My Kitchen in Leigh-on-Sea

[harpy]

Am prospecting for places for lunch on Mother's Day and wondered if anyone had been to this one? It seems to have some good reviews on Happycow.

http://www.mykitchen.org.uk/index.html

I did search the forum and couldn't find a mention, but maybe I wasn't doing it right.

[BlackCats]

I haven't been there but I think it used to be called Cafe Pulse (also a veggie restaurant) but I don't know if it has completely different owners now. Leigh-on-Sea is supposed to be a pretty area too so probably it might be a good choice.

[harpy]

Thanks BC - we seem to be booked in there now so I will report back.

It does have new owners according to the write-ups I read. I have got a feeling we may have been to Cafe Pulse once but I can't remember anything about it except that we got stuck in an enormous traffic jam on the way there Better make an early start.

My mother always gets excited if allowed to see the sea so we might give her a sniff as her Mother's Day treat

[BlackCats]

I had completely forgotten about it but I might try it myself.

[Mollfie]

I havn't been but my friend has and says it's lovely. Hope you and your mum have a nice time!

[harpy]

Thank you Mollfie, that's very encouraging. We'll actually have two mums, mine and the OH's. My Kitchen had better watch out

[harpy]

OH and I had a very pleasant lunch in My Kitchen today with both our mothers. I was impressed that the food all looked and tasted freshly prepared. They seemed to have used quite a lot of stuff that could have been local and seasonal, but I didn't check what was.

Had a slight sticky moment near the beginning where I had trouble communicating that I didn't want butter with my (vegan) soup but I think the problem was just with the young chap who was helping with serving - the people who run it do seem to understand what vegan is. They don't actually mark vegan stuff on the menu but told me what the vegan choices were without any hesitation, and there were two or three per course (didn't ask about pudding).

I had this soup which was leek and roots of some kind, can't remember exactly what, and then a chickpea and coriander burger with salad and some sweet potato wedges. Everyone had a starter and main but only my mother-in-law drank alcohol and managed a pudding (which makes her sound a bit greedier than she is!). We all had coffee and the total for four came to about £80 before service which I thought was pretty reasonable for the quality and amount of food.

They were doing a brisk trade, not sure if it was because it was mother's day, but it is probably a good idea to book to be on the safe side. The people who run it are welcoming and it seems to be child-friendly too.

Incidentally Leigh-on-Sea seems quite a nice little town - my mother and I even managed a walk on the beach which was clean and had sand, shells, dogs etc so got her seal of approval.

Thanks again to BC and Mollfie for the encouragement; I would certainly go again.

[Tigerlily]

They have Vegan Cheesecake apparently, http://www.mykitchen.org.uk/menu_2.html! Missed out on that, eh?

[harpy]

I don't think that was on the menu today Tigerlily - probably just as well as I would have exploded if I'd eaten any more.

The bossman was writing the menu on a blackboard as we arrived, suggesting that the stuff is really prepared from scratch and that they vary it according to what's available. That's pretty unusual these days.

[BlackCats]

Sounds good. Thanks for the review.

[harpy]

Wish it were a bit nearer to SW London, though We noticed a station nearby so it shouldn't be too much of an operation to get there without a car.

[Ashlauren]

oh thanks for this thread!
i live right near leigh on sea hooray!

[harpy]

Lucky you! I'd be in there a lot if I lived in the area. Let us know what you think!

[Marrers]

Thanks for the review harpy but you should know by now no review is complete without the low down on the desserts! Even if you can't eat it you must always find out what the options are and report back to us - it's the law!

[harpy]

Sorry, very remiss of me Marrers

I think I decided from looking at the board that the only dessert they had that looked as if it could be vegan was a fruit crumble, which sounds a bit boring, but my m-in-l had it and it actually seemed to be very good. It was an individual one served in something like a coffee cup IIRC. They seem very accommodating there so I expect if you expressed an interest in vegan puds when booking they would make you something nice.

[Gwydion]

Aye, thanks for the report back Harpy! Even though it is lacking a dessert dialysis

Definitely want to try it at some point - might see if I can rope the Antman or somesuch into joining me.

[Ashlauren]

just been there today,
and it was really nice,
it was a big meal because today was sample day,
which meant that you get a little bit of lots of things,
but i thoroughly recomend it.

and btw it is the only vegetarian resturant in essex!

[Gwydion]

and btw it is the only vegetarian resturant in essex!

Not so sure about that to be honest.

For one, there's A Pinch Of Veg (unless it has closed down recently), and a few others around that area.

Sure it's heading towards London, but still Essex as far as I am aware?

[BlackCats]

Gwydion - I was going to ask you about A Pinch of Veg next time I saw you as I have been there a few months back and it was closed and every time I have called up there has been no answer so I wondered if they were still open?

[BlackCats]

Oops double post.

[Gwydion]

Poo, hope not

Would be gutted! Became known as 'the regular', but has been a few months since I last went

[Ashlauren]

oh,
the waitress said it was the only one in essex,
maybe it is now because that one is not open anymore LOL

[Gwydion]

Heh, quite.

[harpy]

Glad you liked it, Ashlauren. Would be sorry to hear about the demise of Pinch of Veg, that was nice too.