Vegan Pub Food

[scoultas]

Hi all - I thought it might be useful to share my experiences with a couple of chain pubs vegan food, with the hope that if anyone has similarly corresponded with other pub chains, they could share their responses/experiences.

I've recently been dining at Wetherspoons pubs, due primarily to their on-line dietary requirements checker, available via the Nutritional Information link at the bottom right of the page :

http://www.jdwetherspoon.co.uk/food/

So far the food has always been (at least visually!) vegan and I've had no complaints.

In an attempt to widen my dining options, I emailed Brewers Fayre - who responded:

Unfortunately, we have no dish this is specifically intended for
vegans.

What we can and do offer is a detailed allergy data list that can
help our customers make a choice of meal that is suitable to
their needs. All of our restaurants will have a copy of this and
it is available on request.

We always suggest that the customer visit the restaurant they
wish to dine at a few days before the visit so that the allergy
data list can be looked through at leisure and to discuss any
requirements they may have with the Manager.

To which I have now responded:

Thanks for your reply regarding my query about which food items you
sell are suitable for vegans.

Regarding your comment 'Unfortunately, we have no dish this is
specifically intended for vegans' - I didn't expect that you would
have a dish specifically intended for vegans - however, I've recently
been eating at Wetherspoons pubs, as they have an on-line dietary
checker which specifies which of their dishes (amongst other various
options) that are suitable for vegans. This is of course incredibly
useful, and I visited your website with a hope that you would have a
similar option available.

They have a vegetable burger and chips meal which is suitable for both
vegetarians and vegans, and this means I can stop at any Wetherspoons
pub with my friends or partner for a drink and food, with no previous
preparation or forethought, with the knowledge that I can eat a meal
suitable for my dietary preferences.

Obviously the idea of having to visit a pub I intend to dine at
several days in advance just to confirm which items might be suitable
for vegans at that pub by requesting the allergy list is far less
compelling - visiting a pub for food tends, unlike a restaurant, to be
more of a spur-of-the-moment decision, and I may be visiting a
restaurant far from my home town, in which case visiting the
restaurant in advance is not possible. Does the fact that you don't
offer this online, even via email, suggest this list changes from pub
to pub?

Thanks - hopefully you'll consider this request when comprising future menus!

Has anyone had any other responses from chain pubs in the UK?

Steve

[flutterby]

For more feedback on Wetherspoons scoultas, see the existing J D Wetherspoon Pubs thread, see http://www.veganforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1352

[harpy]

We always suggest that the customer visit the restaurant they
wish to dine at a few days before the visit so that the allergy
data list can be looked through at leisure and to discuss any
requirements they may have with the Manager

That's barmy - they obviously don't have much idea of how people decide to visit a pub! I haven't contacted any pub chains because I hardly ever go to them but I hope you'll manage to make an impression on them.

[scoultas]

For more feedback on Wetherspoons scoultas, see the existing J D Wetherspoon Pubs thread, see http://www.veganforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1352

Thanks flutterby - makes interesting reading. I've already come to the conclusion that unless the place providing food is run by a vegan, you can never completely guarantee what goes into the food you're eating. Whilst it would always be best to dine at local vegan/vegetarian restaurants, it's hard to know where these are (and they aren't always open for such long opening hours).

On a side-note to this - has anyone produced a list suitable for importing into a SatNav of Vegetarian Restaurants? My SatNav has a list of Wetherspoon pubs, which increases my likelihood of dining there!

It seems to me that Wetherspoons are trying their best, and I don't expect to receive fine dining at a pub - just a relatively cheap and, to the best of my knowledge, vegan option I can eat!

Thanks to others on this web site, I've now stopped drinking Fosters or Stella Artois, both of which I believed to be vegan on the mistaken belief that most lagers were vegan whilst most beers were non-vegan. I've now switched to Strongbow when at a pub, since it's almost always available and at least I can be sure it's vegan! (Weston's for preference though since I believe Strongbow contains artificial sweeteners!).

[Risker]

I decided ages ago that if places can't be bothered to specify which of their products are suitable for vegans then do I really want to trust them to make my food? I decided not.