Terrazza Italian restaurant in Rugeley
This restaurant isn't vegetarian or vegan, although several dishes on the menu are marked as suitable for vegetarians.
I was meeting a friend for dinner in Rugeley, and came across an old review for this restaurant, which said that they had always produced vegan meals for a couple who used to eat there. So I phoned up, asked if they would be able to veganise anything for me, and booked a table when they said yes.
To be honest, I'd not expected them to remember and was half prepared for there to be nothing I could eat except salad.
Well, I couldn't have been more wrong! When we got there, I mentioned to the guy on the bar that I was vegan and he said, "Oh yes, we've got a note on the booking that you're vegan. I'll just fetch someone over to help."
One of the owners came straight over and spent a good ten minutes chatting through the menu with me. She basically said that all the veg is fresh (and locally sourced I think?) and everything, dressings etc, is all made up by them personally. Nothing pre-made or pre-packed.
She said to pick any dish and they would veganise it using alternative ingredients where needed, or I could pick any ingredients I liked off the menu and they could make them into a fresh dish for me.
So for my starter I had a huge toasted ciabatta roll. One half with fresh minced garlic and baby cherry tomatoes, and the other half with fresh minced garlic and chargrilled sweet peppers. This was delicious, and it was originally down as a mozarella and basil thing on the menu so they basically made it to order for me. I also had a side salad.
Then for main course I picked loads of side dishes, and because I wasn't sure if balsamic vinegar is vegan or not, they made up dressings without it especially for my food.
I had roasted potatoes with garlic and thyme, asparagus baked in olive oil and lemon juice, French beans, a mixture of tomatoes, onions and black olives in an Italian dressing, and spinach. It was all delicious, and really nicely presented. Huge portions too!
The staff were really helpful and friendly, and the owner was just lovely. She went out of her way to make sure I had a nice meal, even taking my order personally and speaking about it with the chef to make sure everything was just right. Nothing was too much trouble. She wasn't 100% clear on what is vegan and what isn't (I had to explain that butter isn't vegan for example) but this wasn't a problem because she was happy to spend time talking through ingredients with me to find out what would be suitable.
So anyone in or near Rugeley, give them a try! I'd call them first, as they don't "officially" cater for vegans, just so they're prepared, but this was my best-ever dining experience in a non-vegan restaurant and I can't think of anything to fault. Absolutely brilliant!
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bobster
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