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Gorilla
Sep 23rd, 2004, 04:51 PM
The last time i ate out i went to Trogs in Brighton www.trogsrestaurant.com

it's quite a small restaurant, very warm and atmospheric. the staff are really friendly and helpful.

they're totally veggie and about 50% of the menu was vegan or could be vegan on request. i had some sort of aubergine thing with pesto (can't remember what it was called but it was lovely), followed by brazil nut jambalaya - topped with chillis stuffed with vegan cream cheese :) for dessert, vegan fruit brulee and vegan Irish coffee - yes it is possible!

all this was washed down with copious amounts of organic vegan beer and cider. :cool:

highly recommended if you're ever in Brighton :D

Gorilla
Oct 19th, 2004, 07:50 PM
last Friday i went to a new curry house in Preston Street, Brighton called Planet India. it's only been open a couple of weeks and i heard about it throught the local newspaper.

the food is totally veggie and most of it's vegan but you have to ask which dishes on the menu are vegan. it's a cheap and cheerful place, the decor's not exactly swish but it's nice, and the food is simple but lovely.

my boyfriend had a veggie korma, i had tarka dal, pilau rice each, onion bhajis and a bottle of beer each - it all came to £15 in total which is really cheap for round here especially!

the restaurant's quite small so they don't take bookings, you just have to turn up and hope there's room. but if you want simple, delicious, cheap food this is definitely the place to be. :D

Gorilla
Nov 2nd, 2004, 12:18 PM
For my World Vegan Day celebration last night i went to the Bombay Aloo in Brighton. it's an Indian buffet all-you-can-eat restaurant. all the food is veggie, but not all vegan so you have to ask. it's usually just veg korma, yogurt, naan bread and onion bhajis that aren't vegan, and everything else is ok.

i piled my plate high with chick pea curry, bombay potato, tarka dal, pilau rice, poppadums and mango chutney. being curry you don't have much room for seconds anyway, but if you want to you can keep refilling your plate and stuff your face all night for £4.95. :) they serve vegan lager and if you want a pudding you can get a fruit salad for a couple of quid (they do rice pudding, but it's not vegan, which is a shame as i love Indian rice pudding).

it's a fairly small place, but very friendly and often busy. the food is simple, delicious and cheap, popular with students and it's the sort of place you wouldn't feel uncomfortable about eating on your own. :cool:

Gorilla
Nov 3rd, 2004, 01:32 PM
lucky gorilla has been out for dinner two days in a row ;)

last night i went to The George in Trafalgar Street, Brighton - i believe Brighton's only completely veg*n pub and approved by The Vegetarian Society. it's usually pretty busy (even during the week) and as there was a group of us we had to wait around a while before there was a big enough table free. they have a nice patio/garden with more tables which is open during the day and evenings in summer i think. it can be quite noisy when it's busy so don't go expecting a quiet drink!

members of Viva! get 25% off food on production of their membership card :cool:
i think members of the Vegetarian Society get 10% off food

there is a great selection of dishes, all veggie (any eggs used come from Hen Heaven) and i'd say at least half are vegan or can be made vegan. they have daily specials too. most meals are priced at about £5 each, and the portions are HUGE so make sure you work up a good appetite before you go ;)

i had one of the specials last night which was a vegan cheese-ish pasta bake, with garlic bread and salad. it was gorgeous! other vegan meals on offer include bangers and mash, houmous baguette, and oriental vegetable wrap.

beware though - you might assume that being a completely veggie pub and being approved by the Vegetarian Society they only serve veg*n drinks - you'd be wrong :( they sell all the usual pub drinks including Guinness and other non-vegan beers...it seems the Veg Soc approval only extends to the food. they do have things like Becks and of course spirits and soft drinks, i don't know if their wine is vegan as i don't drink wine in pubs but the staff are pretty friendly so they should know if you ask. they also have soya milk for lattes etc. and they sell copies of books such as Vegetarian Britain, Veggie Guide to Brighton and the Animal Campaigners' Guidebook.

a good time was had by all :D

snaffler
Nov 5th, 2004, 09:30 AM
Hello I know some people are from Brighton on here so I am wishing to pick your brains please for knowledge not food :eek:

Either December or Early 2005 I am coming to Brighton to do some work with one of our Fundraisers who live down their and I am curious to know of any good vegan/veggie friendly B&Bs works paying so don't worry about the cost and stuff.

Any website links to the places or contact details will be great......on the upside to this as well, work are paying for the train fair which means once I am done I am to veggie shoes for bit of shopping cool no P&P to pay and I get to try before I buy.... :D

Gorilla
Nov 5th, 2004, 10:35 AM
Hi Snaff there aren't many veggie B&Bs in Brighton, a friend of mine has stayed in a couple, you could try

Sea Spray www.seaspraybrighton.co.uk

Paskins Town House www.paskins.co.uk they are approved by the Vegetarian Society

there is another one but i can't remember what it's called, my friend stayed there, i'll check it out and get back to you later :)

do you have the book Vegetarian Britain? i think it lists a few other places, i'll have a look later. you won't have a problem finding somewhere to eat in Brighton i can tell you that. :)

Gorilla
Nov 5th, 2004, 02:51 PM
ok i have checked and the place my friend stayed in is called Rozanne Mendick. she said it was nice but it's quite a small place. the details are in Vegetarian Britain but if you don't have the book the phone number is 01273 556584 email r_mendick@yahoo.co.uk they don't seem to have a website. hopefully this info is still correct but a few things in Brighton have changed since the book was printed, for example it lists the Granville Hotel as having a veggie restaurant on the premises, the restaurant (Trogs - see my review in the eating out thread!) has since moved.

i know you said money's no object on this occasion but there is a hostel in Brighton that you might want to check out www.brightonbackpackers.com :)

Gorilla
Nov 17th, 2004, 12:31 PM
Last night i went to the Little Buddha Thai restaurant in Brighton. i've been there before, it's a fairly small place but they do accept reservations. it's not usually too busy during the week, but it is quite popular with students as it's not too pricey and they let you bring your own booze with no corkage charge. ;)

they do serve some meat :( but they can make any of the main meals with either tofu or mixed vegetables and they have a lot of veggie starters. the staff are very friendly and happy to answer any questions about the food. i had tempura vegetables followed by tofu in cashew nut sauce, with coconut rice and tofu rice noodles. other main meal sauces include ginger, garlic and pepper, chilli, and sweet and sour. they do a selection of desserts, only one is vegan though, royal banana with lychees - which i decided not to have because i'd eaten so much already!

:D

Gorilla
Nov 26th, 2004, 09:27 PM
The Argus, 26th November 2004
Top veggie restaurant puts meat on menu
by Sam Thomson

A restaurant nominated as the vegetarian fast food outlet of the year is to start serving meat.

Wai Kika Moo Kau in Meeting House Lane, The Lanes, Brighton, is putting steaks, fish and lamb back on the menu because it is struggling to bring in enough vegetarian customers.

The news is a blow to Brighton and Hove's growing reputation as the venue of choice among non-meat eaters.

Last month the city beat off stiff competition from Edinburgh, Manchester and Glastonbury to be named the best UK destination for veggies in the Vegetarian Society Awards 2004.

At the same ceremony, Wai Kika Moo Kau was recognised as one of the country's top four veggie restaurants in the fast food category.

Owner Tim Cramp, 48, said the decision to drastically change the menu was hard but essential if the business was to carry on.

He said: "It was a very difficult decision as we have got some very loyal customers.

"But we were suffering so much during the week that I had to do it.

"In this particular location in The Lanes, we lose a lot of customers because we don't have anything they want. Some people will literally walk in, sit down then get up and leave as soon as they realise we only cater for vegetarians."

Putting meat on the menu earned the restaurant a slap on the wrist from the Vegetarian Society.

Spokeswoman Kerry Bennett said: "I am sure that Brighton's resident vegetarians will be very disappointed if Wai Kika Moo Kau includes meat on it's menu.

"It will also be a blow to the vegetarian visitors who visit Brighton as a result of Brighton's recent award as Best UK Destination for Vegetarians."

However, Mr Cramp owns another Wai Kika Moo Kau restaurant in Kensington Gardens, North Laines, Brighton, which is a favourite haunt for vegetarians. Mr Cramp said that venue would remain vegetarian only.

He said: "I bought the restaurants because I thought the concept of good quality, healthy vegetarian food was great and would be successful well into the future. Unfortunately it hasn't quite worked out that way."

The restaurant in The Lanes will shut for a few days next week before re-opening on December 3 as Mint Tree Cafe.

Philip Taylor, co-owner of Brighton's other famous vegetarian restaurant, Terre a Terre on East Street, said he had sympathy with Wai Kiki Moo Kau but had no plans to follow suit.

PinkFluffyCloud
Nov 26th, 2004, 09:46 PM
How very sad. :(

snaffler
Nov 26th, 2004, 10:30 PM
Sell outs, guess the owners are on a band wagon for the money, that happened to a really good veggie cafe in From where I live, it sucked big time.

Many people wrote in to the local rag and complained, Although Somerset has lots of filthy farmers here we have lots of Veggie and Vegan Cafes and Animal Rights groups..... :D

harpy
Nov 26th, 2004, 10:57 PM
Hmm, there seem to be plenty of places in Brighton that are doing OK without serving meat - though someone said Trogs had closed, is that true does anyone know?

celtic rose
Nov 27th, 2004, 06:53 AM
bad news

Roxy
Nov 27th, 2004, 07:00 AM
That is very bad news. I wonder if they tried introducing other different ideas before having to resort to serving dead bodies :(

Another one bites the dust.

Kevster
Nov 27th, 2004, 09:08 AM
They sold a good cashew nut and ale pie there, which i am sure would have satisfied most meat eaters, still, just shows that what they want is meat and not necessarily good food,

Gorilla
Nov 28th, 2004, 08:49 PM
Harpy, luckily Trogs did close but reopened in another part of Brighton. i went there for my birthday and it was lovely ;)

Pete
Dec 1st, 2004, 09:16 AM
I was gutted when Room 101 (a vegan café) closed in Brighton. Trouble was it was catering for people with loads of cash, so I couldn't afford to go in there that often, but it was fab, should have aimed it more at the average lower wage person though :(

Gorilla
Dec 1st, 2004, 09:23 AM
i never went to Room 101, i don't think it was open very long was it? perhaps if the food was expensive it didn't help that it was opposite the George, which is fairly cheap and well-established.

Gorilla
Dec 7th, 2004, 04:11 PM
there was a letter in the local paper today which seems to confirm the ex-Wai Kika Moo Kau's owner's view that the lack of meat was putting people off eating in the place. the letter says:

"i have always thought it odd that i can take a vegetarian friend to almost any mainstream restaurant in Brighton and feel confident there will be at least one dish suitable for vegetarians but he or she cannot take me to a vegetarian restaurant because there is never a dish for meat or fish eaters. Consequently, as an omnivore, i have never crossed the thresholds of Terre a Terre, Food For Friends or Wai Kika Moo Kau.
Congratulations are therefore due to Tim Cramp of the last-named restaurant for deciding to include meat and fish dishes at one of his establishments as reported.
i cannot understand the concern of the Vegetarian Society as Mr Cramp has not said he will be removing vegetarian dishes from the menu. his renamed Mint Tree Cafe may well recruit me as a customer."

i had to laugh at this because it was just so stupid. :p he seems to be saying that because he's not a vegetarian, he *physically cannot* eat a meal that doesn't contain meat or fish. or of course that veggie food is so bad no omni would choose to eat it. how does he know if he's never tried?!!! :rolleyes:

Roxy
Dec 7th, 2004, 07:08 PM
"i have always thought it odd that i can take a vegetarian friend to almost any mainstream restaurant in Brighton and feel confident there will be at least one dish suitable for vegetarians but he or she cannot take me to a vegetarian restaurant because there is never a dish for meat or fish eaters.

1. Ooohhhh your lucky friend - being able to choose from 1 dish at a regular restaurant. That must make dining out just oh so fun!!

2. If it was to sell fish or meat then it WOULDN'T BE A VEGETARIAN RESTAURANT!

What a dickhead this person is!

Gorilla
Dec 12th, 2004, 11:31 PM
i went past the newly refurbished Mint Tree Cafe today, and had a look at the menu. i thought i might check out their offerings, as apparently they still sell veggie meals, and i do eat in omni restaurants sometimes - if i trust them.

none of the food was marked as vegetarian except a veggie breakfast which wasn't vegan (contained eggs, which i don't think were marked free-range even). then i noticed they sell FOIE GRAS. :mad: i may eat in places that serve meat occasionally, but i'm afraid seeing that really put me off. there's definitely no way i'm going in there now. :(

as the owner said people used to go in, realise the place was vegetarian and walk out again without eating, i (very briefly!) considered going in there, sitting down, looking over the menu and saying very loudly, "OMG, this place sells MEAT!!!" before storming out LOL :D

Gorilla
Dec 12th, 2004, 11:47 PM
today i went to the Kensington Cafe in Kensington Gardens, Brighton which does a wicked vegan breakfast baguette - £3.70 for baked beans, vegan bacon, mushrooms, vegan sausage and fried tomato, piled into a baguette and with a side salad. nice soyaccinos too. they do serve meat in there, but if you're ok with that, it rocks! :p

i don't think i've mentioned the Dumb Waiter in Sydney Street, Brighton either - they do a pretty good vegan breakfast too (also serve meat there though). haven't been there for a while but i seem to remember it having baked beans, veg sausage and LOADS of bubble and squeak! :)

Roxy
Dec 13th, 2004, 06:47 AM
That is very sad to hear Gorilla. :(

I hope more people turn and around and walk out, than when it was a nice place to eat.

tails4wagging
Dec 13th, 2004, 07:10 AM
Gorilla that sound wonderful. How about us meeting there instead??. I can do tuesday morning? :)

gertvegan
Dec 13th, 2004, 08:39 AM
i (very briefly!) considered going in there, sitting down, looking over the menu and saying very loudly, "OMG, this place sells MEAT!!!" before storming out LOL :D

I was going to suggest that but you beat me to it. Do it do it. ;)