Vegan London, part 1

[Marrers]

I think the prices are within the average.

[harpy]

I think they probably are for Central London unfortunately.

Wish they would take reservations though - in their previous incarnation you could wait in the pub opposite and they came and got you when they had a table. Them were the days.

[Mr Flibble]

I've only been to Mildreds the once, but the price and food was OK (I've eaten a lot worse for a lot more), but service appalling (it's not often I refuse to pay the service charge). I should go back at some point but I'm not in a mad rush.

[Troutina]

I went to the Riverside Vegeteria, Kingston this week for dinner-
it gets better and better everytime I go there!
Had a gorgeous potato, spinach and cashew nut curry, it came with rice and a salad. I started with potato balls with chilli dip, and dessert was chocolate fudge cake with warm chocolate sauce. MMM!!!
Sooooo good.

[RedWellies]

Ooooh, I'd like to have that dessert...right now!!

[Marrers]

Sasa, one of my favourite chinese buffet places (the one I'm always suggesting people try) has started serving meat. :mad:

I think it is now called Sa Tai. (It's one of the places on Greek Street. The other two still appear to be veggie.)

When I visited a couple of weeks back it was closed for a refit. Today they told me the owner had been losing money for ages and had decided to serve meat as well. They tried to convince me that they had seperate areas for things but the meat dishes were on one side of the bain marie and the vegan stuff on the other side so it is highly likely there will be drips and cross contamination by the meat eaters who would not see the need to be careful.

I said I would not be eating there any more. I hope they do even worse financially now.

[Cattmogg]

Hey you lot, taking a group of strudents to London, where do you rekon i could take them for food..its got to be cheap!!:D

[absentmindedfan]

Maoz falafel bar

[Gorilla]

Sasa, one of my favourite chinese buffet places (the one I'm always suggesting people try) has started serving meat. :mad:
that sucks. :( i wouldn't eat in a buffet place that served meat, it's bad enough in any restaurant, but there's a much greater chance of getting a lump of meat in your food at a buffet imo. good thing you told them you won't be going back.

[swimmy]

I hope this is the right place to post it, I just started reading your forum and I am already jelous of how great it must be being a vegan in the UK!!! Normaly I stick to the swiss/german vegan forums...but I need your help.


I am looking for a posh, nice restaurant that serves vegan food in London. t is for a very special occasion :D Can you recomend anything? I have been to the mana a year ago. It was really nice, but a bit loud and not very romantic.... Is there anything better?

[harpy]

Hello swimmy. In my experience there's a bit of a shortage of vegetarian restaurants that are romantic - were you thinking of a vegetarian one or an omnivorous one that serves vegan food?

I always recommend The Gate in Hammersmith, a vegetarian one that is reasonably vegan-friendly, but I'd say it's smart rather than romantic. The Lanesborough Hotel has an upmarket omnivorous restaurant with a vegetarian menu, but I don't know what the atmosphere is like.

Further back in this thread Marrers was discussing the OXO tower I think - you can probably find those messages by using "search" and looking for specific messages rather than a thread.

[swimmy]

I would prefer a vegetarian one actually, but if somebody knows the perfect omnivorous restaurant that serves a good selection of vegan food, why not? Well it depends, maybe not a steack hosue, but being swiss were vegetarian restaurants are very very rare, I am used to eating a normal restaurants.

[harpy]

Have just read here http://www.londontown.com/London/Romantic_Restaurants/
that someone thinks the courtyard at The Gate is romantic, and I suppose it is quite, although obviously not if it's pouring with rain. I think in the past we've been able to book a table out there with the option to move inside if necessary.

[Marrers]

Are you here already Swimmy? I recall ages ago you saying you were planning a trip!

The weather is very unpredictable with frequent very heavy showers so you can't be sure you would be able to sit out anywhere. I was at The Gate on Tuesday and assessed the interior for 'romance' for you. I would say it is not really very romantic at all (although sitting in the courtyard is). Inside has a really high ceiling with a huge warehouse style window on one side which also covers part of the roof. With the light evenings it is very bright and airy. It is also quite busy and can be fairly noisy (on Tuesday it was as noisy as Mildreds and that was at 6pm).

Hopefully you've read my comments on The Oxo Tower Brasserie a few pages back. I'd say the vegan food was disappointing when I went but the views are great and it's very glamourous around there these days, blue and white fairy lights in all the trees along the Thames and with a walk along there it is a lovely night out, esp for visitors to the capital. (You can check out the vegan menu online to see if it sounds okay to you but ring to make sure they aren't changing to a different menu on the night you are going.)

As a general comment on The Gate I hadn't been for a while and on this visit I was quite unimpressed with the decor and the menus (which appeared to be printouts or photocopies glued onto cardboard).
Not really giving off the smart vibe that I remembered it for, or living up to its 'posh-ish' reputation. Although the food was lovely I'd say Mana would be a better choice for a smart meal these days - what do other people think?

[harpy]

Alarmed to hear the Gate has gone downhill. Don't know about Manna - the last time I went there was ages ago and the service was so appalling that I haven't been back, though to be fair it may have been because we were in a big group.

Has anyone actually been to the Lanesborough? It sounds romantic (conservatory, fountains etc)

http://toptable.co.uk/venues/restaurants/?id=134

I suppose I should go myself in the interests of research :D but it sounds rather expensive.

[Marrers]

I'm interested to know about The Lanesborough too. I have just sent them an email so will let you know what they say.

[aubergine]

Tried to go to Zionly Manna in Brixton today. It was shut. Ah well :(

[Marrers]

:(

Did it look closed down? What time did you go?

[Marrers]

Thank you for your interest in having a dinner with us at The Lanesborough.

Regarding our vegan menu, we can accommodate a vegan diet. On our A la Carte menu we have our Thai Curry ( Main course ) which is made with coconut milk and is vegan friendly. Unfortunately on our A la Carte menu we do not have a starter or dessert that is suitable for vegans.

We can offer alternative options but these have to be ordered in advance.

Starter
Asparagus and artichoke salad with orange and truffle dressing.

Main course
black bean cake with roasted vegetables

Dessert
nougatine and mango Millefeuille

Please let me know what you think and if you have any further enquiries please do not hesitate to contact me

Kind regards

Kate Ruddick
Food & Beverage Coordinator
The Lanesborough
Telephone: 020 7259 5599
Facsimile: 020 7259 5606
E-mail: kruddick@lanesborough.com
Website: http://www.lanesborough.com


Dear Sir / Madam,

I am writing to enquire whether The Lanesborough is able to cater for vegans. I have heard in the past that you are able to cater for vegans without prior notice and may even have a separate vegan menu.

Can you tell me what the current situation is with regard to catering for vegan diners? If you are able to cater for vegans do you require notice? Are vegan options available at all mealtimes, including afternoon tea?

I would also like to know whether you have vegan wines on your wine menu.

Looking forward to your reply and to dining at The Lanesborough soon.


I found it disappointing that you have to arrange it in advance. Still I suppose at least they are not suggesting fruit salad for dessert.
And no comment about the wines. I may have to follow up with another email.

[aubergine]

:(

Did it look closed down? What time did you go?

We were there around 2pm. It looked like it hadn't been open in a while. I'm going to try and contact them next week.

[harpy]

I found it disappointing that you have to arrange it in advance. Still I suppose at least they are not suggesting fruit salad for dessert.
And no comment about the wines. I may have to follow up with another email.

Thanks, Marrers. They don't exactly seem to be offering a wide choice, or are those just examples of what they will make with prior agreement, do you think?

[emzy1985]

Me and my friend are going to see Metallica at the new Wembley stadium tomorrow night. Hoping to catch some lunch before we go in the gates for several hours. Are there any good vegan/veggie cafes around?

[aubergine]

You could meet some of us in St James' park for a picnic, or otherwise there's some great places in Soho.

[Marrers]

I'm going to try and contact [Zionly Manna] next week.
Good luck with that - we weren't able to contact them at all when we were planning to go so we went to the Crystal Palace place instead.


[The Lanesborough] don't exactly seem to be offering a wide choice, or are those just examples of what they will make with prior agreement, do you think?
I think I'm going to book to go there in a few weeks so I can see what kind of choice they offer and what the wine situation is. I'd hope to get a choice of several dishes but we shall see! (I do hate having to decide what I want to eat in advance.)

[gogs67]

Maoz falafel bar
Haha,was so glad when they opened up in London and not just Amsterdam!http://84.234.17.160/images/smilies/thumbupyellow.gif