Wonderful location, brilliant idea but I am always disappointed when I visit any restaurant and vegetarian dishes are limited to grilled vegetables and goats cheese dishes. Similarly it disappoints me when a vegetarian restaurant lacks inspiring dishes instead churning out the same old vegetarian fare on a cheese heavy menu. I don't have a problem with cheese it is delicious but variety and a break-from-the-norm is what I look for in a restaurant and this doesn't hit the spot. If you are after a basic menu, mostly fried then this will do, which I suppose in the winter months this is a welcomed. This is a lovely place, somewhere cosy to warm your cockles after a long walk in the Chevin although there isn't a bar so no whisky to keep chills at bay. read more

The Cheerful Chilli - http://www.cheerfulchillicafe.co.uk/ - Vegetarian Near Me - Otley, XWY

After so many glowing recommendations from friends, I can't believe it took me so long to visit The Cheerful Chilli! Was it worth the wait? You bet. Situated near the Chevin in some beautiful countryside, the Cheerful Chilli is a relaxed and cosy place. The food isn't gourmet but the quality definitely doesn't suffer for that. Rather, it seems as if they've decided to do fairly simple meals and do them really well. The atmosphere is casual and friendly, a bit like walking into a huge old stone-flagged kitchen, brightened up by lovely flowers on all the tables. It's the best of casual dining: unpretentious but attractive, service relaxed but not slow, and staff in T-shirts with friendly smiles and good knowledge of the food. Oh yes, the food. Hoo boy. I'm still so full it's actually hard to think about it. Since we were in a group of six, we decided to go for the 'Banquet' - a selection of starters, mains and desserts from the menu. It was £18.50 and wow... it was definitely value for money. We had a 'pre-starter' meze of two giant plates of couscous, halloumi, falafel, houmous, bread, olives and salad, which really could have been a generous starter on its own. But oh no, there were starters too: potato wedges with cheese, corn cakes with sweet chilli, nachos, and goat's cheese tart. All delicious. To be honest, at this point we could have left satisfied - it felt like we'd had a full meal already! But then the mains arrived: vegetable fajitas, kerala curry, enchiladas, roasted veg and pizza. Again everything was delicious - possibly the only weak point was the pizza which I think was homemade but had been a bit overdone which left it tasting a little like an oven pizza. But everything else was great. Nothing fancy: it was all stuff I could make at home, but just.... better. Hugely flavoursome in a way I can never quite get my dishes to be, and presented beautifully. So on to the desserts! We got wedges of the chocolate truffle cake (rich and divine), the cheesecake (maybe a little creamy for my taste but lovely fruit) and the chocolate nemesis (dark, fudgy, amazing). And what was maybe even better: a huge bowl of vanilla ice cream which was hands down the best ice cream I've ever had. I asked them where they got it and they said they make it themselves. I wonder if they'd consider delivering in bulk...? I couldn't quite believe that we were only paying £18.50 for a lovely meal that could keep you full for days, but yes, it was true. You can bring your own booze too, and they didn't charge corkage - champion! The reasonable-ness just continued with my friend being charged just 70p for the 7-up she ordered: smallest restaurant markup ever? And so we rolled home, vowing to return. I'm already planning a walk up to Otley for this very purpose - I can't think of a better place to welcome tired and hungry walkers! read more

The Cheerful Chilli, a quaint looking building surrounded by verdant Yorkshire farmland, the only negatives on arrival were the small car park and overflowing bins. It would be quite easy to miss as there is only a small sign up in the eaves of the roof.The decor is rustic but clean and initial impressions of the menu looked promising. We were seated upstairs in what was probably an old hay barn with a slightly quirky beam dividing the room in two. The group ordered a mix of things so we could sample as much as possible. Starters: okay if a little bland and the Quesadilla was more like a Burrito, a pretty basic error for a Mexican restaurant. Corn Fritters were good, as were the Falafel's, the huge nachos were a good premise but very greasy and just served with some chilli kidney beans and a bit of cheese. They would be vastly improved with some spicy salsa and some citrusy guacamole to cut through the grease or just a handful of chopped coriander. The mains were basically variations on an under spiced veg chilli with slightly undercooked chunks of squash and courgette. It was served in a either a baked tortilla (burrito), a deep fried tortilla parcel (chimichanga) or in the classic chilli fashion with rice and the dreaded greasy tortilla chips. Basically it was what I would have thrown together if asked to cook something vegetarian, but I dare say I could create something a little more flavourful. We did get some guacamole as a side and a Haloumi, basil and tomato salad which was decent. Tacos again were the token effort chilli with some salady bits, cheese and Old El Paso taco shells. We didn't bother with dessert as they looked like the ones you buy from macro for a buffet at a local sports club. The food was quite messily presented and very plain looking, some chefs say the first bite is with the eyes, one look would probably have been enough them here. You can take your own drinks at one pound per person corkage and they could provide you a bottle opener. They now also do drinks and I was excited to see bottled Bundaberg ginger beer (designated driver) but I was sent a can of Old Jamaca, which they tried to charge £1.85 for! Cans of pop were listed on the menu at about 75p. They also had Sam Smiths beers (cheap, fairly nasty) and a wine list. The girls had a bottle of decent rose but none of the wines were fair trade which is so easy to get hold of these days and would be more suited to their ethos. The service was a bit slow and charmless- we waited 40 minutes for four starters and it was hardly busy. I also thought it was expensive, a tenner for a main course I could make superiorly at home. For somewhere that had so much potential I was left disappointed- Mexican food should be bright, zingy and uplifting but this left me completely flat. This was also my first visit to a vegetarian restaurant, needless to say I won't be rushing back, you hear veggies complaining about boring cheese and bean combos as the standard option in most places and now I feel their pain! read more

Came here for my birthday lunch with the family. It was great! As I had booked beforehand we got a whole room upstairs, which was fantastic as it contained a 2 1/2 year old! The food was lovely. So nice to have so many veggie options (being vegetarian myself). The cakes were also delicious, although the cheesecake did appear to just be cream cheese and a lot of it. Will definitely be back for some more coffee and cake read more

The dawn of anyone's Birthday can be stressful. Where do we go? Who do I invite? What food shall we eat? Can I get a table? The usual stuff that deflects the happiness of a Birthday. Okay, I admit I am being a little miserable and need to cheer up. Friday 8th July was my Birthday and I was recommended to go to The Cheerful Chilli ... they know me well. A vegetarian Restaurant / Cafe that is BYOB, affordable, lovely farmhouse conversion, nice atmosphere and has a great menu-suitable even for non-vegetarians. I was warned you needed to book so we ended up going on Thursday night instead, but it was still busy. The service was hospitable and homely, we took along a six year old which was no problem either. I would highly recommend The Cheerful Chilli. Though it is in Otley it is well worth the visit, on an evening or combined with a lovely walk. They do cater for big parties too, I just don't have a lot of friends. read more

This place takes some beating. Vegetarian food and you take your own booze. Great atmosphere (Saturday night). Very busy. We had the "Banquet" for 6 (£99) and were surprised by the sheer amount of food. Nothing was wasted. Will definitely go again. Range of people (young to old). read more

My goodness what can i say about this company but their food is simply delicious, my particular favourites were the corn fritters, the feta and olive tapenade appetisers and the goats cheese and caramelised red onion tart wowee I can taste it now xx I was fortunate to sample the lovely food items at the Yelp taste exchange on the 24th of Nov I will definatley seek this company out for a meal out i cannot believe ive not paid them a visit before x read more

Haven't been in over a year but still the best veggie place in Leeds. Homemade dishes under £6. Massive cake portions. Opposite the beautiful Chevin. Great for lunch or dinner. read more

The cheerful chilli is a ace vegetarian restaurant, which offers a large range of food - mainly mexican. You can bring your own alcohol and it has a great atmosphere. read more

I think the Cheerful Chilli is fantastic. My son had his 5th birthday party there, and we had the best time. Nothing was too much trouble, there was way too much food (so we fed parents as well as children) and I was almost embarrassed at how little it cost. I'm not a vegetarian, but who cares when the food is as good as this. I am scruffy and my boy is often muddy, but nothing phases the Chilli, we're always made to feel very welcome. read more

Having suffered a long day at work I was apprehensive going to an all veggie place. My colleague had recommended the Cheerful Chilli for ages and my partner, our friend and I decided to give it a go. The building is an old farm building surrounded by flowers and enjoys a real nice setting on Otley Chevin. Signage isn't great on the road and you could be forgiven for driving past. We entered the restaurant through the door on the side of the building. The interior is rustic with homely touches. The menu is clean and simple with lots of choice. Unfortunately the extras were on a separate sheet and we nearly missed them. We ordered a platter to share and the Chilli Potato Skins to start. For the main I ordered the Enchilada, it was absolutely stuffed with loads of fresh veg and really nicely flavoured and came with salad. My partner ordered the blue cheese burger, he said it was really nice, it was absolutely massive. Unfortunately we were a little short on time tonight so didn't have a chance to try the desserts. Overall we really liked the Cheerful Chilli and would definitely go back. read more

Everytime we go the Cheerful Chilli is consistently fabulous. Even with the recent upgrades and finally a license it has lost none of it's charm. The food is always scrummy, the staff attentive and the atmosphere great. read more