to have wanted some tea with cow's milk in it..

[Olifin]

...at a lovely seaside park in Hove. Very, very popular and busy playpark right next to the beach which attracts all sorts of families.

The cafe in the park is a vegan, organic place. Apparently it belongs to Heather Mills but I don't know if that is true.

Anyway...non-dairy ice-cream for the kids (don't know what they make it with but it's faaaaar too sweet) and tea for me with soya milk. I don't really want soya milk in my tea but there's no alternative, being as it's a vegan cafe.

I'm all for making provision for people with allergies and ethics and so on but....AIBU to find a vegan cafe in such a very popular location a tad...restrictive? Or bossy?

Did you read the rest of the thread Speedy? Just sayin'.

And herbal teas...well, they have their place and I do love licorice but I am a builders' tea kind of a girl mostly. Specially in the middle of the Easter hols when the children have turned feral.

If you expect dairy milk at a vegan cafe, would you also expect pork to be served at a restaurant run by orthodox Jews or Muslims?

EricNorthmansMistress said a few posts ago that there were alternative places to eat and drink near the Hove Lagoon area: "there is a pub, a woodies diner, a greasy spoon type cafe all within spitting distance, and there are lots of cafes a ten minute walk away on the local high st."

So ten minutes (or less) was all that separated you from your perfect cup of tea.

Regarding TrillianAstra's point about this not being a suitable place for a 'specialist establishment' - it's a business, not a public service amenity funded by taxpayers! And anyway, allergies, medical issues and psychological barriers aside, vegan food and drink is suitable for the general public, and not just vegans!

Regarding the taste of soya milk, to which many people seem to object. Whilst some people have tried various milks and genuinely don't like soya milk, I think a lot of people simply like what they're used to, which is usually dairy. Soya milk tastes quite different to dairy, but if you get used to the taste of soya, and then try dairy milk, it's the latter that can taste 'wrong'.

I've never been to Vbites, but looking at the menu there is a range of drinks available without soya milk: fizzy drinks, fruit/herb teas, juices, red wine, white wine, beer, cider... So if you don't like tea without dairy milk and aren't prepared to walk ten minutes to a place that offers your usual cuppa, why not choose something else to drink?

Saggyoldclothcatpuss said: "But then of course vegans and veggies do have a huge sense of entitlement in general."

Can I ask what this huge generalisation opinion is based upon? As a vegan, if I go to a non-vegetarian restaurant, I will go with something simple like a pasta and tomato dish, a vegetable curry or something else suitable that I'm offered. I don't demand that I be given lots of choices, or special ingredients. In fact I never make a song and dance about being vegan, and many people wouldn't have a clue that I am.

Olifin (in the style of the old man in Allo Allo) it is me E, from the pink place

No, I didn't, Oli, I probably just got as far as the first page. Busted! What bit are you referring to?

Hello E!

Good post fascicle; can't find much fault in that.

A vegan cafe in a lovely park would be a wet dream for me.

How utterly blissful to take my 3yo in and let him order whatever he wanted without worrying about dairy allergy, and people not understanding what that means.

And for some extraordinary reason I am taking it very personally the way everyone is saying that vegan icecream is horrible .

It is my ds's favourite thing, and the best thing we found since he had to cut out dairy.

I realise I am being a wally, but I am feeling all defensive about it!

Awwww Hippo. I'm a bit like that....not about vegan ice cream because I'm not vegan but I get defensive about things I don't really need to get defensive about. No biggy. Maybe some vegan ice cream is really nice, I've only tried one example of it so not really in a position to comment. :)

That cafe can be a bit hit and miss tbh.

I don't like Soya milk so order the hot chocolate with almond milk instead which is lovely when it's colder outside. There is a little cafe at the bowling lawns which is 2 minutes away though.

The place is usually busy though and I have some Vegan friends who rave about it. The cupcakes look lovely and I always say I'll get one next time but maybe I won't bother now then!

It's a bit odd to say that Vegans have a sense of entitlement. As a vegan you expect the opposite to be honest. I go places knowing full well my choices will be extremely limited and that's fine - it's my choice and I just enjoy being out with no washing up friends.

Vegan ice cream is nice. The Mr Whippy style vegan ice cream in this cafe is vile!

We get that Swedish Glace stuff. It's really nice!

Hippo - ditto re dairy allergy! The vegan ice cream at V Bites cafe, though, is hideous. However, I love Swedish Glace! Goodness knows why Heather doesn't just buy up shedloads of the Swedish stuff.

YABcompletelyU

99% of cafes in the country aren't vegan and don't offer soya milk at all. And you begrudge one of the tiny number that exist? Go somewhere else.

IWB completely U, yes. I've as good as admitted it earlier in the thread.

I only popped back to wave at Norfolk. Didn't mean it to kick off again :)