This is a pub with a great setting on the banks of the River Ouse a few miles outside Norwich. You can walk there along the Wherryman's Way (long distance footpath) or drive - there's a car park -, or take your boat (!) and moor alongside. It's a bit out of the way, so no trains or buses.
It was a Bank Holiday and, as so often in Britain on those rare sunny days, we had to queue for a long time only to be told the food would take up to an hour to prepare, as "most dishes are freshly prepared". Hmm. Should be worth the wait, then.
There were five vegetarian alternatives, which is unusual enough for a "proper" restaurant, let alone a public house, so we decided to go for it. I had the canneloni, with chips and a salad, and my partner had the chilli wrap, which was specifically advertised as being "home made". It didn't take as long as an hour in the end, or maybe sitting by the river with a glass of cool, sweet cider helped to make the time pass - I don't know. The food was good, just the right amount of it (I often find there's too much): though neither of us particularly wanted a dessert, we could have chosen from such staples as tiramasu, banoffee pie, chocolate fudge cake etc. The prices were reasonable too: ours, including drinks, came to £23.
We would definitely consider going there again, but maybe not on a Bank Holiday!
Tuesday 28 May 2013
Sunday 3 March 2013
Pulse, Norwich
This is somewhere I've been a few times, as it's central and unlike many restaurants you can guarantee more than one vegetarian dish on the menu - as it's totally vegetarian!
This place is open all day and evening too, and going in the daytime gives the most choice, as they then serve lighter meals such as sandwiches, as well as dinners. There's a specials board and a good choice of juices. Less so of desserts: the one on the specials board had been crossed out when we arrived at about 7pm, and there were about four or five other choices available on the menu, including ice-cream. Many savoury dishes were spicy, which is a bit tough if that's not your thing, and quite a few were cheese-based, which is a bit disappointing for a specialist vegetarian cafe: we get enough of that sort of thing in the mainstream. I would like to see a wider range of protein types.
Having said that, the food is usually good quality and my pizza was very nice. My partner's plate looked pretty full too with plenty of vegetable accompaniments.
The pudding wasn't my favourite: advertised as a chocolate brownie, it was a bit like eating papier mache flavoured with cocoa, but the chocolate sauce with it was lovely.
As I said, we often go there, as the opening hours are convenient and the food reasonably priced and usually good.
This place is open all day and evening too, and going in the daytime gives the most choice, as they then serve lighter meals such as sandwiches, as well as dinners. There's a specials board and a good choice of juices. Less so of desserts: the one on the specials board had been crossed out when we arrived at about 7pm, and there were about four or five other choices available on the menu, including ice-cream. Many savoury dishes were spicy, which is a bit tough if that's not your thing, and quite a few were cheese-based, which is a bit disappointing for a specialist vegetarian cafe: we get enough of that sort of thing in the mainstream. I would like to see a wider range of protein types.
Having said that, the food is usually good quality and my pizza was very nice. My partner's plate looked pretty full too with plenty of vegetable accompaniments.
The pudding wasn't my favourite: advertised as a chocolate brownie, it was a bit like eating papier mache flavoured with cocoa, but the chocolate sauce with it was lovely.
As I said, we often go there, as the opening hours are convenient and the food reasonably priced and usually good.
Saturday 29 December 2012
River Green Cafe, Trowse, near Norwich
Never mind "cafe", this here's a full-blown restaurant in a quiet village within walking distance of the city of Norwich.
Open the usual restaurant hours, it's fully vegetarian, with all that impies: a full range of international vegetarian dishes, rather than just the one or two predictable choices that most restaurants offer.
The interior is smart and relaxing: pale green decor to reflect the name and modern furnishings, with none of the "alternative" shabby-chic you often get with fully vegetarian eateries. Our teenage daughter was immediately impressed - as were we. A large room, it was fairly empty for a Friday night, but this was in the dog days between Christmas and New Year, which might have accounted for that. The service was friendly and fairly quick - though less so later on in the evening (which might have been due to our own procrastination), however, they were not in a hurry to push us out.
We picked a starter to share: a Mediterraean platter, which was enough for three of us, and a delicious combination of olives, rocket, miniature stuffed peppers, sun-dried tomato and mozarrella. Mmm. My husband commented we could have had more bread, but I felt more would have been too much, this being only the starter. I then had the halloumi salad, which was huge and contained a bit too much of the red-leaved salad vegetable (red cabbage?) which I feel would have been improved by being shredded more finely and with a bit more dressing - in fairness, though, we were asked if we required anything else. If making this at home, I would have chopped everything a bit smaller. My husband had couscous, which he said was a bit on the dry side. Our daughter's burger was enormous though she did manage to finish it: she's a very fussy eater, but made no complaints. The wine was OK and they were very happy to supply a large jug of water with it.
The desserts sounded delicious, but sadly none of us had enough appetite for one - we all hate to waste food. My husband had a hot chocolate, which he said was very nice, and I went for Earl Grey tea, which was equally lovely.
I would choose to go again - the wide choice of vegetarian dishes alone makes this a worthwile proposition for me, but my husband was overall disappointed with the food, so he would probably not choose to do so. I'm not sure to what extent his views are affected by the bill, which was £44 for three of us.
Open the usual restaurant hours, it's fully vegetarian, with all that impies: a full range of international vegetarian dishes, rather than just the one or two predictable choices that most restaurants offer.
The interior is smart and relaxing: pale green decor to reflect the name and modern furnishings, with none of the "alternative" shabby-chic you often get with fully vegetarian eateries. Our teenage daughter was immediately impressed - as were we. A large room, it was fairly empty for a Friday night, but this was in the dog days between Christmas and New Year, which might have accounted for that. The service was friendly and fairly quick - though less so later on in the evening (which might have been due to our own procrastination), however, they were not in a hurry to push us out.
We picked a starter to share: a Mediterraean platter, which was enough for three of us, and a delicious combination of olives, rocket, miniature stuffed peppers, sun-dried tomato and mozarrella. Mmm. My husband commented we could have had more bread, but I felt more would have been too much, this being only the starter. I then had the halloumi salad, which was huge and contained a bit too much of the red-leaved salad vegetable (red cabbage?) which I feel would have been improved by being shredded more finely and with a bit more dressing - in fairness, though, we were asked if we required anything else. If making this at home, I would have chopped everything a bit smaller. My husband had couscous, which he said was a bit on the dry side. Our daughter's burger was enormous though she did manage to finish it: she's a very fussy eater, but made no complaints. The wine was OK and they were very happy to supply a large jug of water with it.
The desserts sounded delicious, but sadly none of us had enough appetite for one - we all hate to waste food. My husband had a hot chocolate, which he said was very nice, and I went for Earl Grey tea, which was equally lovely.
I would choose to go again - the wide choice of vegetarian dishes alone makes this a worthwile proposition for me, but my husband was overall disappointed with the food, so he would probably not choose to do so. I'm not sure to what extent his views are affected by the bill, which was £44 for three of us.
Sunday 19 February 2012
Abbey Parks Farm, Lincolnshire
This being a farm shop and cafe, meat is high priority on the menu, but possibilities for vegetarians are far from sparse. There's a vegetarian breakfast, for a start, and of course the usual jacket potatoes and sandwiches. I went for the mozzarella and roast vegetable ciabatta, which was very nice, though I could swear the cheese was Edam rather than mozzarella.
The best things, though, is the farm shop, with plenty of vegetables and nice things in bottles and jars that you'd be hard put to find in even Waitrose or Marks and Spencer - and this is out in the sticks. I came away with a jar of Bearnaise sauce, another of mango and lime curd, and a bottle of quince wine.
Find this place on the A17 at East Heckington, near Boston. www.abbeyparks.co.uk
The best things, though, is the farm shop, with plenty of vegetables and nice things in bottles and jars that you'd be hard put to find in even Waitrose or Marks and Spencer - and this is out in the sticks. I came away with a jar of Bearnaise sauce, another of mango and lime curd, and a bottle of quince wine.
Find this place on the A17 at East Heckington, near Boston. www.abbeyparks.co.uk
Thursday 29 December 2011
Pacific Chinese Restaurant, China Town, Manchester
There are so many oriental restaurants in this area of the city, that it was hard to make a decision. Past experience tells us that those eat-all-you-can-for-£6 (or whatever) don't really benefit vegetarians as there's not as much choice for us and it can be hard to tell what actually IS vegetarian, so we're effectively subsidising the meat-eaters.
Decided on the Pacific in the end, because of the Thai food, but we didn't see the Thai section (it's upstairs) until after sitting down and ordering, so had to settle for Chinese after all, but this turned out to be not in the slightest disappointing.
The place was very busy for a weeknight, with a good mix of clientele, including families. There was a good choice of vegetarian dishes available, and we chose tofu with sweet and sour sauce, stir-fried vegetables, fried rice, deepfried noodles and another vegetables dish with aubergine in it which was quite hot and spicy. Everything was really well presented, and the portions quite large: five dishes were more than enough for the two of us. It tasted good too, though I always feel that Chinese tofu tastes a bit like eating bits of bath sponge. We also tried some Japanese wine, served warm, which looked like water but tasted like strong sherry and was served in egg-cups - one was enough for me! We spent under £30 for two.
I would recommend this place for vegetarians and would go again if visiting the area.
Decided on the Pacific in the end, because of the Thai food, but we didn't see the Thai section (it's upstairs) until after sitting down and ordering, so had to settle for Chinese after all, but this turned out to be not in the slightest disappointing.
The place was very busy for a weeknight, with a good mix of clientele, including families. There was a good choice of vegetarian dishes available, and we chose tofu with sweet and sour sauce, stir-fried vegetables, fried rice, deepfried noodles and another vegetables dish with aubergine in it which was quite hot and spicy. Everything was really well presented, and the portions quite large: five dishes were more than enough for the two of us. It tasted good too, though I always feel that Chinese tofu tastes a bit like eating bits of bath sponge. We also tried some Japanese wine, served warm, which looked like water but tasted like strong sherry and was served in egg-cups - one was enough for me! We spent under £30 for two.
I would recommend this place for vegetarians and would go again if visiting the area.
Dimitri's, Deansgate, Manchester
This is Greek restaurant with more than a nod to Mediterranean food generally. Restaurant was packed out on a weeknight just after Christmas - a good sign. Great surroundings, really atmospheric with frescoes on the wall and high ceilings. On the downside, tables were quite close together and the entrance was difficult to find.
There were 13 items in the vegetarian list of mezze dishes, plus more in the cheese list that would be OK for non-vegans. Aso quite a few vegetarian main courses, but we went for the mezze. The dishes are quite large; don't be fooled into ordering too many: we had three, plus garlic bread and a side salad, which was more than enough. The pastry triangles with cheese in were my favourite, but everything tasted good, looked colourful and was well presented, with the possibe exception of the garlic bread, which I found too soggy, but my partner didn't complain. We had no room for desserts, but there were the usual suspects; banoffee pie, ice cream, etc., and one appearing at a neighbour's table almost had me changing my mind.
I would definitely go there again and highly recommend this place for vegetarians.
There were 13 items in the vegetarian list of mezze dishes, plus more in the cheese list that would be OK for non-vegans. Aso quite a few vegetarian main courses, but we went for the mezze. The dishes are quite large; don't be fooled into ordering too many: we had three, plus garlic bread and a side salad, which was more than enough. The pastry triangles with cheese in were my favourite, but everything tasted good, looked colourful and was well presented, with the possibe exception of the garlic bread, which I found too soggy, but my partner didn't complain. We had no room for desserts, but there were the usual suspects; banoffee pie, ice cream, etc., and one appearing at a neighbour's table almost had me changing my mind.
I would definitely go there again and highly recommend this place for vegetarians.
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