Vegan Brighton (1)

[Gorilla]

you guys beat me to it, there's not much more i can add, except if you fancy a 100% veggie Indian buffet check out Bombay Aloo in Ship Street. not everything's vegan, but the waiters can always tell you what's ok. it's all you can eat for £4.95 (i think it's £3.95 if you go for lunch).

btw in case you didn't know, if you're going to Vegetarian Shoes with something particular in mind, phone them first to check if it's in stock.

[aubergine]

Thanks for the tip Gorilla. I'm going mainly for sizing. If they haven't go t what I want in stock, then I'm happy to mail order it.

The Indian sounds very good for dinner...

[Troutina]

I went to Dumb Waiter on Tuesday (in Brighton) and had a lovely vegan sausage baguette with salad in for £2.60. They use Linda McCartney sausages, and I had vegan butter in it. They also offer vegan mayo. Very nice cafe, reasonably cheap too. They offer vegan breakfast which is sausage, mushrooms, beans and bubble and squeak. If you want direction just ask! They offer meat, vegetarian and vegi.

[Marrers]

I just found a place that sells one of the US brand ice creams (soy delicious I think). Expensive but oh-my-god! I ate it on a bench, straight out of the tub with a plastic spoon! Bliss!

[Gorilla]

where was that Marrers? i've never seen that anywhere.

[Marrers]

It's a large organic supermarket type place almost opposite The Mad Hatter cafe. (Could it be on a Church Street? I was walking from Churchill Square towards Hove so hopefully you know where I mean.) It sells meat as well as a large range of veggie and vegan stuff, including fresh fruit & veg and convenience foods - I was very impressed.

They only had 3 or 4 flavours and it was over £4 but I justified it as being not that much more that the Starbucks latte I would have had if they hadn't run out of soya milk! (Which, by the way, is a major blood boiler for me - I mean it is long life after all, no need to ever run out of it. I bet they never let themselves run out of cows milk.)

[Gorilla]

aha, you mean Taj in Western Road i've been in there a couple of times but can't stand the huge slabs of meat hanging up at the back of the shop

[Marrers]

Well I didn't even see those, was too busy with eyes on stalks looking for vegan goodies!
The freezer with the ice cream is on the right of the deli counter (facing towards it) and quite near the till so you could dive in and out really quick!

[Troutina]

Infinity Foods cafe (just round the corner from Infinity Foods the healthfood shop) do Vegan Chocolate Chilli Cake!!
Wowza!
And I'm looking forward to trying their Vegan BLT Breakfast food.

[Skajen]

sounds amazing gert

the last time i ate out i went to Trogs in Brighton www.trogsrestaurant.com

it's quite a small restaurant, very warm and atmospheric. the staff are really friendly and helpful.

they're totally veggie and about 50% of the menu was vegan or could be vegan on request. i had some sort of aubergine thing with pesto (can't remember what it was called but it was lovely), followed by brazil nut jambalaya - topped with chillis stuffed with vegan cream cheese for dessert, vegan fruit brulee and vegan Irish coffee - yes it is possible!

all this was washed down with copious amounts of organic vegan beer and cider.

highly recommended if you're ever in Brighton

sadly troggs isn't there anymore. stayed at granville hotel with bf this weekend and troggs was below it, but lady said it'd been closed for 2 years due to lack of custom, was sad. but hey...went to terre a terre instead....mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

[Skajen]

p.s. i think the menu may have changed at terre a terre, there are now 3-4 vegan main choices, not just 1 and 2-3 vegan puddings! xxx

[Gorilla]

Gorilla - is there ever anything like this in Brighton?

strangely there is nothing like this in Brighton (yet), even though Brighton is extremely veggie-friendly, and pretty much every other large town/city in the UK seems to have some sort of vegan/cruelty-free thing these days!

Tarz nice to hear from you, hope to meet you sometime.

[Tarz]

Yep, Brighton would be an ideal place for a vegan festival. Very alternative like Bristol, but odd that there is no such event like this in Brighton.

I hope to meet you too sometime soon Gorilla.

[Mr Flibble]

strangely there is nothing like this in Brighton (yet)

Good idea - make it so

[aubergine]

It'd be another reason to go to Brighton for the day. Like I need any more reasons...

[Gorilla]

i think the main reason why there hasn't been a vegan fayre in Brighton yet is the cost of hiring a decent-sized venue. the costs are similar to those in London but the potential for visitors is much smaller, so i guess the organisations that run other fayres don't think it's feasible.

[aubergine]

It's a shame. Even a small one would be worth the trip.

[Gorilla]

the Viva! Veggie Roadshow in Brighton was small, and i wouldn't have said that was worth travelling for unless you really wanted a whole day out in Brighton as well. they could only afford a tiny little nightclub in which to hold it and there were hardly any stalls there, but it was still packed out because of the free food

[Hemlock]

Gorilla, will you let me know if you hear of any other vegan shows in Brighton as I'm only down the road in sunny Seaford.
I am very pleased today I have found a Beauty without Cruelty outlet in Seaford itself....whoop, whoop!!!!
I can now do all my vegan shopping in my on home town. Except for shoes and clothes but brighton isn't far away!

[Gorilla]

Seaford eh, well i don't know about much happening in Brighton but there's a vegan Christmas party in Lewes next Wednesday (14th Dec) which i'll probably go to, the details are on www.veganvillage.co.uk/notices.htm about a third of the way down. maybe see you there?

[cedarblue]

the Viva! Veggie Roadshow in Brighton was small, and i wouldn't have said that was worth travelling for unless you really wanted a whole day out in Brighton as well. they could only afford a tiny little nightclub in which to hold it and there were hardly any stalls there, but it was still packed out because of the free food

i would have thought brighton could have carried off a really good vegan fest considering the vegan/veggie sympathy down that way?

[Gorilla]

yes, there are a huge number of veggies here but it needs a large enough local group with enough money to organise it, and as far as i know there aren't any. Viva! used to be based in Brighton but had to relocate due to the high rents, Animal Aid aren't far away in Tonbridge but obviously think London is more worthwhile, and i don't know of any local veggie companies with enough money to set up an event like Veggies or Yaoh have done in their respective cities.

[gertvegan]

We are working with Tim from Yaoh (who does the Bristol vegan festival) to bring one to Brighton next year, it may be a little late to get it sorted for next year now, but hopefully in the next 2 years there should be a regular show here.

[aubergine]

Good stuff.

[Hemlock]

Gorilla, have left you a PM and 2 rather unflattering photos of me 2.5 stone heavier than I am now

[Gorilla]

thanks Hemlock

from the local newspaper today:

"Vegetarians: Look away

Organic meatballs and beef joints will be available to eat as part of a nationwide campaign to promote British meat.

The national Farmers' Union (NFU) roadshow will arrive in Brighton tomorrow in New Road, Brighton from 10am.

The 'Proud To Serve British Beef' Campaign will promote produce. A mobile kitchen will offer produce including beef stew and roast topside to taste.

NFU members say British meat is suffering from cheaper imports from South America and will appeal to shoppers to buy locally."

hopefully some passing veggies will give them a piece of their minds! (i'm working and can't get there).

[Gorilla]

Many thanks are due to the organisers of the Vegan Christmas party in Lewes last night. it was a joint effort between the British Divers Marine Life Rescue, East Sussex WRAS Wildlife Rescue, and International Animal Rescue. i didn't know much about these organisations before but now hope to get involved in some way. check out www.bdmlr.org.uk

the party was very well organised, in a nice pub, with a live reggae band. the food was a totally vegan buffet all cooked by the organisers i believe, and was fantastic casserole, pasta, onion bhajis and samosas, cold pilau rice, sausage rolls, spinach and mushroom in filo pastry, salad etc. and not forgetting the chocolate cake and banana cake

shame you couldn't make it Hemlock

[snaffler]

Im Jelous what a crackin night and food

[Skajen]

My boyfriend and I recently stayed at the GRANVILLE HOTEL (few down from Hilton) and it was LOVELY. The staff are really nice and they do huge vegan breakfast with soya milk and butter. You can borrow free DVD's from reception and its really nice inside, our room had a spa bath.

http://www.granvillehotel.co.uk/

To eat i suggest terre a terre although its very expensive, if you're paying maybe wagamama's

[Hemlock]

My hubbie wants to take me to the Granville hotel for a treat, we'll defo go now!
My son, who's vegan also, and I have decided to try all the veg cafes and restaurants in Brighton over 2005/2006. We went to Wai Kika Moo Kau veggie and vegan cafe in the north lanes yesterday. I'd say the vegan food (big choice and they convert standard veggie food to vegan for you if asked) was very nice but average, good for lunch but I'd want something with a bit more oomph for an evening meal out. They also gave me milk in my coffee rather than the soya milk I asked for which left me feeling rather nauseated as I find I just can't digest cow's milk any more!!! The banana and nut cake listed on the board as vegan was definitely not vegan, I can tell, it was just too buttery and I could taste milk in it. The person serving me didn't seem to know whether it was or not. I only ate one mouthful thankfully.
This morning my sinus's are all blocked up so I know for sure it had dairy in it - bleuggh!
Other than that, the service was very quick despite the fact the place was packed and the food was hot and fresh but I'd definitely avoid anything that might have dairy in it even if it's listed as vegan!!!

[Skajen]

My hubbie wants to take me to the Granville hotel for a treat, we'll defo go now!!!!

we could only afford to stay one night for our 4 year anniversary but we had a room with a spa bath, 4 poster bed and see view for £109, including lovely breakfast, free dvd rental from foyer and lovely staff. we'd def go there again. the rooms are all themed and its a stones throw, literally, from beach and shops...

[Gorilla]

glad you enjoyed Brighton Skajen

Hemlock, that's a bit worrying about the food at Waikikamookau. i've eaten in there a few times and never had a problem - as far as i know the staff have always seemed fairly clued-up about what's vegan when i've been there. they seem to have reduced the number of vegan options on the menu recently though...

i'm hopefully going to try Food For Friends next week as there was a 20% off coupon in the local Green Party newsletter i've never been there before which is a crime really considering it's Brighton's oldest veggie restaurant!

[Troutina]

I'm suprised about Wai Kika Moo Kau- though I looked at the menu the other day and it didn't have a huge list of vegan options.
That's awful that they gave you non vegan things though.

I think I'm going to make it my new years resolution to try the vegan/veggie restaurants in Brighton. What a chore...!

[Hemlock]

I think I'm going to make it my new years resolution to try the vegan/veggie restaurants in Brighton. What a chore...!

Tsk, I don't know how you are going to bear it

[Gorilla]

it seems the Infinity Foods Cafe is quite the celebrity hang-out at the moment i was in there the other day and saw Paul McCartney's son James drinking a soya latte, Kevin Rowland from Dexy's Midnight Runners enjoying a few vegan mince pies, and Nick Cave who popped in very briefly.

[Troutina]

Pah, I must go in at the wrong time!!
It is a little pricey, but its one of those things that I'm prepared to pay for because its all organic and fair trade.

I had the vegan BLT and I literally looked like this:
It was AMAZING!!
I imagined it would be a sandwich- but it was sooo good!
It was a large piece of ciabatta bread, with rocket salad piled on top, with strips of cucumber sliced lengthways folded on top, 2 slices of 'bacon', then this gorgeous oil/mustard sauce and a ton of seeds on top, and sauce running around the edge with cress.

UNBELIEVABLY NICE!!!
It was around £6. And I had carrot cake, mmm!

[Gorilla]

there's a Cornish pasty shop in Gardner Street that does a nice vegan pasty, i can't remember what the shop's called but it's on the same side as Red Veg, a few doors down (heading away from Vegetarian Shoes). the sign outside suggests they do different varieties on different days, i've only ever had Thai vegetable but it's very nice, although slightly expensive (about £2.70 i think).

[Michael Benis]

We could have a little New Year's meet at the George in Brighton. Some of us on the Vegans Uncensored list did that just before Christmas. It worked out fine though half of their beers aren't vegan...

Cheers

Mike

[Gorilla]

Hi Mike

i'm not familiar with Vegans Uncensored, are there many from Brighton on there? i know what you mean about the George's beer, why does a veggie pub sell non-veggie drinks? love the food there though

would be good to have some sort of meet-up, anyone else in the area interested???

[Michael Benis]

Hi WG!

Vegans Uncensored specialises in sarcasm and left-wing political incorrectness. Several people in Brighton and surrounding area and others elsewhere in UK and outside UK.

It's own descritption is: "VegansUncensored aims to provide an environment in which vegans can talk freely about anything that interests them, and to be themselves in an unrestrained manner.
This list provides a home to people, hopefully vegans or interested in becoming vegan, who speak their minds and are not afraid of who they may offend. As in real life, they may be rude or abrasive or just very, very nice. Having such an open policy though has lead to some very serious topics being discussed and can also lead to some great entertainment."

A recent Brighton-based member recently reported the Kensignton Cafe for selling so-called "vegan sausages" that contain egg to trading standards who duly investigated and took action:

"Dear Mr Barnes,

I visited Kensingtons, 1 Kensington Gardens, yesterday following your
complaint regarding the presence of egg in their vegan sausages. I discussed
the matter with the management of the premises and staff who expressed the
view that it was highly unlikely that there vegan sausages contained egg and
seemed aware of vegan requirements. I couldn't find anyone who remembered
your enquiry or made the comments you reported. However, on examining their
invoices I discovered that they were ordering vegetarian sausages. Enquiries
with the supplier confirmed that these did include egg as one of the
ingredients. I received an immediate undertaking that Kensingtons will
remove this item from their menu until such time that they are able to
supply sausages with no animal product constituents. I will monitor the
situation to ensure they are complying. I also intend to carry out checks on
other premises in the Brighton area offering vegan sausages to ensure that
these are correctly described. Many thanks for bringing this matter to our
attention.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Senior Trading Standards Officer"

You can find out more about VU at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/VegansUncensored/

Cheers

Mike

[Michael Benis]

Kensingtons has got into trouble with trading standards for selling non-vegan vegan sausages (see http://www.veganforum.com/forums/sho...8&postcount=46). Waikikka really ought to know better than making the mistakes Hemlock experienced. I've generally found them OK, though nothing special, but pop in there quite regularly. I also like Infinity, particularly the salads. Tried Nia the other day. Forget that one. Only one vegan dish (houmous ciabatta) and it was skimpy and tasteless. Nice small but pricey spinach and rocket salad. Very expensive fresh juices and it was FREEZING!

I find Terre a T a bit pretentious and samey for vegan stuff and they only have one vegan dessert. I think they're over-rated, but it's always a good stand-by for pretentious meat-eaters (omnis sounds so nice).

Vegan food in Brighton is getting worse at the moment if you ask me....

Cheers

Mike

[aubergine]

Me and my lady went to Brighton on Sunday for a couple of days. We stayed in the Premier Travel Inn and took our own breakfast of cereal and little cartons of soya milk, and had a bunch of bananas too.

When we arrived we went straight to the George for a Vegan Roast (I'll post pictures when I sort them...).

On monday we had lunch at Red Veg which I actually preffered to the London one. We then went shopping in Vegetarian Shoes and a couple of other shops. Dinner was at Food for Friends. Amy had sausage and mash, and I had a curry.

It was over far too quickly, and I can't wait to go back. I wish there was so much choice near me

[Gorilla]

spjessop, i've never been to the Red Veg in London, is it much different to the Brighton one?

Kensingtons has got into trouble with trading standards for selling non-vegan vegan sausages

that's worrying, i love their vegan breakfast roll

"VegansUncensored aims to provide an environment in which vegans can talk freely about anything that interests them, and to be themselves in an unrestrained manner.
This list provides a home to people, hopefully vegans or interested in becoming vegan, who speak their minds and are not afraid of who they may offend. As in real life, they may be rude or abrasive or just very, very nice. Having such an open policy though has lead to some very serious topics being discussed and can also lead to some great entertainment."

thanks, but it doesn't really sound like my cup of tea i'm afraid!

[Hemlock]

Me and John went into infinity foods the other day and were disgusted at the prices in there. Our local health food shop stocks Infinity foods and they cost LESS there than in Infinity foods themselves. We cannot afford to shop in there and quite frankly we think they are taking the p*ss!
We don't actually need to shop in there but it would be nice if they tried to be a bit more affordable - we can get almost everything in there half the price and just as good elsewhere.
They should be ashamed of themselves.

[aubergine]

spjessop, i've never been to the Red Veg in London, is it much different to the Brighton one?

It's a bit smaller, no loos and the staff aren't as friendly. I think I prefer the Brighton one, but I also like being able to grab a quick burger when out in the west end.

[mango]

Don't forget the Cowley Club cafe & bookshop! It's vegan (except cow milk on the counter for tea & coffee), co-operatively run entirely by volunteers, and dedicated to promoting libertarian, ecological and feminist ideas. Not just the only vegan place to eat but also an excellent project that deserves support. The food's usually great (I doubt anyone else in Brighton uses entirely fresh ingredients like we do - how many chefs peel garlic and squeeze lemons these days?) and costs £1.50 - £2.50 for a meal. Cafe open 12-4 Tuesday to Friday, 12 London Rd, opposite Somerfield. This was the menu I made last time I cooked there: lentil & veg soup; thai vegetable curry with brown basmati rice; baked potato with roast tofu in rosemary & mustard. The club also runs as a members' bar in the evenings, and provides free English language teaching to migrants, welfare rights advice, self-defence classes, and lots of other things. After some building work, there should be a lending library and meeting space. It's the centre of Brighton for me!

[Gorilla]

i like the idea of the Cowley Club but it's only open when i'm at work and i work too far away to get there in my lunch hour, so i haven't had a chance to eat in there.

[Gorilla]

Me and John went into infinity foods the other day and were disgusted at the prices in there. Our local health food shop stocks Infinity foods and they cost LESS there than in Infinity foods themselves. We cannot afford to shop in there and quite frankly we think they are taking the p*ss!
We don't actually need to shop in there but it would be nice if they tried to be a bit more affordable - we can get almost everything in there half the price and just as good elsewhere.
They should be ashamed of themselves.

Hemlock, i meant to say this earlier: i suppose prices in Seaford must be a lot lower than Brighton, because i think Infinity's prices compare fairly well to other shops in Brighton selling the same sort of goods (not including large supermarkets such as Asda who can sell at a huge discount). Brighton is an expensive place to live and shop, and Infinity need to cover the cost of renting a shop in the centre of the city. i've seen Infinity foods in places like Lewes and they cost even more than in Infinity's Brighton shop. Infinity often have some good special offers which i take advantage of to save money.

[Gorilla]

the other day i ate in the new Tin Drum restaurant, one of a chain of four bar/restaurants in the Brighton area. www.tindrum.co.uk

they're all omni restaurants, with nothing on the menu marked as being vegan, but my family wanted to try out the new place because it's near where we live and looks cool, very nice modern decor and chilled-out atmosphere.

we phoned beforehand to check if they could do a vegan meal and they said they'd sort something out, they had a wild mushroom and baby spinach risotto on the menu which was vegan other than the parmesan they put on at the end, so i had that without the cheese. it was really good, but not cheap. they were very helpful though, perhaps because they haven't been open very long but hopefully any of the other branches would be as accommodating.

[mango]

Do you know the new wholefood shop, Pulse, in the Open Market (off London Rd)? Their loose stuff is cheaper, plus they're really friendly.

When I move back to Brighton I'm going to suggest we have some Cowley Club Sunday roasts open to the public (i.e. not licensed), as they have all been members only so far, which is a shame. I think it would do really well.