To think vegans can’t really complain if they don’t like what’s on the menu when the menu is clearly advertised

[Foodreviews]

NC as I’ve been talking about this IRL

Now we’re allowed to eat out again I’ve been checking out the reviews of a few different restaurants and am astounded how many people complain that the restaurant didn’t cater for their vegan requirements

I’d get it if the restaurant claimed to do so, but from the examples I’ve seen, the menus are clearly advertised on line

Most have maybe 1 vegan option, and often not loads of other options anyway

In my head it’s like going to a Chinese restaurant and moaning that you can’t get a vindaloo or going to a pizzeria and moaning you can’t get sweet & sour chicken and egg fried rice

If the restaurant doesn’t serve what you want, surely you go elsewhere rather than slate the restaurant on review websites because they didn’t make you food that wasn’t on their menu

I’m vegan & am amazed & pleased by the wide range of restaurants where I can eat. Indian, Lebanese, Chinese, Pizza/pasta, pub lunch - it’s really rare for there to be nothing. Don’t know where these complainers are going - steakhouses? Even there you can generally get salad, bread, olives, chips, veg.

In all honesty though I’m so delighted when someone cooks for me, restaurant or otherwise, I’d probably eat an entire plate of chips with gusto.

My 9 year old daughter is a coeliac. She is such an unfussy child, has a big appetite and loves eating out. It's slowly getting better but so many places are still so lazy about catering properly for medical conditions (eg frying the chips in contaminated oil, mixing up the plates, waiting staff being completely clueless about ingredients, labelling things as gluten free when they aren't, and places who just can't be bothered). I'm sad for her that for her whole life she will forever be asking for special meals, checking ingredients and educating waiting staff. I couldn't give a damn about people who choose to restrict their diets for fashionable or moral reasons feeling that there aren't enough options or that the options are boring. Seriously.

I absolutely agree that allergens should be taken seriously and catered for. And staff should be properly trained. It's dangerous

I guess she's lucky that she's just a coeliac doesn't have multiple allergies or any life threatening conditions.

Yanbu. I like to know where my meat comes from. Perhaps I should be leaving poor reviews for everywhere that doesn't provide a high welfare, locally and raised and slaughtered option. All these years I've either made do with the option that was available or chosen restaurants that do cater to my requirements.

@VictoriousSockPuppet
A muppetry?
An infestation?

Boris really should have considered the vegans in his scheme. 'Try a cow to help out'

Although... if there are enough annoyed vegans leaving “not enough vegan dishes” reviews that it’s a problem for the restaurant, then sounds like that restaurant is getting enough vegan customers to warrant more vegan food on the menu. So, problem solved!

Brilliant, @TrainspottingWelsh
Given this thread, I think it should be a disappointment of vegans

Or an annoyance

As a vegetarian of over 30 years I am suffering a serious case of cognitive dissonance here

On the one hand in 2020 with veganism very popular at the moment I think it is poor of restaurants not to provide a few options at least...

...on the other hand, remembering the MANY Times I had to eat sodding omelette as there was NO veggie options in most restaurants in the 80's and thinking they don't know they're born

Also agree that for vegetarians it's very often the SAME options wherever you go, I like mushrooms and goats cheese which many veggies don't but even I don't want to eat that EVERY tIme!

Or a hunger of vegans?

Grazing and vegetation are sparse for other herbivores in some locations and seasons, so at least there is the comfort of knowing it follows the natural order of things.

I'm vegetarian, and was vegan for a couple of years. I've always checked out the menu ahead of time to see if I can eat.

Yes, they have one thing on there for vegetarians/vegans. How do you feel about going to a restaurant and being told what you're having? Or do you like having the choice of a couple of dishes so that you can decide for yourself?

I hate mushrooms. They make me gag. That's pretty inconvenient given my dietary choices and we've not gone to certain places because the only option is mushroom based.

And don't get me started on restaurants that advertise the vegetarian option being served with Parmesan. That instantly stops it being vegetarian. I discount those places too as they've clearly put zero effort into learning what it actually in the food they serve.

As veganism has become so fashionable, it has been nice to have several options for a change.

@Flatpackback

Vegan ingredients that can’t be used in other recipes? What, like vegetables?

Most restaurants have pre prepared ingredients to their specific dishes and don't have a lot of unneeded perishable stock sitting around just in case. I'm not sure a plate full of vegetables would go down really well with a customer wanting a decent vegan option. I highly doubt the chef could spend his or her time ignoring the other orders to whip up some 40 minute Mediterranean veggie balls or a nice vegan biriyani because the customer didn't like what (little) was on offer.

We stayed at recently reopened pub recently and ate in their much praised restaurant for dinner. The menu included 2 interesting looking vegan options out of the 7 main courses. They also did a vegan alternative of the full English Breakfast the next morning.

I’m an omnivore , a meat eater who loves vegetable ps but I have an intolerance to dairy, drat, - awful hives, eczema reaction - so vegan options are quite helpful to me.

Where they hadn’t quite followed through was that the dessert menu of options were all heavily cream based ( not just things with cream on the side that could be omitted. Even the usual sorbet alternative to the ice cream wasn’t on offer.

Not a biggie and it was a delight to be out eating after all these months but :/ ( And no, the dessert menu wasn’t included on the website)

My dad (RIP) was a caterer. And he was really excited by vegetarians, (much fewer then, but also) vegans and halal and kosher.
He saw it as a challenge.

But as a provider of food, who adored to cook, and make people happy with meals, it wore him down...

Firstly, if you're making a soup or something, it's generally better with meat or fish stock. It just is.
It adds depth of flavour and unqutiousness that veggie stock just doesn't. Not in flavour you can identify, just in the bass-notes at the back of your pallet and texture.
But, bless him. He used to try.
And he used to concoct veggie options that he stressed just weren't as good.

Like... think about a really rustic french onion soup. You'd think v v veggie.
But soooo hugely improved with a meat stock, a good glug of wine, a cruton made out of parmasan-topped-baguette.

But he would make something to the absolute best of his ability, worried it was never going to taste as good as the meaty one, but proud of himself for how hard he had tried.

And then get the person/people he had catered specifically for whinging "oh, I don't like mushrooms" or "actually, I'm avoiding alcohol atm" or whatever. And it really demoralised him

So that is probably why I look at the "this is my lifestyle choice which I expect you to accommodate whilst taking into account my preferences (more spice, no beans, I hate mushrooms, etc)" brigade and want to shoot you, even before you've left your prissy review

I went vegan as a teenager 31 years ago. In the shops there was pretty much nothing ready made I could buy, I lived on porridge made with water, baked beans, whatever fruit and veg I could be bothered to throw together and the occasional tvp 'treat' from the health food shop.

I couldn't have takeaways, because when I checked everything would have some sneaky bit of dairy in there. I generally avoided eating out, but when I did I would be stuck with a salad. I had two special little cards that I carried which told me which alcoholic drinks had used animal products in their production.

It was a pain, but I didn't care. I went vegan because of how I felt about animal exploitation and if that meant that I had to miss out on some stuff because of my choice, it was worth it.

The amount of vegan food that is available in shops, take aways and restaurants now is amazing, yet people seem to complain so much.

Whether you're vegan because you care about animal welfare, the environment, or your health, feel content that you're doing the right thing. If you feel you need to, point out that there is a market for your choices, but I can't get my head around all the wailing about not being able to eat at all the places you want to.

I will add that after many years of veganing, I am no longer vegan so hold no moral high ground!

I think the basic fact is people can say there "so many vegans" but reality says, even if they are, the options aint being ordered.
If there was an actual demand the restaurants saw profit in, they would supply.

They see what sells night to night and if you only get asked once a week or month for a vegan dish, your not going to put several on the menu.

Just locally, the pub that also does food in town only has a vegetarian option, no vegan at all. We a tourist town, many people coming through yet the pub still dont see a market for a full time vegan dish.

Aside from the fruit and veg section, in our local supermarket, the plant based items would fill one small set of shelves, thats, everything, cold and pantry. If it sold, they would stock more, their computers would automatically adjust for the extra sales.

I have recently moved to Melbourne, and I am agog at the options available at even small cafes and restaurants here. Lactose free, gluten free, dairy free, vegetarian, vegan - some dishes are listed as being available with several options, all with the relevant markings as you work your way down the menu. I have a mild lactose intolerance and it has made such a difference (and not even going to go into the plethora of lactose free options available in the standard supermarkets here...!!!)

Living in London I had never seen so many option available. It can be done. It's being done by numerous small places here, it can sure as heck be done in the UK.

@Lozz22

Depends what the vegetarian or vegan choice/ choices are. I was vegetarian for 6 years and the majority of food was either full of beans or spicy and I don't like either. Got a veggie wrap from McDonald's and felt like I needed a fire extinguisher to put the heat in my mouth out. The only places I felt like I had a choice to eat and actually enjoyed the food was Nando's and Pizza Hut

This!!! My young children are allergic to dairy as are 10% of toddlers yet restaurants only seem to sell dairy free spicy food.

I had virtually given up eating out pre covid due to places not been able to cater for main allergens or even worse saying they can and then serving foods with the allergens in.

YANBU. Vegans are choosing to limit what they can eat so they should expect to struggle to find places to cater for them and not throw tantrums because the world doesn’t revolve around them.

I usually call first to see what’s on offer before deciding on the restaurant but it’s annoying when you get there and they no longer have that option.
But hey we should be happy because they also offer salad!

It isn’t always a lifestyle choice.

Chinese, indian, japanese, thai etc eastern style often have a big veggie choice

Not really. Thai, Chinese and particularly Japanese food uses a lot of fish/meat stock in their otherwise veggie food and it’s actually really hard for vegans and veggies to find anything to eat. My friends would literally have to ask for Buddhist-style for restaurants to understand what they were asking for (as most didn’t seem to believe that fish sauce or stock counted....)

I'm vegetarian and hate pasta, rice and, fish, eggs, and curry. My options are fairly limited. I don't expect a menu to cater for me. But I am not shy about adding/removing ingredients or items. I will ask for substitutions. I am sure chefs hate but noone as ever said no.

OK question for vegans / vegetarians.

Taking into account what has been said about ingredients not being used and lack of variety how would you feel with one option on the menu and then a selection of frozen dishes?

In chain pubs lots of the food is either frozen or prepackaged anyway.

I have a close friend with a limited diet, we check menus but have also asked restaurants if they can do something he can eat.

At the Michelin starred restaurant they actually gave him his own personalised menu (it was a special occasion, we usually do pubs for eating out.)

What annoys me is when restaurants don't put the little V symbol next to their vegetarian options. You would assume the macaroni cheese is vegetarian but without the symbol you can't be sure (seen some with a fancy cheese which wasn't). Is the lentil soup vegetarian? Sometimes it has ham in it, sometimes it doesn't. I look up the menus online but it often means I have to phone to check as well.

You would assume the macaroni cheese is vegetarian but without the symbol you can't be sure (seen some with a fancy cheese which wasn't
A GOOD mac n cheese should be topped with crispy bacon