Vegan friendly restaurants in UK (outside London)

[gertvegan]

Here is the thread to tell others about the restaurant, cafe, pub etc in the UK that you ate at recently.

I ate at www.cafemaitreya.co.uk in Bristol last week after watching supersizeme. Its a cosy little place, a 15 minute bus trip from town, with a great atmosphere and lovely staff. I've been there several times and never disappointed.

I had wild mushrooms en cocotte with smoked paprika and rosemary crusti folowed by warm salad of crispy nori with marinated pak choi, sprouts, mung beans and toasted cashews with horseradish dressing. Oh and a couple of vegan beers.

[moonbeamzzz]

on world vegan day,lisa and i found ourself eating lunch at shekinashram,dod lane glastonbury.its a spiritual community of vegans(who said they have honey on the premises )who eat lunch at 1.30 every afternoon and if you contact then before noon,they can provide extra meals for 6 quid.we were led to a table that was decorated with many,mant serving dishes full to the brim with the most beutiful raw vegan food imaginable,the food is served buffet style.lisa and i had never tasted such an extensive selection of raw food and it was all mind bogglingly yummy!it included some over the top yummy pates served with crackers that had been made in a"dehydtrater",and the salad dressings tasted like they had come straight from heaven!i must make a point of emailing them about the honey thing as it is nonsensical the meal was a double celebration as it was also our 2nd anniversary with sincere love from ruthie.xxx.

[Gorilla]

wow, that sounds great Ruthie, i don't think i've ever seen a raw cafe/restaurant before. does anybody know of any more in the UK?

p.s. congrats on your anniversary!

[gertvegan]

HERES a link to where ruthie and lisa stayed.

And HERES a link to the Heartspring raw guest house in Carmarthen, S.Wales.

Both were found on www.shazzie.com

[cedarblue]

HERES a link to where ruthie and lisa stayed.

i notice they have a raw food weekend planned for next april!

[PinkFluffyCloud]

A couple of times a week I eat food from The Harvest Moon Cafe, Holyhead.
(Totally Vegan).

[tails4wagging]

restaurant in our city had a full vegan menu with at least a dozen choices!.
The waitress heard me say that you can get a vegan parmesan called parmessano and she asked where from so they can get it in!!. I had mushroom stroginoff made with soya cream/soyamilk.
Even pudding was a vegan choice of apple and banana fritters made from tempora with soya cream.

I told them I was impressed and suggested to them one step further to offer vegan wine.

I think I will book this place for our Christmas bash with my vegan friends.

[Mystic]

Thats great to hear. I hate going to restaurants when they don't understand the concept of vegan (i.e: chicken stock, fish, egg, cheese etc...). I hope this means that the knowledge base is widening and it is fantastic that they took that parmesan thing on board. I love being taken seriously

[Artichoke47]

You're making me jealous!

I'm glad you found a great place!

[Roxy]

Wow! That Italian Restaurant is VERY impressive! You've very lucky to have that place near you

[tails4wagging]

Yes, The restaurant struggles I think to get custom, so they maybe trying to entice a broader clientelle.

We , five of us are going to book out Christmas bash there.

[Gorilla]

that's brilliant tails, hope you have great time at your Christmas do

[tails4wagging]

I think it is D'Pasquili (spelling!) above the Woolwich building society in Lincoln city centre. Near the stonebow arch.

This is the one that had about 1 dozen vegan choices. See My previous thread about it.

[cedarblue]

we are going out to a local carvery (uuurrrrgghhh) for husbands works meal out next week. just rang up on the off chance today of checking if the nut roast is suitable. it isnt but the chef is going to do me peppers stuffed with exotic couscous with a vegetable sauce.

i'll have melon cocktail for starters and skip dessert, just have coffee.

well done the feathers pub/restaurant, wadesmill, hertford, herts

[gertvegan]

Theres supposed to be a new veggie restaurant that's opened in Barry, called Austins. With an abundance of vegan options.

Austins Vegetarian Restaurant, 40, Broad St, Barry, 01446748888.

Use it or loose it. Vegan times are changing.

[gertvegan]

If anyone remembers the old "supernatural" cafe in newcastle upon tyne, you may wish to know that a health food store (almonds and raisins) has taken over the premises and now serve vegan food in a small cafe. Its on the upper level, princess square, near the central library, off northumberland street. The menu appears to be almost totally vegan, wih some veggie desserts. It gets very busy at lunchtimes, unfortunately only open during the day. The menu varies daily. Take away is available too.

Taking over the world.

[tails4wagging]

in Lincoln. They have a vegan menu that offers a wide choice of vegan dishes.
A few of us went there last night, lovely grub. Four of us had vegan pancake stuffed with vegetables with a creamy tomato sauce. They even asked us where they can get vegan cheese from. They are hunting for vegan wine as well. It is such a welcoming place we have decided to go there on a monthly basis.
I was told that the day before, a customer came in that was a coeliac and she was so pleased there was a choice suitable for her.
I wish all restaurants were like that.

If you are in Lincoln sometime, the restaurant is called 'pasquali' and it is above the woolwich building society. 'Use it or lose it'.I have recommended it to the vegan society.

[gertvegan]

There is now a fab Vegetarian Cafe in Swansea serving 99% vegan food called The Retreat, 2 Humphrey St, SA1 6BG. We want more vegan customers and vegan volunteers to help out in the cafe and the mind body spirit centre. We have rooms to hire too and the best vegan chocolate fudge brownie in Wales! All welcome. info@TheRetreatCentre.org

[cedarblue]

i went here last night with husband and some friends.

you cant book so its a bit of a bit and miss affair as to whether you can get a table, we got there at 7.15 and only just got in - its very popular.

we all had wonderful food, i had the peshwari curry with rhubarb & orange crumble tart with vegan custard for dessert..mmmmmm

its open from 10am to 10pm. open for snacks, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner if ever youre in cambridge.

found it via the happy cow site.

[Aurora]

I have been there cedarblue. The first time I went there the food was lovely, but the second time I went it was a bit non descript really. I also found that it was a tiny little place and a bit dismal and they tended to put you into a little corner if the main tables were taken.

I think the only reason it is so popular is that it's the only vegan restaurant in Cambridge, which I find amazing as the place is full of students!

My son is in Manchester at UMIST and the amount of vegan restaurants/cafes is wonderful!

Saying that, I live in Essex and well......................let me know if you ever find anywhere that even caters for vegans!

[gertvegan]

Aurora, how far away is the vegetarian place, Cafe Pulse, 80 Leigh Road, Leigh-on-Sea from you ?

[Aurora]

Gert

About an hour. I live near the Suffolk border whereas Leigh on Sea is next to Southend, much closer to London.

Maybe if I am ever in that area I will give the Cafe a go.

[Love]

The best vegan pizza in the solar system can be found in a Merseyside resteraunt called The Place in Aughton,why not give them a tinkle on the telephone and make a booking on 016955 423334

[gertvegan]

From veganvillage.co.uk

New Vegan Cafe and Shop near Doncaster

We are a new vegan cafe and shop in Fishlake, a small village in between Doncaster, Goole and Selby. Organic fruit and veg, wholefoods, organic vegan cafe. Set in lovely countryside on a 4 acre organic smallholding. www.fieldgatecentre.org

[ender]

I don't know if anyones said this one but...

Whale tale cafe in Lancaster is pretty good!

good range of vegan and ethicaly sound food!

also has a health food shop downstairs and an action center downstairs were some Animal Lib stuff goes on! if your in lancaster and need feeding you could do considerably worse than whale tale! Not cheap as far as my student wallet is concerned though!

[Kevster]

Bonjour,

Travelled over to Hull last night with the Leeds veggies and vegans to visit Hitchcocks vegetarian restaurant. They do an evening fixed price vegetarian buffet, of a menu style following the request from the first person to book for that evening (they'll try anything....) last night was Vietnamese, with spring rolls as starters and then a great number of dishes for the main course including rice, noodles, stir fry type dishes, (not too good with the actual names) coconutty dishes, gingerry dishes, and very delicious. You can eat as much as you would like. For dessert there were three vegan puddings of which i tried two (i know i'm a slacker) the tofu cheesecake was not so great. haven't eaten vegan cheesecake b4 so hard to compare with others, but it was kind of weird, with a particularly tart flavour. The chocolate cake was fairly good, a little over baked but very nice, especially with some swedish glace vanilla. I finished off with a scoop of vanilla, raspberry and caramel ice-cream. And was certifiably full. I would definitely go again, but only if i was in or around Hull, it is a long way to travel from Leeds, and there are many closer restaurants i am yet to explore....

Hitchcocks is at 1 Bishop Lane, High St, Hull. The meals are about £12 for three courses and coffee, for extra vegan dishes it's good to let them know in advance.

[Kevster]

It's been a while since i last went out for food (last night) so i've been out again, whilst on a mission to get some second hand curtains from Harrogate... Whilst there i dropped into Wild Ginger:

http://www.veganvillage.co.uk/wildginger/

A lot of the food on offer is of a light lunch style, pitta, dips, sandwiches, with a few specials, and burgers, all the food can be vegan too, and it is all vegetarian. I had ratatouille which was pretty good, i am not the greatest fan of this dish though, and an amazing chocolate brownie to follow. The food was reasonably priced and the people there are very nice, just like Hitchcocks. I'll have to go back that way at some point to try a few different things, they do early evening food on Fridays and Saturdays so that may be an idea...

[Xenakicksass]

Can anyone tell me if there is a Vegan or veggie cafe's or resturant's in whtiby?

Thank's

Xena

[Mozbee]

Hi Xena

I take it you mean Whitby on the Yorkshire coastline? Here are some websites
http://www.iknow-yorkshire.co.uk/yor...ants_catering/

http://www.vegetarianvisitor.co.uk/ntheast.html

http://www.veggieplaces.co.uk/whitby.html

However this is a place family members have visited & enjoyed
http://www.whitbyonline.co.uk/busine...hepherdspurse/

If you fancied a trip to Bridlington, 'Bean There' is good for veg*ns & its organic. http://members.aol.com/sixwheelwrigh...age/beanthere/

Good luck
Mozbee

[Xenakicksass]

lol i keep forgetting there are two whitby's

Thank you for those sugesstion's i'll go and have a wee look now.

Xena

[VeganJohn]

Bonjour,

Travelled over to Hull last night with the Leeds veggies and vegans to visit Hitchcocks vegetarian restaurant. T
Hitchcocks is at 1 Bishop Lane, High St, Hull. The meals are about £12 for three courses and coffee, for extra vegan dishes it's good to let them know in advance.

I have just left Leeds Kevster, I finished my degree last week! There are some great vegan friendly restaurants, Hansas is great as well as Dine China and Little Tokyo. The latter two seem to have some confusion on their menus regarding the definition of vegan. One 'vegan' dish said it had fish flakes in it and at Dine China I was served egg fried rice and prawn crackers on my plate! Luckily this was quickly rectified although it was a little annoying, especially considering it is not a cheap place. Roots and Fruits is good, although I sometimes feel rushed in there and have got the impression that the management want you in and out as quickly as possible. Also, I had a meal there ruined by people smoking.

Wild Ginger is excellent, I went there nearly two years ago now but it was great, the vegan cheeseburger was amazing.

I have never been to Hitchcock's but I have heard some very good reports.

[VeganJohn]

I stayed at a hotel last night quite out the way in Humberside just for the night. The menu had nothing vegan on it (not a surprise) so I enquired whether a vegan dish could be made. The hotel receptionist was very helpful and told me it would not be a problem. The head waitress also turned out to be vegetarian. I had a nice vegan meal, consisting of roast vegetables in a sweet chilli sauce with chipped potatoes. Very pleasant!

It was good for a hotel (quite an inexpensive one at that) to take the trouble to cater for vegans.

Anyone else had any experiences, positive or negative, with hotels in the UK?

[puffin]

I have only stayed in one B&B since becoming vegan and i had toast with just jam on it, it was a little dry to say the least but i was hungry
I have had someone who put themself out for me though. When i went to cornwall on holiday me and my husband were driving around trying to find a takeaway that sold chips that werent cooked in animal fat (not an easy task in cornwall). We stopped at this place in Mullian and i asked the man if he cooked his chips in veg oil seperate from the fish etc, he said no and i was just about to walk out when he said that he had just cleaned his emergancy fryer out and if i was willing to wait for 15 minutes he would fill it with veg oil and cook me soom chips. What a sweetheart

[Cherry]

My Uncle took me to his favourite restaurant for my birthday this year (The Highland Drove in Great Salkeld, for any Cumbrians out there). It is famous for its meat dishes, so I was a little sceptical, but when I got there the chef had hand written a little menu especially for me with a choice (yes, a choice!) of 3 starters and 3 main courses. He also indicated which things on the main menu could be made vegan.

[Geoff]

I had a nice vegan meal, consisting of roast vegetables in a sweet chilli sauce with chipped potatoes. Very pleasant!

That sure beats a 'fishy on a little dishy'

[tails4wagging]

Our local italian rest, has a vegan menu, the last time we were there we took in the tofutti melting mozzerella cheese which is vegan and they melted it over a pizza for us.

[Kevster]

Travelled over to Ogden reservoir near Halifax, to the new veggie/vegan place called Pharoh's. Went for a walk, (fortunately before the buffet lunch) around the reservoir and surrounding woodland, good views and some lovely wind turbines up on the hills. There was French onion soup which was o.k and cold bean soup which was very good for starters, and then a curry/ratatouille/salad/rice/stuffed pepper/portobello mushroom/ style main course, all of which was very pleasant food. Then chocolate cake and fruit salad, with a mixture of swedish glace ice cream. Plus smoothies to follow. Quite a meal i can tell you, and all for a fiver (they're just starting up). All the food on this occasion was vegan. And in the future they're planning to be open Friday/Saturday and Sundays, with a veggie/vegan roast dinner on the Sunday.

PS. I did manage seconds of chocolate cake and ice-cream, in the vanilla, strawberry and chocolate flavours. Confession over. It was very good though.

[Kevster]

A review from todays Guardian:

'Fountain Inn And Boxers Restaurant
Wells

Head chef Julie Pearce normally makes sure there's a good spread of veggie and vegan options available in both the Fountain Inn and Boxers Restaurant. But for National Vegetarian Week, she's produced a meat-free menu to run alongside the usual offerings at this attractive pub/restaurant close to Wells Cathedral. Long-time veggie staples feature strongly like the leek, potato, cheddar and sage pie or vegetable and rocket quiche. But there's also room for ideas from around the world, such as spicy peanut, chilli and rice balls with a sweet chilli relish, tofu and vegetable stir fry and a Thai green vegetable curry. Julie has fully utilised her 12 years of experience at Castle Cary's vegetarian restaurant The Old Bakehouse with some creations full of varieties of colour, taste and texture. And it certainly makes a change from the token veggie afterthought which still lurks at the bottom of too many menus.
John Mitchell

· 1 St Thomas St, Somerset (Tel: 01749-672317)'

http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguide/f...487499,00.html

[tails4wagging]

Gorilla , Seasons has been there a number of years. Used to go there a couple of times when I lived in Sussex. Yes, it is a sweet, cosy, quaint place. Glad it is still there.

Went to out italian rest, yesterday and we have new members join us. I had a local contact details in vegan soc,. mag, and now we have a few more vegans in our group .

[Kumem]

We have an Oriental restaurant in Peterborough, called The Beijing Rendezvous that does a lot of vegan dishes; mainly tofu, seaweed and vegetables.
(Just in case anyone is around this area!)

[Kevster]

I was also on holiday in Devon and can recommend, Cranks near Totnes at the cider pressing place (tho not many vegan cakes, grrr), Willow in Totnes itself, veggie and vegan and much of the food is organic and very tasty. And for a pub, the white hart at Dartington hall, excellent grounds if one needed a place to woo a lady or two.

[Gorilla]

i went on holiday to the Isle of Wight for the weekend with my boyfriend and his family, and wasn't too hopeful about getting much decent vegan food. but i was pleasantly surprised!

the first night we decided to eat at the restaurant in the holiday park we were staying in (which was in Shanklin). they had a lot of veggie options but when i asked if any of it was vegan the guy serving looked blank and had to ask his manager. one of the chefs came out and very helpfully said they didn't have much vegan food but they did do veggie nachos which was suitable. it wasn't great but at least it was a proper meal!

the next day we went to a gorgeous Thai restaurant in Shanklin town centre called the Siam Pearl. for a starter i had a salad with satay sauce. my main course was a delicious veggie stir-fry with jasmine rice, and for pudding i had a Thai fruit salad.

the final day we found a quiet restaurant on Ventnor seafront, although i've forgotten what it was called. again the staff looked blank when asked if anything was vegan, but they managed to sort me out a huge veggie chilli with wild rice which was really nice.

[snaffler]

sounds all good Gorilla, I just can't help grinning when people look at you blank in resturants etc and ask them for anything vegan....I have asked for simple food not to complete triathlon....

Mind most places that cook from scratch can adapt most veggie meals I managed really well in Cornwall earlier this last month although we did loads of our own cooking in the campsite as well.

[gertvegan]

Austins Vegetarian Restaurant

Attention all vegans in the Cardiff area! Visit the excellent veggie restaurant "Austins" in Barry. Always two or more vegan choices on the menu. Vegan beers and wines available too! Very good portions, very friendly staff, well worth a visit.

Austins, 40 Broad St, Barry. Tel 01446 748888

[Stormypagan]

Just thought I would post the some info about the cafe I used to go to when I lived in Hastings, Sussex (but I moved about 5 months ago to Cumbria). It's called "Heaven and Earth" and its a really nice place to chill, look out at the sea, and eat scrumptious vegan goodies like bakewell tart and vegan cake, even icecream <grin> .. they also do a range of tasty vegan main meals and really nice salads :0) And of course a mug of tea with soya milk or a herbal <huge grin>.

I went back to visit folk a few weeks ago, and it's still there, so of course I raided it of all its goodies <well it had to be done hehehe>. But sadly it's not going to be there for much longer due to the woman that owns the building is re-renting it (long story not sure I understand it all). So while you can if you live locally check it out :0)

Anyway, I have found another place up here but yet to visit called "The Source" which is in Carlisle. It's an organic whole food cafe-bar apparently, and does veggie and vegan food and drink. So when I go to the city next I will pop in and let you know :0) Sadly, a lack of vegans up here so far but hey will see what's going down there locally.

Love and light
Xxxx Stormy xxxX

[Kevster]

A vegan friendly restaurant in The Brewers Fayre chain of pubs, i found them pretty helpful, however, at one of these pubs, there was just one dish suitable for vegans when they'd stripped out the cheese, seasoning and garlic bread. Note some of the dishes are pre-prepared and unalterable.

I wasn't at these places by choice, but they have a list of whether something is vegan/gluten free, unfortunately there aren't many on this list!

[Gary Parsons]

.

[Mr Flibble]

Fear not, brighton has lots of good vegan eateries. I could happily live there

[Kevster]

I've eaten at Prashads in Bradford, v. good food.

'Kaushy's Victory for Women Chefs
-------------------------------------------------
A Bradford chef has been named as the hottest in the country for curries!
Kaushy Patel, 54, of the Prashad Vegetarian Restaurant in Horton Grange Road, has won the UK South Asian Chef 2005 competition.

She scooped the prize of £1,000 and a trip to the Paris Ethnic Food Show after beating off seven competitors in the final - including Mohammed Waheed, of the Nawab Restaurant in Manor Row, Bradford.

The two went head-to-head with six other finalists after being selected from more than 4,500 competition entrants.

Mrs Patel, who cooked eight dishes to wow the judges, attributed her success to confidence and positive thinking. Only two of the eight competitors were female.'

[Pob]

Went to someone's birthday do at Frankie & Benny's in Rochester, Kent.

It's an American Italian kind of place.

They don't have anything vegan on the menu - the one likely candidate had wine listed as being part of the sauce.

What was good was that I asked the waitress if that meal was vegan and she said that the wine came in the sauce and they didn't know if it was vegan. Wow, it's very rare for non-vegans to know about the wine problem (I hadn't mentioned it to her).

Anyhow, I ended up with a plain jacket potato, some grilled veggies (aubergine, mushroom, peppers) with a pasta sauce over and a salad. Not the most inspiring, maybe, but the waitress knew her stuff and the chef came up with the grilled vegetables.

For dessert I had a bowl of fruit (strawberries, orange, banana). A different waitress sorted this one for me - she spoke to the chef to see if any desserts on the menu were vegan (none were).

So was pleased that they were happy to prepare off-menu food, and the knowledgeable waitress was good.

Not sure the price of the meal - probably around 10-12 pound.