Vegan London, part 1

[Cattmogg]

Hey, thanks

[alisont]

AlisonT (aka vegan travel agent) at your service lol:D I usually book Travelodge for London if I can get £15 or £26 rooms

I did post that travelstay do cheap London hostels/uni halls/hotels from £13 a night in dorms.

And if its over summer then most London unis offer cheap rooms around £30 a night.

PM me if i can help - i have a London tourist board budget accomodation guide!

[Marrers]

alisont - our hero! :cool:

[alisont]

Thanks:o:)

Travelodge are not the most ethical of companies i guess but rooms are cheap and cheerful and clean, fine for a base.

One good thing is they dont put loads of cheap tested on products in the bathroom - just a slither of wrapped soap i always leave.

I find they are the best in central London for cheap accomodation, if there longer Id look at the uni halls over summer as you get access to a kitchen.

[Cattmogg]

Alisont, you are a star. XXX :D:D

[Marrers]

Really - it would be. I was thinking I ought to go [to The Lanesborough] seeing I keep mentioning it, but I'd much rather hear about it from Marrers first.

Okay guys, I have booked to go there on Saturday night for my birthday. I will let you know how it goes. They have been very helpful so far and are presently trying to track down some vegan wine on a few days notice!

[bryzee86]

ooh fantastic. always the star, Marrers, thanks. The Lanesborough seem like a good option then - willing to go that extra mile to make you part with your cash! good on 'em!

[Marrers]

I prefer to think they are going that extra mile to feed my alcohol addiction - it's very important!! (I haven't told them I can drink some champanges because gawd knows what they charge for that! But if the worst comes to the worst . . . :D)

[littlemiss]

Hello, just wondering can anyone tell me if mildreds is opens sundays? I have a feeling not but on the website the info ends short of the page so I can read it all :confused:. I'd like to go there after the vegan fest this month, have been lots of other places, never been mildreds:(
Thanx. Maria

[alisont]

Anyone know of good places for vegan breakfasts in London? Will be in the area of Covent garden and Euston.....

Also where are good places for vegan cake:) I know Beatroot does cake but bet theres other good places in town?

Have to make sure i dont miss good food ops next week when im in town:)

[Marrers]

Don't know about breakfast but Ray's Jazz Cafe in Foyles (Charing Cross Road, nr Tottenham Court Road tube) do vegan cake - including a nice chocolate one.
Vita Organic also do cake but it is generally a bit more 'wholesome'!

[alisont]

Thanks I will try the cafe as near to there, i tried vita organics very over priced cake once - told them i was intollerant to cashews but they served me cake at £5 with cashews in :eek: so felt ill all day after that and its put me off there!

I know Greens n Beans do vegan porridge, the just falafel place in cov garden says it does breakfast but listed honey in the porridge - have emailed them.

Am sure i can find a juice bar - but a place that sells vegan breccy with scrambled tofu would be wonderful:confused:

[Marrers]

The meal at The Conservatory at The Lanesborough was very nice indeed and very posh I thought. It is the sort of place where there are a million waiters but they are attentive rather than fussing too much around you. They refill your wine glass after three sips (they keep the bottles rather than leaving them at your table) and one refolded the napkin left in a ball when my o/h popped to the loo!

I found the poshness of it all a little bit intimidating at first but I was okay by the end of it. There was live music - first a pianist, then a band, but this might not always be the case. The tables are nicely situated so you are not close to other diners and it was very romantic! I was sat on a chair which was a bit like a throne!

The food was really nice, great combinations of flavours. Not huge portions but sufficient - I was glad not to feel like a beached whale afterwards! They gave me sundried tomato spread for me to have with my bread.

I'd asked for a mid priced dry white wine and their Head Sommelier (wine steward) served us Waterford Cardonnay which he had checked how it was filtered with the importers. It is one of the wines they normally keep so no need to order in advance unless you want a different type of wine. You may be able to get a cheaper one than mine (£38)
They had soya milk for the coffee too.

It is expensive - £49 each for a three course meal, plus drinks - but I would definitely go back and be happy to eat the same meal there several times. I would hope however that if I keep going they will add a few more options to their repertoire!

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b167/marrers/P1070564.jpg
I had my own specially printed out menu!

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b167/marrers/P1070494.jpg
Asparagas and artichoke salad with orange and truffle dressing

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b167/marrers/P1070496.jpg
Black bean cake with roasted vegetables

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b167/marrers/P1070500.jpg
Strawberry with rhubarb compote

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b167/marrers/P1070501.jpg
Nougatine and mango Millefeuille

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b167/marrers/P1070563.jpg
The bill! :eek:

[Marrers]

If you want to book for The Lanesborough it is best to go through Kate Ruddick as I did. They need at least a few days notice if you want a vegan starter and dessert but not if you want the Thai Green Vegetable Curry which on the menu and happens to be vegan (though I'm not sure how often the menu changes).

Here is a picture of me on my 'throne'!
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b167/marrers/P1070497.jpg

[harpy]

Thank you for the great report, Marrers. The food does look very glamorously-presented, as do you :D

I'm not too keen on waiter-intensive experiences but it sounds as if it is probably a good place for us to keep recommending to people who want a celebration meal? - as long as they do the advance booking thing, that is.

[Marrers]

I don't like over fussy waiters either - maybe I would better describe it by saying there are a lot of them floating around in the background but they are attentive rather than fussing around you. I will amend that in my review as it would put me off going if I read that - but in fact I didn't find them too intrusive (except that I prefer to finish my white wine rather than have it topped up because I prefer my wine to be as cold as possible - I'll be braver and tell them that next time).

[BlackCats]

It all looks so posh! but lovely though.
Were you full up after food?
Sometimes if you leave a gap between courses you actually feel full even if portions are not as big as usual.

[Agatha]

I took my mum to tea at the Ritz last week for her nirthday last week. I booked three months in advance as you have to and made sure they understood what vegan meant. When i arrived i checked they had forgotten. I had cucumber sandwich - literally white bread and cucumber, and something I sincerely hope was hummous and cress in tomato bread and some raw tomatoes (yuck!) and black tea. Whereas my omni mum had a choice of about 8 different sandwiches, choice of 8 different cream fancy cakes, scone with clotted cream and jam and milk for her tea! I was really quite annoyed they couldn't even get some soya milk in when they had three months notice so really not recommended.

[Gorilla]

glad you had a good time, Marrers :)

sorry the Ritz didn't live up to expectations, Agatha - you'd think they could do better than that! :rolleyes:

[Hemlock]

Crikey Marrers that actually looks like proper food not the filth that normally serves as vegan food in restaurants:eek:I'd willingly pay £49 for a decent meal.

[Troutina]

I went to the tai buffet in Camden and they deffo had no meat, yay!

[Holly78]

I am going to London this weekend to see The Sound of Music on Saturday night (very excited!) with some friends and would love a really good recommendation for dinner. There are six of us going - two are meat eaters and rest veggie or fish eaters (apart from me obviously) and I would really like it to be somewhere extra good to show off how tasty vegan food is...

I have been to Mildreds before and love it there (but I understand that you can't book which does worry me about us definitely getting in) and my one veggie friend has been to Eat and Two Veg but that is the extent of our collective knowledge! It doesn't have to be a really cheap place but it does need to sell alcohol! :D Also the Sound of Music is at the London Palladium so somewhere near there would be ideal.

Many thanks!

[alisont]

Im just back from London my fave places are Mildreds - you cant book you just have to wait for a table:rolleyes: but foods great there:) you can have a drink at the bar whilst you wait? i was there yesterday and was told 7-9pm Fri/Sats the busy time so if you could go before or after it might not be too bad a wait?
222 is wow food but its out of the way in an area of Kensington:confused:

There are good Indian vegetarian places, id be tempted to taxi/tube it over to 222 as its so nice there....

Ive got the London veggie guide id thats of help? or happy cow has good reviews or the London vegan groups website has reviews on - not got that to hand at the mo.....

[harpy]

Eat and Two Veg is reasonably near to the London Palladium, isn't it? It's not my absolute favourite but someone told me their omnivore friends like it - you might need to steer them away from the fake meat dishes though!

I can't think of anywhere else round there (apart from Mildred's) that is both 100% vegetarian and licensed. If you went up to Euston there are the veggie Indian places in Drummond Street (Ravi Shankar is licensed) but it's a bit of a hike. Another licensed veggie Indian is Woodlands in Panton St - there used to be another branch in Marylebone but I'm not sure if it's still there.

[Marrers]

I haven't been myself but what about this place? Kiran wrote such a thorough review a few months back so I've quoted it.

Do we know if they know what on their alcohol menu is vegan Kiran and RJ?


Me and Miss. RachelJune dined at the Mantras in Soho, London. Its a small cosy restaurant on Dean Street. The restaurant boasts of a versatile menu. Although the menu lists some traditional Indian dishes, this place is also known for recipies that are a blend of east and west. The dishes are creative and fully vegetarian.

If you are going to Mantras, opt for the basement (non-smoking). The athmosphere is relaxed with decent decors. A perfect setting for a private party or a romantic evening under dim lights. The basement area is not open until 5. But the staff were very cooperative and granted our request to be seated in the basement at 2.30 PM.

So what did we have? Its got to be heavy with Rachel and myself being fond of eating huge portions and that too quickly. For starters it was 2 mixed bhajias platter, 1 set of samosas. The main course was Chappatis, Allo/Palak Curry, Okra Curry, Jeera Rice.

Website : http://www.mantrasoho.com/

Fully satisfied with service, quality of food and ambience. :) We have decided to go back again when we are in London.