This is why people hate vegans.
Before you get up in arms, I'm vegan myself, and normally I'm all about extolling how inventive, interesting, and DELICIOUS vegan food can be. That was in very short supply here.
So first, the positives. The two drinks I had were genuinely tasty, and both were interesting--one was a riff on a piña colada with coconut kefir, the other was a sort-of espresso martini (nonalcoholic; there isn't any alcohol served) with espresso, date syrup, and beet juice. Bizarre, but tasty, and definitely new to me.
The food, though. The nibbles plate was fine, although if the best thing I had at a restaurant was the almonds at the beginning...eesh. I got bbq pulled "pork" jackfruit that came with sweet potato chips and coleslaw. I've lived in North Carolina, and I've had some vegan pulled pork sandwiches that were mind-blowing. This was AWFUL. The jackfruit was generically spicy (could've been chilli powder? no idea, but it wasn't any kind of a definitive flavour), and the gluten-free bun was the worst kind--dry, powdery, bland. The sweet potatoes were unseasoned, and the "coleslaw" (WHICH IS A FUNDAMENTAL PART OF THE SANDWICH YES THIS IS THE HILL I HAVE CHOSEN TO DIE ON) was a pile of julienned vegetables with sesame seeds sprinkled on. I even tried the dessert, thinking it'd at least have the calories to fill me up (plus my friend was getting tea, so sure, I'll eat my boredom), and the lime cheesecake was another uninspiring example--too rich, too heavy, not enough flavour.
Oh, and the service was dire. There were two of us and we arrived without a reservation, so we were told they'd seat us at the counter and move us to a table if one opened up. That's fine, but after asking repeatedly about moving, we ate the entire meal at the counter while half the tables in the restaurant sat empty the whole time. Service was incredibly slow, and when my friend was in the bathroom when the waitress finally arrived with the card machine, she made a snotty remark about "not brilliant timing, is it." Based on your previous speed she thought she had twenty minutes, love, so wind your neck back in.
If this were out in Great Yarmouth or somewhere where veganism is just gaining a toehold, I'd be a little more sympathetic, but come on. In London--and this neighborhood of London--there are SO many other brilliant vegan places. Don't waste your time or money or tastebuds on this one. read more