Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Food/recipes

For related content, visit our food content hub.

Original poster

Eating out as a vegetarian. Aaaaggggghhhhhh!

289 replies

Neolara · 19/08/2023 23:14

Once again I've come back from a meal out and my food has been terrible while everyone else has had great food. Every. Bloody. Time.

This time, we were at a nice pub. There actually weren't any vegetarian options. The only option was vegan. Could I swop the coconut feta for normal feta? No, unfortunately you can't which (according to the waitress) is a shame because they get asked that a lot...

When it arrives, my dish is a plate of lettuce with about 10 small diced pieces of aubergine (maybe a third of an aubergine?) and a scattering of coconut feta. It tastes ok, but it's really just a starter, bulked out with a lot of lettuce. The lettuce is covered in a very dressing that is so sweet, I didn't even manage to eat all the lettuce. It costs £15. Everyone else (meat eaters), talks about how full the are and how good the food is. I've come home after spending £50 on two drinks, a starter and a rubbish main meal, and made myself a piece of toast because I'm still hungry.

If it was a one off, I wouldn't mind that much. But it's every time. The rise of veganism has been an absolute disaster for vegetarian.food in restaurants. Eating out is very rarely a pleasure any more.
.

OP posts:
RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 29/08/2023 18:06

Vocal, hypocritical and very stupid.

KirstenBlest · 29/08/2023 18:08

RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 29/08/2023 18:06

Vocal, hypocritical and very stupid.

and has a net worth estimated at £448 million.

Noodge · 29/08/2023 19:04

I am not denying he's not someone I'd like to go on a date with! For the purposes of this thread/eating out casually however if I wanted to grab a casual dinner with my other half and could choose between something like I ate the other day for the best part of £20 where It's tasteless and I am hungry again not long after or a Wetherspoons where I can get nice-tasting food, filling food for less than £10, I am going to choose the latter. You only live once and I don't like spending my hard-earned cash on overpriced, uninspiring meals. Other places need to do better.

RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 29/08/2023 23:00

KirstenBlest · 29/08/2023 18:08

and has a net worth estimated at £448 million.

Show quote history

Another reason to not want to give him a penny more.

The watermelon meal sounds ridiculous. In a choice between that and Spoons, I’d stay hungry.

sashh · 30/08/2023 03:48

mydogisthebest · 29/08/2023 08:42

We spent time in Scarborough, Whitby and a few other seaside places and actually went in and asked in just about all the fish and chip shops. Every single one said they use dripping

Show quote history

So true, my last holiday was in the same area and I asked in all the chip shops / cafes. I actually prefer them in dripping so for me it was a real treat and we ate them at least once a day.

floribunda18 · 30/08/2023 05:07

Yes, up north chips are so much nicer due to beef dripping. Sadly this means they are not vegetarian.

mydogisthebest · 30/08/2023 09:08

floribunda18 · 30/08/2023 05:07

Yes, up north chips are so much nicer due to beef dripping. Sadly this means they are not vegetarian.

Just shows we are all different. I think they taste vile when cooked in beef dripping. I want my chips to taste of potato not beef and even my meat eating sister agrees with me.

We moved up north a couple of years ago. Got some chips from local chip shop and both me and DH put one in our mouths and literally spat it out. We could not understand why it tasted so awful. We later found out they use beef dripping

midlifecrash · 30/08/2023 20:03

(Wanders in at the end of the thread to sob quietly about Mildred’s - totally given over to pretend pulled pork and pea protein) 😥

RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 30/08/2023 23:46

I like Mildred’s for breakfast, but expensive and not brilliant for dinner imo.

LivStanshall · 30/08/2023 23:55

SheilaWilde · 20/08/2023 10:19

I completely agree. I hardly ever eat out now. I used to love having Sunday lunch in a pub with nut roast and all the normal accompanied stuff. Now it seems as though pub chefs have universally decided that vegetarians and vegans don't want a toast lunch. We must now have watercress on a bed of butternut squash or salad. We also apparently don't want protein so while everyone else ticks into a plate heaped with veg and gravy I get to pick spinach from my teeth.

I know I could have just the veg but the gravy is invariably not vegetarian and I want some protein - like a very easy to make nut roast. Or vegetarian sausages, Linda ones would do fine or even a pie (but not cheese and onion because that's weird with a roast dinner). I'm hungry now.

Well said. It is the lack of protein in a lot of vegan meals that gets me so I’m still hungry after the meal and I’ve paid a fortune for a pile of vegetables. I’ve been vegetarian for most of my adult life and I can cook very good vegetarian and vegan meals and yet restaurants fail all the time. It’s lazy throwaway cooking and I don’t enjoy eating out much these days.

Noodge · 31/08/2023 00:18

Well said. It is the lack of protein in a lot of vegan meals that gets me so I’m still hungry after the meal and I’ve paid a fortune for a pile of vegetables. I’ve been vegetarian for most of my adult life and I can cook very good vegetarian and vegan meals and yet restaurants fail all the time. It’s lazy throwaway cooking and I don’t enjoy eating out much these days.

This is my point exactly-and what I meant about when I went to the aforementioned place. I am not a rabbit, I don't want a plate of veg-there's no excuse in 2023 to not have something substantial on a menu.

Susannainblue · 31/08/2023 09:09

BarbaraofSeville · 29/08/2023 03:59

No, in Yorkshire, pretty much every fish and chip shop uses beef dripping, trust me.

The Wetherby Whaler definitely does. If they don't, they will say, but that's a rarity and they'd probably not last long.

Show quote history

Ah, I was taking Northern to mean Lancashire (like Yorkshire, only better! 😉).
Not had dripping chips for years, thank goodness.

YetAnotherSpartacus · 31/08/2023 13:34

If it was a one off, I wouldn't mind that much. But it's every time. The rise of veganism has been an absolute disaster for vegetarian.food in restaurants. Eating out is very rarely a pleasure any more.

I feel your pain. I do not eat out in pubs any more.

HangingOver · 31/08/2023 14:48

The rise of veganism has been an absolute disaster for vegetarian food in restaurants

Good for cows though.

Original poster
Neolara · 09/09/2023 21:33

Quick update. Have been in Norfolk for the last few days on holiday and thought I had discovered some kind of veggie wonderland. Socius was particularly fabulous. But this evening has been an example of particular crapness.

We are staying in a very posh and very lovely hipsterish hotel as is significant wedding anniversary. We decided to eat in the hotel tonight, as it is in the middle of nowhere. Menu changes regularly so hard to check in advance but promises vegan and veggie alternatives available. Turns out tonight the only veggie option was veg risotto with parmesan. So not actually veggie and no alternative veggie cheese available. So the only actual option was a bowl of boiled rice and veg (for £18). This was pretty bad.

Then we move onto pudding. The waiter, (with whom I've had extensive conversation about the fact I'm veggie, parmesan contains rennet, is their a veggie alternative cheese? I'm not too fussy just whatever you have, boring old cheddar is fine) recommends the chocolate mouse. We order it. It turns up, I take a bite and then think, hmm this feels / tastes like it has gelatine in it. We check with the waiter. And yes, it does. So not only have I had crap choice I've also been fed cow's trotters. Waiter takes pudding away when I explain I don't want it because it's not veggie. No apology. It's definitely a me problem not a them problem. 10 mins later he comes back and offers me an alternative. Looks like somewhat under duress. Waiter is not a teen, he is the duty manager of a very classy hotel.

This is crap, right? I'm not being overly demanding?

https://sociusnorfolk.co.uk/

OP posts:
DailyDriver · 09/09/2023 22:01

Now I'm coeliac and gluten free vegetarian is a nightmare as so many meat free choices are now vegan and stuffed with wheat

Not vegetarian but I often would choose a vegetarian option if it looked interesting. Now I'm coeliac it's rarely an option.

SpareHeirOverThere · 10/09/2023 11:41

OP, the hotel restaurant sounds dire. It is hard to believe these places still exist in mid-to-high end hospitality - being veggie or vegan is relatively common. Any restaurant will come across it frequently enough to be trained and prepared. A new waitperson making an error is one thing, but the kitchen and deputy manager being downright unwelcoming to a guest is another.

Offering only one option is a shocker - imagine people who eat meat going to a restaurant with only one thing on the menu. I walked out of a London pub with a booked party of 6 last week as they only offered one 'option' for veggies. They must know that in a city like this, there is a better place to eat a short walk in any direction. Which is where we took our business.

BarbaraofSeville · 10/09/2023 11:47

I was also surprised that there were no vegetarian options in the country house hotel I stayed in for work not so long ago.

It blew my mind a little that they had made such an oversight especially as there wasn't really anywhere else to eat within a few miles.

It was a bit 'faded glory' but I'd definitely expect a more modern place to be a lot better.

KirstenBlest · 10/09/2023 12:07

@Neolara , add reviews for the hotel where you can. Say what you said on here.

If they can't be bothered to provide vegetarian food, and can't check if something has gelatine in, chances are they won't check if something has an allergen in it.

Original poster
Neolara · 10/09/2023 23:38

Neolara · 09/09/2023 21:33

Quick update. Have been in Norfolk for the last few days on holiday and thought I had discovered some kind of veggie wonderland. Socius was particularly fabulous. But this evening has been an example of particular crapness.

We are staying in a very posh and very lovely hipsterish hotel as is significant wedding anniversary. We decided to eat in the hotel tonight, as it is in the middle of nowhere. Menu changes regularly so hard to check in advance but promises vegan and veggie alternatives available. Turns out tonight the only veggie option was veg risotto with parmesan. So not actually veggie and no alternative veggie cheese available. So the only actual option was a bowl of boiled rice and veg (for £18). This was pretty bad.

Then we move onto pudding. The waiter, (with whom I've had extensive conversation about the fact I'm veggie, parmesan contains rennet, is their a veggie alternative cheese? I'm not too fussy just whatever you have, boring old cheddar is fine) recommends the chocolate mouse. We order it. It turns up, I take a bite and then think, hmm this feels / tastes like it has gelatine in it. We check with the waiter. And yes, it does. So not only have I had crap choice I've also been fed cow's trotters. Waiter takes pudding away when I explain I don't want it because it's not veggie. No apology. It's definitely a me problem not a them problem. 10 mins later he comes back and offers me an alternative. Looks like somewhat under duress. Waiter is not a teen, he is the duty manager of a very classy hotel.

This is crap, right? I'm not being overly demanding?

The restaurant has just emailed me asking for feedback. Writing my reply was a very cathartic 20 mins.

OP posts:
KirstenBlest · 10/09/2023 23:58

Can you give a hint as to which hotel it is, please?

Noodge · 12/09/2023 00:25

I ate at the White Horse in Clun recently. Although there are a few good veggie options on the menu (a lot of specials all of the time, too and always at least one vegetarian one), I have to say the one I chose was tasteless (the pottage, and I usually love pottage). Everything else was absolutely spot on (I was staying there). I am tempted to email them to let them know. Other people who were with me tasted it and confirmed it didn't taste of anything so I know it wasn't just me being fussy. They take a lot of pride in their food, have vegan and GF options (even for dessert!) and It's a great place to stay, too so I am not sure, I don't want to upset them but also think they'd want to know. What do you think?

@Neolara something similar happened to me in a quite 'naice' restaurant in London. Ceaser salad had a 'V'next to it. I asked the waitress if it definitely was 'V' given that the dressing usually has anchovies in it. She looked at me as if I had just dropped out of the sky and eventually grabbed the menu and went off to ask the chef, and then returned to confirm I was right. I hate things like that-misleading, confusing and also someone not in the know might make a ceaser salad for someone if they've seen that, assuming It's fine. When they assured me other things were okay for me I wasn't so sure after that. I did tell her the 'V' needed removing immediately. I am sorry you had that experience.

Original poster
Neolara · 12/09/2023 07:22

The owner of the restaurant has emailed me, apologised profusely, given me a substantial refund and get this.... said they will be changing the menu!!!!! A good outcome, not only for me but for veggie/ vegan diners of the future.

So, @Noodge, I'd say definitely worth giving feedback. Let's start our own MN campaign taking on the terrible veggie options, one feedback at a time!

OP posts:
Springduckling · 12/09/2023 10:50

Well done Neolara!

Was tempted to leave feedback at the place we went to, and regret now that I didn't.

KirstenBlest · 12/09/2023 11:09

@Neolara , Well done! Not just for veggies and vegans but for people who might be avoiding ingredients for cultural, religious or medical reasons.
Gelatine is often of pork origin, or even if beef gelatine, it might not be kosher or halal.