Any requests from the rainbow bakery? :)
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Any requests from the rainbow bakery? :)
Cake ;)
I am not in any position to be fussy.
What a shame, I really like Mrs Marengo's any idea why they closed? They always seemed to be really busy.
I've found the last few times I've been to Mildred's the staff have been much better. I gave up on them a couple of years ago as the staff where awful and the food variable.
Folks! I am taking cakes with TODAY that I will give away free to anyone who sends me a private message before 9am today and can get to the Animal Aid before noon! Flavours are Jaffa Cupcake, Vanilla Choc Chip and Blueberry & Banana. Get in there people!
I did eventually make it to the AA fair but not until mid-afternoon - sorry to miss rainbow (and her cakes) and any of the rest of you were there. Hope you all had a good time.
When I eventually did get there it seemed pretty busy though not quite as packed as on some previous occasions I thought - though perhaps it was more spread out than usual as OH said there was an upstairs bit (which I missed)? Anyway all my friends and relations will be getting vegan chocs for Christmas. Hope the charities etc involved are satisfied with their haul.
I went to Vantra for lunch yesterday with an omnivorous friend and we quite liked it. I read that they had improved on an initially slightly confusing system of serving plates and bowls since it first opened - anyway it seemed quite straightforward the way we did it, we paid a flat rate and got a dinner-plate type plate on to which you could shovel food, plus a soup bowl into which you shovelled soup. http://www.vantra.co.uk/menu/
Sadly I wasn't all that hungry but everything I tried was nice - mostly curry type dishes and salads, and we also shared a raw cheesecake type thing.
I don't think the food is quite as interestingly flavoured as Tibits but I will have to check again when I'm feeling hungrier. At Vantra the food is all vegan, which is great. It serves booze but we didn't have any - does anyone know whether that's vegan too?
I went to Vantra when it was quite new - I was on my own in London so it was the perfect spot to sit down and enjoy the food. (without feeling awkward if that makes any sense) The serving system was confusing so I explained to them I was in London enjoying the vegan food so told them to serve me a bit of everything!!! I had a lot of food that day! They told me everything in the store, including themselves (!), were vegan so I assume that their drinks are too. I might pop by next weekend when I will be on my 1st vegan trip of the year! I cannot wait to be in London!!!!!
I have been enjoying Tibits recently. Their salads have always been amazing but they've seriously raised their game in the dessert department too. Alongside the less exciting (IMHO) options of muesli and crumble, they now have a mousse/ cream thing that varies in flavour (mango; blackberry, which was particularly awesome; chocolate and coconut etc) and is always delicious. And the last two times I have been there, they had sticky toffee pudding! Vegan sticky toffee pudding! It was absolutely delicious and this cake fiend highly recommends. Mmmmm.
That's good news about the Tibits desserts rainbow - it used to be a bit of a weak spot although there was always plenty for vegans to eat otherwise.
Victoriangirl, I made a return visit to Vantra and they confirmed that the booze was vegan - so it must be :) It's good you're coming over but bring warm clothes, brrr. Unfortunately I'm not around much next weekend, otherwise I'd suggest we hit Vantra at the same time.
I'd love to! When is it? Sorry I've been a stranger, work has been mental. On the plus side, my employer appears to be pretty happy with me right now. :) But would really like to make it to Vegan Drinks! (And I should make you one of my black forest gateaux one of these days...)
:lol:
Haha, ok......
My first trip to Mildred's will probably be my last. I went with a friend to meet up with another friend. It was her idea to meet at Mildred's. The whole time I was there I was so agitated as it was not my idea of a restaurant where you can relax, enjoy your meal and have a chat. It was extremely noisy, overcrowded as the tables were too close and the menu had limited vegan options. I couldn't concentrate on my companions' conversations. The guy who served us was friendly enough but our dishes took ages to come. I ordered a vegan cheese cake for dessert. It came in a small portion on a massive plate which I thought was hilarious. Would I go to Mildred's again? Not unless every single vegan restaurant in London has closed down and I am starving. I might have been there on the wrong day at the wrong time. Meaning at lunchtime on a weekday but that was some experience.
Begreendee, I must say I find everywhere in London really noisy and overcrowded when I go out to eat. I usually prefer to meet up with friends at a restaurant because bars are so noisy. Then you get to a restaurant and you are shouting at the top of your voice to talk to the person next to you. I'm sure it's got worse over the last few years.
If you are willing to wander a bit further away from the city centre, one place that does not suffer from noise and over-crowding is Rani Indian Restaurant in Finchley. All the food is vegetarian and most of it is vegan, and the quality is second to none. They do an outstanding buffet as well as an a la carte service. We live on the opposite side of London but try to go there at least a couple of times a year because it is worth the effort. Gujarati cuisine at its finest.
I must try Rani - there used to be a Gujerati place near here and it was realy nice, but packed up unfortunately.
I have had some nice meals in Mildreds but it does seem to get very crowded these days. Surprising that they couldn't keep their offshoot going in the circs. Vantra hasn't been all that crowded the couple of times I've been though one was near to closing time admittedly.
I tend to stick to totally vegan restaurants if possible. I get more choice and I also feel safer that there won't be any mix ups. There are 3 Loving Huts in and around London so I tend to go there as I love Chinese food. Loving Hut also do great burgers and fish and chips if your are into that kind of food. I tend to take my meat eating friends there and they love it. If you like western vegan then 222 in NW London is excellent. The owner is African. He makes some lovely dishes. It is quiet and friendly. My type of restaurant.
I agree with Mymblesdaughter, restaurants in central London tend to be too noisy where you have to shout to get heard. You come away with a sore throat. I avoid eating in Central London if I can. As I live outside Greater London anyway, I have some great choices.
I second the recommendation for 222 Veggie Vegan - wonderful place. (And less "western vegan" than "east meets west", including dishes with ingredients such as plantain alongside more traditional favourites.)
I would say the acoustics and layout at Mildred's make it one of the noisiest places in London to eat when it is busy. Tibits manages to be large and busy without being so intrusively noisy, although of course it is veggie not totally vegan.
I highly recommend Manna (Chalk Farm tube) which is also 100% vegan. I tend to get the mezze where you pick three starters as your main as the starters are the star for me here. The ravioli is fantastic and can be a starter or a main. Last time I was there they had a light, airy and delicious blood orange cheesecake.
On a separate note I was shocked to see inSpiral cakes are now £3.99 a slice at Wholefoods. For a while it was cheaper to buy their cakes at Wholefoods but now it is cheaper to buy from inSpiral.
Cat and The Cream cupcakes (available at Wholefoods) are now all both vegan and gluten free. Unfortunately this seems to have affected the texture and they are now harder and more dense than the vegan ones used to be. Also the Camden branch are stocking two flavours I haven't seen at Soho branch.
Marrers....You are probably right. I have been in crowded and noisy restaurants before but was never as perturbed. Inspiral, for instance, is rather small and crowded but I felt I could breathe in there.
Manna is excellent, yes. Great choices of good food. The owner is very pleasant and very committed.
Manna is such a nice restaurant; we went there for our anniversary last year and it was perfect. Brilliant food, lovely service and a romantic atmosphere :heart:
Even 222 gets noisy when it's crowded, in my experience - restaurants used to be quieter when they had curtains, carpets, wallpaper and stuff like that to absorb the sound (but those did have their disadvantages too). Must go to Manna again, haven't been since it's been vegan. It seems a long way from here but I know it isn't really :o
Harpy I think you could be right, I wondered if it was lack of things like carpets. We went to a Moroccan restaurant last year in Covent Garden and although it as really big and packed with people it wasn't loud. It was full of carpets wall hangings etc. The fashion now is to have big open spaces with tiles or hard floors which look great but don't absorb any sound.
I just had to mention that I am totally and completely in love with InSpiral's tiramisu! I've never been a huge cake/cookie/dessert eater, but I do like to try interesting vegan desserts at times. I was in Inspiral last Friday so I had to try the tiramisu there and I am so glad that I did because their tiramisu was simply DIVINE! The best tiramisu I've ever had! I was glad to find it the next day in the Whole Foods in Soho - I went from someone who barely eats desserts to someone addicted to the Inspiral Tiramisu!!!!
Sorry that I am posting so late. I was in London for only 2 days and am now back in snowy & much colder Istanbul. My weekend in London was simply amazing - the Awolnation concert I was going to was cancelled but we decided to go see a musical as one should when being touristy in London! We saw 'Crazy for you' on Saturday, had lovely vegan food in Inspiral, Tibbits & Whole Foods, I bought all my vegan goodies (=spreads, nutritional yeast, candies etc.) and had the best time ever!
Can anyone suggestion anywhere similar to Manna? We are looking for a romantic restaurant for our anniversary, but the menu at Manna hasn't really changed since we went last year!
Manna do seasonal and daily specials so it would still be worth a return trip. Most other London restaurants fall down on atmosphere, the inclusion of non-vegan items on their menu or similar. I've only been to 222 veggie vegan for their lunch-time buffet but the ambiance was nice and the evening menu looks amazing (and all vegan) so that might be worth a try? I once went to Plant (the predecessor for 222 veggie vegan with the same chef) for an anniversary dinner and had a great time.
Hi Rainbow, thanks for the response :) I think we probably will return to Manna, we had such a lovely time last year. And you're right, there are specials! Just wondered if there were any restautants that I'd missed. I've been to 222 during the day, but I think we're looking for something a bit more 'restaurantey' for the evening, if that makes sense!?
Saf?
There's the Gate, but the tables are rather close together for romance, and it's not all vegan of course.
I haven't been there recently, but when I have the food has always been nice and quite well presented If you order a "vegan option" dish make sure you emphasise the "vegan" bit.
Haven't been myself yet (was planning to on valentines day, and then...err, yeah. Anyway..), but Vanilla Black is supposed to be pretty special. You do need to pre-warn them that you are vegan though.
Edit: If a hefty bill needs to be avoided, probably best to not head to Vanilla Black :)
Was personally rather disappointed after a recent visit to Manna (my first time), I put it down to a guest chef or something. Will need a re-visit. Have always had excellent food @ Saf, but haven't been for a while.
I've heard that Vanilla Black isn't great for vegans, but haven't been there myself so can't confirm. Valentine's Day is a pile of over-rated twoddle. There are better days ahead! And when they come, give Manna another try - hopefully next time you will get the experience that we have all been raving about.
^ For certainly for sure on all counts :) Will do and Thanks!
(sorry to post intrude Troutina. Good luck and let us know the outcome / review?)
Vanilla Black looks quite nice - money isn't so much of an issue, just rather enjoy food that is worth the bill! Terre a Terre (Brighton) is my favourite restaurant so we're looking for something fairly similar, really. Do you have to pre-order the vegan options? Seems strange for a veggie restaurant not to have a wide variety of vegan options!