatroot
Manna
Mildred's
Loving Hut (3 Locations)
Sarashwathy Bavans
Tibits
Vita

Manchester
1847 Bistro
Eighth Day Cafe
The Globe
Greens
V Revolution

Oxford
The Magic Cafe

Shrewsbury
Good Life

==

I went to Brighton last week and we visited Bombay Aloo, which is an all-you-can-eat Indian pure (no eggs) vegetarian buffet. There is minimal dairy.

We paid £5 per person and the buffet was:

White basmati rice
Poppadums
Naan bread
Onion bhajis
Potato pakora
5 curries (saag aloo, bombay aloo, korma, chef's special and chickpea)
Tarka dal
Pickles and chutneys
Fresh fruit salad
Sweet rice

Everything was delicious but the pakoras were extremely greasy. I bit into one and it was like oil flooding my mouth, made me feel a bit queasy. The saag aloo more than made up for it, it's the best I've ever tasted. Likewise I've never had a tastier tarka dal, and for once it wasn't overpowered with garlic. I could have eaten just dal and rice and been happy. The place was extremely clean and their food hygiene was top notch, with a 5* scores on the doors rating. The staff were very nice and friendly. My only criticism would be that it was really dark with very dim lamps.

They do have a counterpart restaurant that serves meat options. Confusingly I think it's got the exact same name but it is a completely different building with no cross-contamination. The meat one is much more obvious as it's on North Street, whereas the veg one is on a side road - Ship Street.

I would give it 5/5, I was very impressed.
 
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^ Oh that is weird, I went there a few years ago and I wasn't very impressed.:( Maybe they have changed staff since then. I liked Infinity Cafe, Iydea and Loving Hut in Brighton. Terre a Terre is supposed to be lovely but I haven't been there yet.

I went back to Sagar a few weeks ago, an Indian restaurant in London. Mine was delicious but the guy I was with made a bad choice and his main was rather watery.

I think the best London restaurants are Manna, Tibits, Peking Palace (now Loving Hut) and Mildred's.:)
 
Tibits is SO AWESOME. I went there for the first time a few weeks ago. I like paying by weight, very cool. Peking Palace is also an old favourite.

A new discovery, the 1847 Bistro in Manchester. They have a seasonal menu, totally vegetarian with loads of vegan options, best food I've had in ages. Ate there once, was back two days later.

There's a vegan-friendly Thai restaurant I'm hoping to check out soon. I'll report back.
 
I loved Tibits too, but the man wasn't so keen on it. I like Beatroot, in Soho, too, though their desserts tend to kinda suck. The mains/salads are great.

I heard tell there is a new, all vegan sushi place in London too, but I can't remember where I read that. I'll hit Google later hopefully.

Here in the centre of the universe, we have just one all veg restaurant, The Magic Cafe. We'd been a few years ago and found it not too friendly for vegans, but I visited again just recently and it was lovely and inexpensive. It's famous for being kid friendly, so they are everywhere, just in case that's not your scene. :D

ETA: Found the link on another board about the sushi place: http://londonist.com/2011/02/eco-eating-review-itadaki-zen.php

I was just at KX like two weeks ago and was trying for the life of me to remember what that place was called.
 
Planet India in Brighton is an awesome place to feast at.

I really need to visit a Loving hut damn it. And hell yeah to Tibits that place is sooo good.

I'm near Glastonbury, Rainbow's end and Cafe Galatea are places I'd recommend if you ever visit the area. Lot's of vegan options.

Have any of you attended either of the Vegfests? Something Fishy is the best vegan fish and chips around. You must try it.
 
Francesca_Bee said:
Planet India in Brighton is an awesome place to feast at.

I really need to visit a Loving hut damn it. And hell yeah to Tibits that place is sooo good.

I'm near Glastonbury, Rainbow's end and Cafe Galatea are places I'd recommend if you ever visit the area. Lot's of vegan options.

Have any of you attended either of the Vegfests? Something Fishy is the best vegan fish and chips around. You must try it.
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I went to the Brighton fayre a few years ago and had "fish" and chips. I don't know if it was from that company but it was amazing and I wish I could have it again.
 
I've been, I never had it though :( I was going to this year, but it smelt so fishy that it made me feel a little ill.

The Malaysian/Thai restaurant was amazing. It's called Ning and it's in Manchester city centre. The menu is clearly labelled for vegetarian and vegan dishes. I had a warm vegetable salad with spicy peanut sauce and a work-fried tofu dish with rice noodles. Both were delicious, and it wasn't that expensive either (about £20 a head for two courses and drinks).
 
Moll Flanders said:
^ Oh that is weird, I went there a few years ago and I wasn't very impressed.:( Maybe they have changed staff since then. I liked Infinity Cafe, Iydea and Loving Hut in Brighton. Terre a Terre is supposed to be lovely but I haven't been there yet.

I went back to Sagar a few weeks ago, an Indian restaurant in London. Mine was delicious but the guy I was with made a bad choice and his main was rather watery.

I think the best London restaurants are Manna, Tibits, Peking Palace (now Loving Hut) and Mildred's.:)
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Oh wait! Is sagar the one on tottenham court road, the one that does the takeaway lunches? Cause that's pretty tasty. :)
 
Yes, I think it does takeaways too. I went to the branch in Covent Garden. It is very good food.:)

raggle said:
Oh wait! Is sagar the one on tottenham court road, the one that does the takeaway lunches? Cause that's pretty tasty. :)[/quot
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I love Sarashwathy Bavans! There's one in Tooting and apparently one in Wembley. It's a South Asian veggie place, which I think is mostly Indian and Sri Lankan. The food is beautiful, so full of flavour and yummy!

Vitao on Wardour Street is another favourite. I always feel mega healthy when I go there.
 
Moll Flanders said:
I went back to Sagar a few weeks ago, an Indian restaurant in London. Mine was delicious but the guy I was with made a bad choice and his main was rather watery.
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I've been there before, it was a little while ago, but mine and my bfs meals were amazing. I really want to go back but I'm rarely in London now :(

I still haven't been to any of the vegetarian places in Sheffield :fp: they are mostly cafes though, and if I go out for meals it tends to be in the evening with family. I do really like Aagrah in Sheffield, but they are a chain and are also in several places in the north and Bristol I think. Really good, but very rich, and lots of vegan options and they're very very helpful. The waiters/waitresses know the menu really well in my experience too, and if you email they'll send you a list of vegan options, but mines out of date atm so I might ask for an update.

I keep meaning to try new places, but I really hate having to ask what I can eat and things. I will do it, but I don't like to.
 
If anybody ever ends up in Shrewsbury then the Good Life restaurant is the best place to go if you don't want to worry about things being veg*n. It's a vegetarian wholefoods restaurant and there is usually at least 1 vegan option, usually a couple. Oh and the salad is to die for.

It can be quite tricky to find though but the easiest way is to head down Wyle Cop from the high street (Waterstones, Starbucks. Costa, HSBC are on the high street and the Wyle Cop is the steep hill at then end of the high street if you're going from Pride Hill) and about 1/4 of the way down Wyle Cop there's an alleyway next to Snooty Fox with a sign for the Lion and Tap hanging over it. Down there is the Good Life. There's also a really good tapas bar down there.

I think internet reviews on it might not be very good because of this http://www.shropshirestar.com/news/...s-that-almost-wrecked-the-good-life-business/ so ignore anything like that if you do look it up.
 
I've been to las iguanas once, they had lots of vegan options and when I emailed to ask them about them, they said if none of them appealed to me I could tell the chef I was vegan and he would make me up something individual that would suit me :) I thought that was really kind!

Food wise, I thought the food nice, not brilliant, and good for going out with a group of omnis because there's lots of choice, and I like their cocktails :D especially when they're buy one get one free! I'm on their mailing list and they have offers quite frequently too, money off or starters free or whatever. I would happily eat there with friends, but I probably wouldn't go if it were just me and my bf. Maybe I should give it another chance though because I only ate there once (I went back for cocktails and curly fries though :oops:).
 
All Star Lanes in Holborn http://www.allstarlanes.co.uk/venues/holborn/

Went there last night as part of a hen party. they actually had one vegan-by-default item on the menu so I got that. they did a vegetarian chilli but it had quorn in it, boo. anyway the glass noodles with sesame vegetables is vegan with no modifications, apparently they could have also done the wild mushroom and spinach tagiatelle but put no cheese on it. but i hate mushrooms ha.

I didnt like the food. OK so I have a cold and cant taste much, but it was really bland. I had to tip half a bottle of tabasco on it! It was just a load of oily noodles with some onions peppers and jalapenos mixed in. there was no sauce! and the portion was tiny which is not appreciated when you pay £9. my omni friends enjoyed their food (well, it was a hen party, i dont think anyone wouldve said they hated theirs and i kept quiet) but their portions were really small too.

so there we goo. edible but not enjoyable, at least for me. nice friendly staff though which is always a plus!
 
Annia said:
If anybody ever ends up in Shrewsbury then the Good Life restaurant is the best place to go if you don't want to worry about things being veg*n. It's a vegetarian wholefoods restaurant and there is usually at least 1 vegan option, usually a couple. Oh and the salad is to die for.

It can be quite tricky to find though but the easiest way is to head down Wyle Cop from the high street (Waterstones, Starbucks. Costa, HSBC are on the high street and the Wyle Cop is the steep hill at then end of the high street if you're going from Pride Hill) and about 1/4 of the way down Wyle Cop there's an alleyway next to Snooty Fox with a sign for the Lion and Tap hanging over it. Down there is the Good Life. There's also a really good tapas bar down there.

I think internet reviews on it might not be very good because of this http://www.shropshirestar.com/news/...s-that-almost-wrecked-the-good-life-business/ so ignore anything like that if you do look it up.
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I want to go somewhere called The Snooty Fox!!:D
 
222 is in Kensington and has nice homemade food and I think all the food is organic.

Camden is great for vegans, there is Inspiral Cafe which has the best vegan cakes in London IMO. I love the passion fruit cheesecake. Camden also has Loving Hut and it is close to Manna as mentioned and there is a place selling vegan burgers in the market bit called Ha Ha Veggie bar. There is also a cheap veg buffet place near to Camden station. There is a new place selling vegan cookies near Dingwall's gallery called Cookies and Scream but I haven't tried it yet, there is also a veggie restaurant called Green Note.

Camden has a Wholefoods store too and the Holland & Barrett there is always really well stocked with vegan pasties. You can basically stuff your face with vegan food in Camden in other words.:p

One place I really like is Gallery Cafe in Bethnal Green. It has really delicious savoury food and it has a nice atmosphere.<3
 
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I just got back from Loving Hut in Edgware. Completely vegan and no garlic, which is a huge bonus for me :D

There was a good selection of dishes: white rice, brown rice, noodles, four 'curry' preparations including sweet and sour and a spicy coconut, a mushroom stir fry, soup and sauces, lots of sides like spring rolls, sesame toasts, onion rings, tempura, BBQ soya slices (tasted just like spare ribs), prawn crackers etc. Also some salad and desserts like fresh fruit, tiramisu and jelly.

Like all of the all-you-can-eat buffets, they load as much fat into the dishes as possible to fill you up faster. A lot of it was deep fried, although it wasn't unpleasantly greasy. If you made a conscious effort, you could get a healthy meal but it wouldn't be very varied or filling. I did manage three plates and some tiramisu, but that's because I skipped breakfast and an evening meal last night :D

At £5.90 including one drink (unlimited jasmine tea or one soft drink) you can't complain.

My only criticism would be that it was really small, and even only half full it was very noisy. The chefs were wearing hats but their hair was loose underneath which made me feel a bit :/ about the hygiene.

Also next time, I would go for the evening buffet instead of lunch. It's a few pounds more but the waiter said they have a bigger variety of foods, and my friend says it isn't much busier than the lunchtime serving.
 
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