A mild one about food providers and vegetarianism in the UK

[HundredAcreOwl]

This is because in the last month there have been three things, nothing major to me. In the past tenish years since I became vegetarian, only a couple of others.

I was in a well-respected French restaurant in Edinburgh with friends who recommended it, the Salade Nicoise with tuna and anchovies was marked as vegetarian. I did ask, but it was apparently vegetarian to them.

A local new Turkish restaurant we visited to support, which clearly labelled every dish as vegetarian or not, served our separately ordered vegetarian and meat starters on the same plate in front of just me.

Husband was at an event meal, the vegetarian option included prawns.

I'm really interested in other experiences/views. I am also well aware that vegetarian food is different in different cultures.

Renmivore. No vegetarian options exist (I know they do.)

My mild grumps completely fade in comparison to this. How difficult, and I agree madness. Sounds like one person in charge has taken affront, and is determined to make a point.

Oh, she is very capable of complaining! She did and got refunds and will never eat in those places again; I am not sure if she did online reviews or if there was any attempt at an excuse.

She is very aware of how it should all work, as she works in hospitality and knows the scrupulous procedures they go through at restaurants where she has worked when a customer has a nut allergy or is coeliac - it really should be the same for fish-free/meat-free dishes.

Though of course she also sees the other side of the coin, which is the remarkably common scenario of someone coming in and saying they are coeliac/allergic/vegan, so the staff follow the whole protocol with scrubbing down surfaces, using separate utensils, swapping ingredients etc, only for the same customer to then turn around an hour later and order a dessert with nuts/gluten/cream in it, as 'a little bit won't hurt'. I have listened to quite a few late-night rants about those customers...

They probably mix up vegan and vegetarian.

I also hate it when they don't think about parmesan and gelatine in cakes being non vegetarian. And when my vegetarian nems come with the usual sauce that contains fish.

So many places now just have vegan slop as vegetarians can eat vegan food 🤷🏼‍♀️ whilst forgetting that we choose to still eat dairy and there’s a huge difference between vegetarian and vegan food!

Brilliant!

Our older ac went through a bad reaction phase, started with gluten, then dairy, then onion, garlic etc. On a strict low FODMAP medically recommended diet, we found intolerance was disregarded when eating out, where as allergy was taken more seriously. The gluten intolerance would still mean three weeks of pain. We did eventually say allergy, but did discuss fully, we'd have been horrified if everything was scrubbed down.

"Renmivore" That's interesting. Google thinks that means omnivore.

Yes, my sister is veggie & she finds it difficult on holiday, in France or Spain. Lardons, chorizo etc… Chucked on top of salads that haven’t advertised them on the menu! She mostly orders chips as it always happens.

But what kind of vegetarian are you? You cannot expect a restaurant to have different definitions for all eventualities. Anyone with dietary issues should have the ultimate responsibility over what they eat!

Are you a lacto/ovo vegetarian, a flexitarian, pescatarian (if you accept fish/seafood products in Chinese food)...?

In these situations my DD always asks the staff to clarify what plant whatever fish or meat ingredient grew on.

Vegetarian is just short for lacto-ovo vegetarian. I would just like places that sell food to label things consistently.

I'm not vegetarian but I do have a shellfish allergy and many of the things stated here drive me mad: Starter platters piled high with prawns mixed in with other food on same plate, despite having made the allergy clear (one restaurant kept telling me they simply could not accommodate my request to separate the prawns onto a different plate because "that's the way we like to serve it"), or in one memorable experience at a Thai restaurant I declared my allergy but said I'd be ordering exclusively from the vegetarian menu to make things easier - I was then pointed to five(!) vegetarian dishes which were not suitable for me due to fish sauce and shrimp flakes.

I had no issues with people understanding vegetarianism for decades, but recently I was shown fish items on a menu. Counterintuitively, I think it's due to the increase in veganism/plant-based diets, which used to be quite rare. Now it's more widespread, people who aren't vegetarian/vegan have tried to remember that vegan/plant-based is much stricter than vegetarian and when they try to remember vegetarianism they include things that are still dead flesh to us vegetarians because it doesn't seem 'meaty' to them.

Some vegetarians don’t eat dairy, some don’t eat eggs or honey… there’s not one “vegetarian”.

I'm vegetarian (not vegan) so I don't eat meat or fish.

I've only had one bad experience, and that was when I ordered the vegetarian option from a takeaway and they sent the chicken version!!

I find that some places have limited options, but others are really good. I've been to chip shops with veggie burgers on the menu but not in stock, so we've just ended up with chips and curry sauce. It's just a bit hit and miss.

My DD’s are vegetarian and never have had issues in the U.K. however in France it’s a different story, my friend (French) who we travelled with had a very memorable row with the maitre d and chef where even I with school girl French definitely understood the swear words and “French chefs are…”

in Indian restaurants you do need to confirm if they use ghee if you are vegan (have vegan relatives too).

tasting menu type restaurants you must tell them when booking and clarify if everyone at the table has to have the vegetarian menu if one wants it (have had this issue)

No, that would be vegan. If your unsure this site gives a clear definition.
https://vegsoc.org/blog/become-a-vegetarian/

It baffles me that anyone could think a vegetarian would eat fish or seafood.

My understanding is:

Vegetarian - does not eat animal flesh or fat; fish, seafood, insects or invertebrates but may eat some or all of dairy products, eggs, honey and other items that don't require the animal to be dead to produce.

Vegan - does not eat any animal, fish or other non-plant-derived product or ingredient.

Pescatarian - as vegetarian but also eats fish

I guess different organisations need to talk to each other then.
https://www.bda.uk.com/resource/vegetarian-vegan-plant-based-diet.html

My poor 14 year old DD is having loads of issues at the moment and it's really broken her trust (shes autistic)

We went to our favourite local restaurant we have been visiting for ages in the summer hols. She decides to ask about the minestrone soup she has never tried before. The server tells her she will have to ask as "chef sometimes makes it with chicken stock" DD says not to worry and she will just have her usual potato skins and dips. The server says "as long as you understand that they are deep fried in the same oil as the squid and the pork belly pieces"

Where to start with that! They tried to tell her it was her fault that she hadnt asked before. She pointed out that they are marked clearly as vegetarian on the menu which is why she's been ordering them for years. We left and she won't go back.

Loads of other issues with badly labelled food. Magnums; are they / aren't they veggie? M&Ms use a dye that comes from insects. Loads of other stuff. All she wants is clear labelling in order to make an informed choice. It's 2026 and yet it seems to be harder to navigate now than it was back un the 80s!

Just to add - it’s the lack of choice on menus that annoys me. Meat eaters usually get loads of options; many places just have one vegetarian option so I don’t get a choice. Even worse if this is vegan fake meat! I’m vegetarian because I don’t like eating meat or fish, I definitely don’t want a fake version of it!

No, that's fine it gives the same definition.

Sadly it doesn't give one for 'Plant Based Diet' which always annoys me, because it's sometimes used instead of Vegan, but it's not consistent.

Actually. Reading that link more carefully it seems to group "lacto ovo vegetarians" under a "Plant based" umbrella, shockingly to me including pescetarians! It really is no wonder everyone is confused.

I'm not sure why people expect a wholesale approach to labelling of vegetarian food across the UK when each restaurant will set their menu according to their understanding, beliefs and prejudices! As a vegan I'd never eat in a french restaurant even if they claimed to have a vegan option because French chefs don't tend to have much respect for vegetarian or vegan diets. I am well aware that even in 2026 some people still believe fish is vegetarian and it's really not worth getting angry about. Just check menus before you go out to eat and stick to places that provide good vegetarian or vegan options.