Vegan London, part 1

[Troutina]

I went to Ray's Jazz Cafe in Foyles (on Charing Cross Road, nearest tube Tottenahm Court Road) today and enjoyed a slice of vegan triple chocolate cake and a cuppa with soya milk! There were several other vegan cake options too (like Passion Loaf, Ginger Loaf and Flapjacks)

:eek: and also :p, and maybe a bit of :o aswell!

[Marrers]

I went to the Oxo Brasserie this evening. It was great to be able to have vegan wine (and tomato juice without the dreaded worcester sauce already added). But I am sorry to report that we found the vegan food choices a bit disappointing. The food was not very imaginative or filling, the portions weren't very big. When I checked the menu a few weeks back it was different (sounded tastier in my opinion and a little more meal-like rather than snack-like) but I don't know how often the menu changes.

To start I had crispy fried tofu, aubergine and tomato confit, pickled chilli. It was quite nice but if the 2 tofu squares had been cut a bit smaller the ratio of crispy edge to soft tofu would have been better.

I had warm roasted red pepper bruschetta, aubergine jam, parsley salad. It seemed more of a started type dish than a main course - only 3 very thinly sliced (and only about 5cm width) bits of toast, the spread on it was very oily and the parsely salad really was mostly parsley.

My o/h was not impressed with the meal either. The non-vegan soup started was apparently good but the main of coconut rice with bok choi, sticky soy and pineapple corriander chutney, vegan, was not so well recieved. This was much more filling than mine but still rather boring and again more of a combination you'd expect for a starter.

However, our friend had fish and was very pleased with his main dish.

Sorbet was the only vegan dessert option.

I would hesitate to go back really unless the menu sounded vastly more interesting and filling next time (and I'd made sure that was the menu which would be used that night).

[Lorrs]

I'm going to London in July with 3 omnis and as much as I would love to go to a vegan restaurant none of them want to go to one.

So I was wondering if anyone could advise of any good restaurants which provide good vegan options in London? Any type of cuisine really but Italian, Indian and Chinese are favourites amongst my pals. We're going to be staying near Soho but anywhere within tube travelling distance would be fine.

Any help would be appreciated :)

[Marrers]

Are the thai buffets (eat as much as you like for about £6) too down market for you? They are vegan but plenty of mock meat may keep the omnis happy.

When you say no vegan restaurants I assume you mean they would not want to go to a veggie restaurant? I am not sure what else to suggest as there is so much veggie choice around that area that I never bother with anywhere not veggie.

You know you can get a vegan pizza in any Pizza Express. The branch on Dean Street in Soho has jazz in the basement but you have to pay to get in and you'd have to check there was something on.
Any indian restaurant could alos cater for you I'm certain.

I recently went to the Oxo Tower brasserie - see the post above yours in this thread. The vegan food we had was not very impressive or filling but it is not as expensive as I'd imagined and it's certainly swanky and a real 'visit to London' treat to impress your friends. (Check out the menu online).

Mr Falafel was always posting about unexpected places that could cater for vegans - I haven't seen him around for a while but maybe you could do a search on his old posts.

[Lorrs]

Oh by good I don't mean upmarket, I mean ones that do good food and I did mean that they are unlikely to go to veggie restaurants. One of my pals, it's his birthday so he is all "I want to go somewhere nice" so somewhere nice for him will probably involve eating fish or chicken.

The thai buffets sound good for another night, do you have the address for one? We're going for 4 nights so I might be able to persuade them to go veggie for one night lol. I've been to Eat and Two Veg before and thought it was pretty good but I'd like to try somewhere else.

I know about Pizza Express but we have them in Glasgow and we'd rather go to places that we haven't been to before.

I'll have a look at the Oxo Tower and those old threads as well. Thanks for your input.

Also are there any vegan cafes that anyone could recommend? If I can't persuade them to go for dinner I can at least persuade them to go for cake :)

[Marrers]

From page 15

Thanks for the review of Greens & Beans Alison, I'll have to try it if I can tear myself away from my second fave thai buffet on Euston Road (between Warren Street and Great Portland Street tubes). And Chutneys is up there on Drummond Road too - so many choices!
In fact I went to a mexican place near there (Mestizo on Hampstead Street) on Saturday for a 40th birthday. They were able to cater for me and the food was very nice although the first time my main dish arrived they hadn't left the cheese off. This meant I had my meal when everyone else had finished theirs - I hate that.

Greens & Beans is quite a small place but I had a great clementine cake from there.
You can get good vegan cake at Beatroot (on a proper fruit & veg market street) and Ray's Jazz Cafe (in Foyles bookshop, see comments earlier on this page). Vita Organic also do vegan cakes but they tend to be a bit more 'wholesome' (I prefer my cakes to be have plenty of frosting and sugar!)
You can get nice vegan desserts (rather than cakes) in Mildreds.


See page 10 (esp my posts numbers 189. 193 & 195) for descriptions of Mildreds, a couple of the buffet places and Vita Organic.

[flying plum]

cafe pacifico is quite fun for birthdays. i haven't been there since i've been vegan, but they cater well for veggies, and i'm told that with a bit of advance notice they will cater for vegans (but i'd ring to make sure).

it's a mexican restaurant in covent garden that does great cocktails and mexican sharing platters.

also, what about middle-eastern? there's a great chain of two or three restaurants called Tas that has a lot of mezze you'd be able to chow on while they have meaty mains.

there's an amazing indian restaurant called Rasa Samudra in goodge street. it's part of a chain, some are veggie and some are meaty, but this one has fish as well as a lot of veggie/vegan dishes. it's not super-expensive and has some of the best curry ever. again, they can cater for vegans:

http://www.rasarestaurants.com/UserPages/Viewrestaurant.aspx

amanda

[Marrers]

We went to Spirited Palace in Crystal Palace last night. The food is all vegan and they don't serve alcohol. The day menu looks interesting and good value (is on the website) but the evening menu changes each day.

The food was quite nice but much of it was not warm enough and since most if not all of it was already made and in the chiller cabinet it was a mystery why it took so long to arrive. There were no starters so we were really over hungry by the time the food eventually arrived. We all had the mixed plate but it was missing things we had been told it contained and contained things which weren't mentioned. We followed it with cake with custard.

The owner was very friendly but they could certainly do better to welcome and impress new customers. When we arrived we were asked if it was our first visit which we confirmed it was. We were ushered downstairs and left for too long before the teenage girl serving us returned to tell us the drink and food options (there is no evening menu, but it was only on our way out that we saw a blackboard upstairs listing the food options - and the prices!) The drinks took a long time to arrive (we were told there was not enough apples to make the juices we had ordered - but when we left we spotted a bowl containing several apples!)

The teenage girl serving us was slow and inattentive / distracted, not really up to the job and certainly not who we would have chosen to impress new customers! The tables were not laid with cutlery and she brought 2 plates of food then stopped to clear a table - the place was now empty save for us - and play around with another small child friend of hers while we waited for the other 2 meals.

We asked for tea with our desserts but they came after.

I'd like to give it another go but no-one else I went with is willing to go back so looks like I'll be there on my own!

http://www.thespiritedpalace.com/70040/info.php?p=1&pno=0

[aubergine]

Oh dear :(

We got takeaway (super hot) curry from Spirited Palace and I liked it very much. Shame they were out of Patties at the time...

[Lorrs]

I found a dinner and show deal when organising my London trip the other day so I emailed the restaurant, Fire and Stone (http://www.fireandstone.com/) in Covent Garden to see if they had anything suitable so I could take up the deal.

Thought I'd share the reply.

Hi Lorraine,

The olives, homous and bread sticks are suitable for vegans as is the pizza base and Tomato sauce.

Best regards,

Natala Ramsay | Administrator & Reservations Assistant Covent Garden Restaurants email: reception@cgrestaurants.com (reception@cgrestaurants.com)

[flying plum]

nice to know another place i can be sure the pizza i'm eating is ok :)

amanda

[Dr Phibes]

Hi all

Recent visit to London now behind me I thought I'd share a few things, if you don't mind...

Despite the lack of response to my post asking for a vegan curry, I managed to find Rani's in Long Lane N3. I have to say I was impressed. Food's excellent, service friendly and most important for those on a budget, you might actually find yourself leaving with some change still in your wallet. Lack of vegan sweet things was a bit of a disappointment though...

Nice food, nice atmosphere and vegan sweet things were on offer at Manna in Primrose Hill but it was VERY expensive. We paid nearly £45 for two main's and one sweet (plus drinks). Lovely food but WAY out of my league!

The Peking Palace on Holloway Road N19 was, IMHO, the best of the bunch. Food was lip-smack-tastically good, the service impeccable and the price just right. If they could make a little more effort on the vegan sweet things, the place would be perfect. Definitely down for a revisit!

Eat & 2 Veg on Marylebone High St was also excellent, if a little pricey. However we ate there on a budget and still came away with enough for a tube ride home so wasn't too bad. Reminded me of Happy Days for some reason, quite American-themed... Worth a visit!

Maoz on Old Crompton Street gave my partner 2 days of painful stomach ache I'm afraid so I'm unable to recommend that one even though I was unaffected.

Worth a mention though on the falafel front is Falafel Queen on Camden Lock. Cheap, tasty and nutritious. Friendly service too. Grrreat!

And that's all we managed to squeeze in. Hope it's of help to anyone visiting the smoke or anyone living there already who is stuck for something to try.

Regards
Phibes

[Marrers]

I went to Greens and Beans yesterday at about 5pm so the cafe part was shut. They had two vegan cakes. I got the clementine cake to take away and had it today - one of the best cakes I've had in a while!

I went back to get some more clementine cake today and guess what - I was told a mistake had been made with the cake and it wasn't vegan after all, it contained egg. :(
The woman was very apologetic and said she had realised her mistake afterwards and was feeling bad about it ever since (just as well she recognised me I suppose).

They will be having other vegan cakes, the person who makes them is on holday at the moment but due back in a few days.

[harpy]

Oh well, at least they came clean about the clementine cake. Not sure every place would, so that inspires confidence if anything. I must give it a try - we always have an Indian meal when we're in Drummond St.

[Marrers]

Despite the lack of response to my post asking for a vegan curry, I managed to find Rani's in Long Lane N3. . . Lack of vegan sweet things was a bit of a disappointment though...

Sorry Dr Phibes. I was going to suggest Drummond Street (nearest Euston / Warren Street stations) as there are several veggie indian restaurants on that road - but since I hadn't actually been to any I couldn't really recommend them as such. I decided to hang back and only post if someone else didn't answer . . . and then I forgot all about the thread! :o

I find the lack of desserts is always a problem at Indian restaurants (and Thai and Chinese places too). I don't know if any on Drummond Street are any better.

[harpy]

Yes, more apologies to Dr Phibes - didn't see your original request. I'm not sure where I'd recommend for an actual curry as most of the ones I go to seem to specialise more in dhosas and things.

Glad to have a favourable report on Rani though. There was a branch in Richmond at one time which was vg - I've not made it up to the surviving one.

[refinnej]

So, my partner's aunt and uncle are coming this weekend to London, and we're to meet them for lunch on Sunday. He says that we should pick someplace "nice". I wasn't sure if that meant fancy-schmancy, but I think he just means someplace with tablecloths, and not too hip or trendy (the relatives are omnivorous Scandinavians in their 70s).

So...any recommendations? I think they'd try a vegetarian place, but it would have to have a quite "familiar" menu, so perhaps a non-veg, but vegan friendly place is better. They're staying in West End, so something in that area would be great, but not essential.

I just really want to take them to 222VV and say "try it, you'll like it", but maybe that's not such a good plan. :)

[harpy]

Tas (the Turkish place with several branches round Waterloo) is often suggested for mixed vegan/omnivorous parties. I think they have tablecloths, but would Turkish food be acceptable?

I was going to suggest The Gate (in Hammersmith, although I think they have a branch in somewhere like Belsize Park). That's an upmarket and stylish (but not outrageously expensive) vegetarian restaurant. Not sure if they would find the menu familiar though, and I can't remember whether they have tablecloths or are open for Sunday lunch.

The Lanesborough hotel is v posh and has a separate vegetarian menu - might cost an arm and a leg though and I can't recommend it on the basis of personal experience (the only time I ever went there was ages ago for a press lunch where they tried to give me fish, but I don't think that reflects on the main restaurant as business dos are often catered separately).

[Marrers]

I was going to suggest The Gate (in Hammersmith, although I think they have a branch in somewhere like Belsize Park).

I'm fairly certain the other branch is closed now.

Oxo Tower Brasserie has a seperate vegan menu which you can download from the website. I was impressed with the views but not the food options for vegans (check out my review on previous page).

I've not been to Eat and Two Veg but people say it is good for omnis (though a diner type atmosphere).

Now your post has been moved to this thread refinnej you might want to have a look through it to see if anywhere mentioned grabs you! If you see a few places you think you might like it is worth asking us for additional comments which might help you make a choice!

[VeganLiz]

I went to eat and two veg once with some old friends. It was a really nice atmosphere and the food was good including some options for vegans

Liz

[harpy]

I'm fairly certain the other branch is closed now.

Damn! Should have gone a bit sooner.

Eat and Two Veg has quite a lot of fake meat dishes which gives the menu a familiar look but which I imagine would elicit a mixed reaction from some omnivores - they do have other vegetarian food as well though. No tablecloths though, sadly :D

[refinnej]

Thanks for the suggestions.

ftr...I DID read this thread, but since I was looking not just for something vegan, but with other qualifications, I made my own thread. (grr)

The Oxo Brasserie actually looks quite nice..it's the leading contender in my book so far. :up:

[aubergine]

I quite liked The Gate when we went. It was nice to eat some Vegan food that seemed like it had a good amount of planning and presentation involved, and not just made as a meat replacement.

That said they forgot part of our order, but it was very busy.

[flying plum]

i've always wanted to try there, their menu online always looks sooooo tasty!

amanda

[Dr Phibes]

Hello all

Firstly, refinnej - why not try the Peking Palace on Holloway Road N19? On my recent visit to London this became my favourite of all the restaurants I tried. Even the most picky of eaters would find something to enjoy here...

Marrers/Harpy - thanks for your messages. I had hoped for some pointers before the big visit but managed to find a few pleasant surprises.

Regards
Phibes