THE RED HOUSE (NEWPORT PAGNELL)
The day I arrived in Newport Pagnell to catch up with Damo we went and checked out The Red House. It popped up in a search for a place with vegan meal, and they actually have a separate vegan menu you can ask for. I ordered their Wellington and here is a picture of me already having almost finished it. I was a bit distracted with catching up with Damo for the first time in almost 10 years.
I actually ended up ordering this about the 3 times I think, we visited The Red House during my time with Damo. It was pretty tasty, filling, and a reasonable meal.
THE CALDECOTTE (MILTON KEYNES)
Damo took me out exploring and showed me the surrounding areas. This pub is nicely situated on a lake and was cosy. The staff were nice and they had some vegan options too. I went with their veggie pie thing. I don’t think you can really go wrong with pastry and vegetables. It didn’t go wrong, it was a pretty standard decent pie.
The pastry was pretty good. I would say that pastry in the UK definitely gets the winning points. I like a decent pie crust.
THE BLACK HORSE (MILTON KEYNES)
Damo could take his new car out as of today so his folks and I jumped in and we went out for a drive to have dinner. The Black Horse seemed to have some vegan options according to our internet searches so we headed here. It was quite a cute pub and pretty busy. I gave their vegetable curry thing a go. Now the white pictured is not potato but a rice mush thing. It was alright, the veggies and curry flavour was really good though. The rice mush was interesting, I’m assuming it’s a packet type deal. Most of the pub meals are heat and go type things I think. Not bad, especially as I have actually been well impressed with the vegan microwave meals in the UK.
THE VIBE (LIVERPOOL)
I arrived in Liverpool and had about 2 hours or so till check in time. Right next to the bust station was The Vibe. So I wheeled my suitcase all of 2 minutes and sat down for a Spud Bowl.
This was delicious. It was a tasty baked potato base filled with chickpeas, beans, and all the other good stuff. It was such a lovely thing to be filling my mouth with after my bus trip from Milton Keynes. The staff were lovely and it’s a really nice venue.
GLASS ONION (LIVERPOOL)
While I was walking back toward my accomodation from visiting John Lennon’s childhood living areas, I spotted the word vegan on the side of a building. I was actually getting hungry and so I stopped in to check if they were still open. I managed to get in and served with less than an hour till closing.
There was nachos on the menu and it had been a while since I had eaten some. It was good. It was nachos. It wasn’t the best ones I have ever had but it wasn’t the worst. All the elements were there and as always more avocado would be good. The place was super cute though. It looked like it was an old converted house or something, it had different rooms you could sit in. There was heaps of art around on the walls and one of the local artists was in the room eating where I sat too, we had a brief chat. He had some pieces with him. I would definitely come back here if I visit this side of Liverpool again.
THE VURGER CO. (MANCHESTER)
Another one of these vegan fast food burger joints that seem to be quite popular. I of course chose the one non fake meat version available, the Auburger and some fries. This was super messy. I realise, I prefer gourmet burger joints where they give you a proper plate and a knife and fork. I think I had to use about 4 napkins to not make a disgusting mess.
It was quite a popular venue, almost no seats available, I sat at the counter in the window. (more reason not to be a gross mess) You can either order on the app or at their order station with your table number and then they bring it to you. It’s just an impersonalised place but with good branding and mock meat takeaway.
I stopped in here as when I was hungry this showed up after another place I tried to go to I couldn’t order at. I was having issues this day.
GRUMPY’S (FARSLEY)
Callum and Georgie had arranged for the girls to have a sleep over during my very short visit so that we could have a night together. This local pizza joint was talked about from my arrival so it was nice to check it out. They had actually just got a new menu in and it was a pretty cool little place.
The vegan/veggie pizza option was a bit build your own pizza, pick your sauce and your toppings type of deal. It was great. The base was fantastic and it was a really decent size. When I am back visiting Cal and Georgie again if they suggest Grumpy’s I will say yes!
TREACLE (EDINBURGH)
By the time I arrived in Edinburgh I was pretty hungry. I had been for a 4 hour bus ride or something like that, checked in to my accomodation and headed out for a bit of a walk around. I was staying right off the Royal Mile so thought I would check out what was around. As I was checking out the menu for this place, the dude at the front offered a 20% off voucher. I was already considering going in, so i did.
It was a pretty decent meal. I do like a good Indian feast sometimes, so I treated myself. It was a good meal to opt for today considering I hadn’t eaten since Georgie made us a bit of a brekky fry up before I left. You always want to eat Indian on a pretty hungry stomach. There is always left overs, I didn’t leave any left overs. I just ate two plates of food. I even treated myself to a glass of wine.
SCOTTS KITCHEN (EDINBURGH)
After getting up and going for a bit of a wander I went and sussed out somewhere for brekky. This was a great idea and so glad I popped into this joint. I know it doesn’t look like much but it was a pretty decent meal and it tasted really good. I guess it was more like a brunch type deal. It was about midday when I got here, it was just the first thing I had to eat. The winner on the plate was the Vegan Haggis (ahem nut loaf).
The juice was great. I really appreciated those flavours and liquid in my system. The staff here were really lovely and super friendly. The place was pretty busy but comfortable, would probably come back here for a feed again.
DAVID BANN (EDINBURGH)
After the whiskey tasting I went on I had planned on getting something to eat. I had a look around and this joint was just down the road from where we were. I had met Nandan and Ronak at the tasting and they were both also keen for food afterwards. Ronak was also vegetarian and Nandan didn’t mind so we all headed out here for a meal.
We got a bottle of wine and I am glad they appreciated my choice of a Tempranillo. I feel like you can’t go wrong with one. Well, I have yet to meet one that I don’t like. Anyway so we got our fancy schmancy meals, and this was definitely an up market vegan/vegetarian restaurant. Reasonably priced when compared with other places, but also a great place to come to with company. It was a great spot to go sit and eat with new friends. I really enjoyed my food too, and the staff were very helpful and friendly.
SOUL FOOD KITCHEN (GLASGOW)
This place was literally a couple doors down from where I was staying and what a treat it was! I came by to try it out on my way back to my accomodation after exploring and checking out the museum nearby. The staff were friendly and the place was cute. It was very quiet when I was there, just one couple also in the place.
The food though was great. It was clearly time to try a burger, I think burgers have become my go to choice lately. Part of it is so I think I can order chips and the second part has more to do with comparing options in different places. I should at some point try to put all the burgers in a best tier list or something. The SFK Burger was lovely, it had a nice crunchy veggie patty with great flavour. I was thoroughly satisfied.
YEROS (GLASGOW)
So I’m adding this joint that I got take away from because it was great. It was well priced and I ordered myself a separate chips and there were so many chips also in my falafel. The chips were great. The falafels were moist and tasty. This was soo good! This place was literally 2 minutes down the road from where I was staying and I popped in here on my way home from seeing Pride & Prejudice (sort of).
I wasn’t drunk, even sober this is a fantastic late night stop by. It is probably also a good day time stop by. The chips were great!!!!!
THE FLYING DUCK (GLASGOW)
After the Glasgow walking tour I was planning on getting a bite to eat. Josh who I met on the tour had the same idea so we decided to walk and grab something to eat together. He happens to eat vegetarian when travelling (easier to be kosher and avoid food poisoning) so that worked out well. He was going to go to this place he had become a favourite of his over the time he had been in Glasgow, and so I decided to come and give it a go too.
Sometimes you just don’t realise how something so simple can be so satisfying. This toasty was amazing and turned out to be perfect for what I wanted, or needed. There are a bunch of mock meat options, obviously I just went for the cheese and mushroom choice.
HUMBLE (LONDON)
I was excited to be catching up with Marie in London and she had found Humble in her search for a vegan friendly joint for us to meet at. IT was great, they do a really good black coffee.
I decided to try to house Humble Burger with a side of fries of course. It was pretty good, the patty was fantastic. Super tasty and not dry at all.
MAAD (LONDON)
Before seeing Wicked, Annabel and I checked to find a spot close to the theatre for a feed. MAAD seemed to pop up alright in searches so decided to rock up and give it a crack. Turns out to be another mock meat joint, so I went for their doner wrap and chips. The biggest winner was their homemade chilli sauce. If you are there, be sure to get some. Great flavour with heat, the balance you want in your spice.
The woman working was delightful, she was super helpful and I would come back for the service more than the food itself so much. By now you should know that fake meat options aren’t my usual first choice. I need to stop expecting that there are non fake meat options available besides chips. It’s really funny cos it reminds me of back in the day when the only veg option on a menu was chips. Now I feel that there are more non fake meat vegan options at some places that sell meat more than there are at these fake meat “vegan” food places. Don’t get me wrong, the food itself here was also good. Just not my personal preference.
WAGAMAMA (MILTON KEYNES)
So Wagamama is all over the UK and if you want a decent meal, than they aren’t too bad. It’s a UK Japanese food chain, but I haven’t actually hated my meals. The first time I had it was as a take away while staying with Damo, and then we stopped by one of their restaurants when I was back visiting him for my last weekend in the UK.
I decided to try the vegan katsu curry (tofu) which was the same meal I had ordered in. It was good, a bit better than take away but that’s what you would kind of hope for. I was full and happy with my choice when I was finished. It doesn’t compare though to real Japanese food, and I am looking forward to eating that in a few months.
