Vegetarians and vegans: What is the best meal that you’ve been served in a restaurant?

[EasterLunch]

I know that vegetarian and vegan options are so often disappointing but what’s the best that you’ve enjoyed in a restaurant or cafe?

TIA

A curry - a thali is my favourite.

A subway in Romania. I got the vegetarian patty and they had mashed avocado for one of the filling choices. Absolutely lovely it was I've tasted nothing like it.
It seems they don't do the avocado here which is a shame.

Two. A seitan burger, chips and things in either Mono or Sterio in Glasgow.

A homemade Jamaican vegetable patty at the NEC in Birmingham. Out of this world.

Which is cooked on the same hot plate as the meat burgers. They even advertise the fact.

My favourite veggie meal was is in Jamaica when I was 17 - no options on the menu, so the chef made me a gorgeous vegetable curry, just enough spice and coconut. That was a long time ago!

It is mainly curries and rice, or I love a good mixed bean chilli if there is some love gone in to it.

Chips and garlic sauce after a night out 😂

A pub meal in Burford in the Cotswolds. The chef went off-menu and created something absolutely wonderful with roasted beetroot, red wine jus, I can't even remember what else (or the name of the pub, sadly) but it was spectacular.

There's a food van called Earthworm Kitchen that makes an appearance at some summer festivals. Fully vegan. I look forward to eating their food so much.

A really simple but seriously delicious dish of beautifully seasoned whole roast cauliflower, chips and coleslaw at The Summerhouse in Perranporth, Cornwall.

I’ve been vegan for nearly 20 years so I remember the dark times before mock meat being widely available. I still remember fondly a vegan taco bar in Chicago, before vegan fast food was a thing here, where I had the most amazing tacos al pastor with mock pork. Same with the vegan options at the Vegetarian Dim Sum House in NYC.

I’m pretty sick of burgers often being the only option on menus, too, but damn if it isn’t better than it used to be.

A 7 course vegetarian tasting menu at The Whitebrook in Monmouthshire. Fucking incredible. £££ but someone else took me for a big birthday a few years ago ❤️

A mushroom risotto in a mountain restaurant off the beaten track in Val Gardena on the Italian/Austrian border. It was nothing like the startchy gloop that is normally dished up in the name of risotto.

Oh, I miss Hypha so much! We were so lucky to have it within walking distance of our house - we went 4 times in its very short lifetime. Glad we did now it has closed. I've been veggie for 35 years this week & have had some amazing food over the years & some very lazy dull options as well.

Nice city to have on your doorstep! Didn't know Hypha had closed down. It was so good.

I had polenta chips as a starter once in a posh restaurant, and they were amazing. Another favourite was a jackfruit curry.

Anything from the bundobust menu….the okra fries are to die for 😋

My top tasting menus are:
Opheem - Birmingham
The Wilderness - Birmingham
Petrus - London
Los Mochis - London
Pollen Street Social - London
Galvin La Chapelle - London
Land - Birmingham
Simpson's - Birmingham
Adam's - Birmingham
Pied a Terre - London

I'm vegetarian but obvs will eat vegan if that's the meat alternative

Land in Birmingham is excellent. DP and I have been lucky enough to eat there many times. Unfortunately, they’ve put the prices of drinks up substantially and have also lost a couple of truly exceptional front of house staff.

Opheem is off the charts amazing.

Adelina Yard in Bristol - very very good

Root in Bristol

This has become a list of restaurants rather than a list of meals, hasn't it?

More useful imo, as dishes change frequently.

I had three chips in Harborne Kitchen last year. They were one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. Did I say there were only three?

I am a meat eater but often go veggie for working lunches.

Lavash in Brighton is worth the walk wherever you are working in the centre

When I get to go to York its Il Paradiso : their Melazane is just lush

The hippy bowl in Bill's is really good. Here's the list of ingredients:
Ancient grains, avocado, roasted squash, spicy cherry tomatoes, baby spinach & chimichurri sauce topped with chilli corn ribs & crispy tortillas

It’s a cliché but I had a really good nut roast, with the usual veg; one extra good thing was that the gravy wasn’t the usual gloopy, potato starch gravy but was specially made and delicious

I am odd by MN vegan standards as I like 'mock meat'. I like the normal aspect of it, being able to eat something just like everyone else is getting instead of something that has others going 'ooh what's that' at me (I don't like attention on me while I eat).

One of my favourite cheap meals out is the wetherspoons/yates/usual chain pub option of a 'beyond burger'. I usually get it with a baked potato instead of chips, to be a little more healthy and more satiated.

The Ivy do the same, but with nicer garnishes and for a lot more £, but the chips there are much nicer so I do go for them.

There are some great 'normal food' vegan options at the Head of Steam (I've only been to the Leeds one) too.

I've also had vegan breakfasts in chain pubs that have really hit the spot! Great for if you're about to go out for several or more drinks.

Ostello Lounge does some great vegan/vegetarian dishes-the flatbreads are delicious.

Having said that and made myself sound like a lout, I do like more traditional, better quality food for occasions.

The best 'naice' vegan food I've had a draw between Corarima https://www.corarima.co.uk, Eritrean dishes, I don't remember what it were called but between four of us we ordered two platters, each with lots of small delicious dishes, and Gran Cru Birkenshaw-I ring ahead and the chef's always more than willing to make me a bespoke dish.

Not a veggie but I love a veggie lasagne. Much nicer than a beef one.

@plantsandwich also a lover of fake meat here. I'm not vegan for health reasons, and I liked the taste of meat.

I've had a few dishes in Doner Summer in Leeds, and they've all been amazing. The restaurant is totally vegan.

Pizza Express did a lovely pizza which had artichokes on it, but sadly the restaurant near me closed down.

My university used to do the best vegan burrito I've ever tasted, and I don't think I've had one that matched it since.

This. From Barsana curry house in Birmingham. It was one of the best things I have ever eaten. I would happily go back there if I am ever in that area again. Failing that, Burger King do a pretty decent vegan royale.

I have a severe I.e. anaphylaxis allergy to quorn (yes, it happens!) so I tend to avoid fake meat with the exception of beyond burgers. I've learnt the hard way to be very wary of fake meat substitutes. Burger King vegan royales are made by the Vegetarian Butcher BTW.

Barsana is on my list of places to visit in 2025.

The best pizza I’ve ever had was from a place in Birmingham that sadly no longer exists- goats cheese and honey.